Our four person group toured Central Asia for 17 days, and the Kyrgyzstan part of the tour lasted 7 days and was organized by CBT. The planning of the trip was begun months before, and we always received prompt and comprehensive replies to our emails and inquiries. Although we wanted to modify our trip (we started in Almaty Kazakhstan instead of Bishkek) and had some time constraints, Tilek planned an excellent itinerary for us. The tour itself was magical. We enjoyed immersing ourselves in the local nature and culture, which the guided trekking and home-stays are perfect for.
The meals provided by families were always excellent — although we did appreciate Bazar-Bek and Diana stepping in when we had eaten plov for quite a few meals. The food was always of excellent quality and we did not feel hungry once during our tour. Our driver/guide Bazar-Bek picked us up from Almaty train station at the beginning of our trip and drove us back at the end of it. He took excellent care of us, making sure we were always alright and having fun and tasting local delicacies. We had a bit of a language barrier though, as he does not speak much English and our Russian skills were not great. In case of emergencies or questions we could call Diana in Bishkek from his phone, and we did do this a few times when there were some questions regarding what to pack on day trips etc. While this worked great for us, we would recommend making the phone call a daily ritual, where for example every morning at 9 am the group would touch base with someone. That would make it easier and less of a hassle to ask any questions and would give the group a better idea of the day to come and what will be needed. The car also did not have functioning air conditioning, which was uncomfortable at times. It was a hot week and we spent a lot of time in the car. Otherwise, Bazar-Bek was an excellent driver and guide, and we got everywhere quickly but always safely. It was clear that he had extensive experience in driving 🙂 The highlights of our trip were the hike to Altyn-Arashan and our 2-day horse trek from Kyzart pass to Song Kol. We cannot praise the beauty of the country enough! The guides were all very capable and spoke enough English for us to get to know them a little and ask questions about anything and everything. During our horse trek there was some miscommunication about water — we were advised to bring 1,5 liters each, and that we would have more available at the first over night. The days were both very hot and there was no cold boiled water available at the yurt camp. Boiled water was provided after we asked for it. Tea of course was served and we did drink a lot of it, but still did feel an uncomfortable amount of thirst and lack of fluids. We would recommend maybe upping the recommended amount of water, and if not possible, providing boiled water to the guests at the camp upon arrival (in order for it to cool down a bit). The horse trekking did go very well otherwise, even with our limited (to no) experience in riding. We would recommend this to anyone looking to experience the mountains! The yurt camp halfway on our trek was beautiful and the hosts there too were very hospitable. The camp at Song Kol was different from what we had expected, as there were a lot more tourists and a lot more noise than we had come to anticipate. Our guides slept in our yurt which we were completely alright with, but which might prove for some guests to feel uncomfortable. Maybe a heads-up on this would be needed — as on all previous occasions we did have a private yurt for the four of us. All in all, our trip was above all expectations. The people were all very friendly and helpful, the nature was stunning, the culture and history rich and interesting and the tour was very well organised. We could just kick back, relax and enjoy the trip, as everything was taken care of for us. Despite the small suggestions I made earlier in this review, our overall experience was overwhelmingly positive and we will definitely recommend this to everyone looking for a new travel destination!