Ala-Kul Trekking & Son-Kol Horse Ride Adventures

•  Horses and horse guide

•  Yurt camp with CBT host family

•  Lunch, Dinner

•  Riding gloves (recommended)

Horse ride across the plateau to Son-Kol

After breakfast in the yurt you set off on a last day in the saddle. The trail climbs slowly through wildflower meadows and crosses a high pass before opening out onto the vast Son-Kol plateau. You ride for 4-5 hours with a lunch break by a stream. In the late afternoon you reach Son-Kol, a high alpine lake at 3 000 m where dozens of herder families spend the summer in yurts on the shore. Dinner and night in your CBT yurt camp by the lake.

•  Yurt camp with CBT host family

•  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

•  Windproof jacket

Eagle hunting show & canyons of Ak-Say

After breakfast, you say goodbye to the herders and drive down from Son-Kol towards Issyk-Kul. A home-cooked lunch is served in the Jaichy valley with a local family. In the afternoon, you reach Bokonbaevo, the village known for traditional eagle hunting, and watch a hunter and his golden eagle demonstrate how the bird is trained and called. Later in the day, you visit the Ak-Say canyons, glowing in the late afternoon light, before settling into a yurt camp on the south shore of Issyk-Kul.

•  Yurt camp on Issyk-Kul shore

•  Eagle hunter demonstration

•  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

•  Swimwear if you want to swim in Issyk-Kul

Fairy-Tale Canyon, Barskoon waterfalls & Jeti-Oguz red rocks

Today you follow the southern shore of Issyk-Kul east, with three of the most photographed stops in Kyrgyzstan along the way. First you walk through Skazka, the “Fairy-Tale Canyon” of red and orange sandstone formations. Then you turn into the Barskoon gorge for a short hike to the waterfalls, with views of the alpine valley. In the afternoon, you stop at Jeti-Oguz, the “Seven Bulls” red cliffs, before driving on to Jeti-Oguz village, where you check into a family yurt camp for the night.

•  Yurt Camp/Guesthouse

•  Breakfast, Dinner

Walk into Karakol valley pine forest

After breakfast a short transfer brings you to the entrance of Karakol National Park, where the trek begins. You walk up the Karakol valley through tall pine forest, following a fast mountain river. The path climbs most of the day gently, with one steeper section in the afternoon. After 5-6 hours of walking, you reach a yurt camp at around 2 800 m, where you settle in and share dinner with the host family.

•  Guide

•  Yurt camp in Karakol valley

•  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Turquoise Ala-Kul Lake (3 500 m) under sharp peaks

You leave the yurt camp early and climb steadily through alpine meadows and glacial moraines. After 5–6 hours of walking you reach Ala-Kul Lake at 3 500 m, where the water turns deep turquoise in the morning light. You set up the tents on a flat shoulder near the lake with sharp peaks rising on all sides. The afternoon is free to rest, take photos and enjoy the silence. Dinner is cooked on the spot and you sleep in tents at the foot of the mountains.

•  Tent accommodation

•  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

•  Cold at night

Ala-Kul Pass (3 900 m) & hot springs at Altyn-Arashan

The hardest and most rewarding day of the trek. You climb from the lake up to the Ala-Kul Pass at 3 900 m, the highest point of the tour, with views over the whole Tien Shan range. You then descend a steep scree slope into the Keldyke valley and follow the Arashan river down to Altyn-Arashan, where you can finally soak in the wild hot springs. In the late afternoon a 4WD vehicle brings you back to Karakol for a hot shower and a guesthouse bed.

•  4WD transfer from Arashan to Karakol

•  Guesthouse in Karakol

•  Hot spring access

•  Breakfast, Lunch

•  Trekking poles recommended
•  Dinner at the cafe

Ruh-Ordo cultural centre & ancient Burana Tower

After breakfast you start the long drive west along the northern shore of Issyk-Kul towards Bishkek. The first stop is in Cholpon-Ata at the Ruh-Ordo cultural centre, an open-air park dedicated to the world’s main religions and Kyrgyz spirituality. Further along the way you visit the 11th-century Burana Tower, all that remains of the ancient Silk Road city of Balasagun, and climb up for the view over the valley. You arrive in Bishkek in the late afternoon and transfer to your hotel.

•  Entrance to Ruh-Ordo and Burana Tower

•  Breakfast

•  Hotel in Bishkek or airport transfer on request