10 Day Summer Tour (Ala-Kul)

Day 2- Horse Ride to Kol-Tor Glacial Lake 

We start the day early, have breakfast  and drive to the Kegety national reserve. The reserve is beautiful, we will meet our horses and ride up to the Kol-Tor glacial lake at 2.5km relief. The overall journey is 16km. Everything will be beginner friendly and we will take it nice and easy to get used to the horses. The view and the colour of the lake is beautiful. Anyone who is brave enough may want to try to swim in it, but it is nearly 0 degrees

For the evening I will hire out a spa with sauna, pool, hamam , chefs and karaoke. It is a massive two level complex just for us and will be a perfect opportunity to relax after a long hike, get to know each other and have a little party. 

Accommodation: Villa in Bishkek

Day 3 - Horse Riding at Chon-Kemin and Kok-Boru Game

 We will set off early at 8am  and drive to the Chon Kemin national reserve. There we will leave our belongings at a guesthouse and meet our horses and guides.

We will take a gentle stroll on horses up to the mountains and nature reserve. After we come down to the village the local shepherds will demonstrate Kyrgyz traditional horse game for us. The highlight being Kok-Boru, a game where two teams fight to score in cauldrons using a sheep carcass.

Accommodation: Chon-Kemin guest house

Day 4 Drive to Son-Kul Lake

We will set off early and start our drive to the Son-Kol lake. It is a long but a beautiful journey, through mountains passes and snow covered roads. The journey is half the experience. We will arrive at Son-Kul lake at 3km relief.

It is breathtaking. At this altitude the weather is cold. There is no internet, no phone connection, and no electricity lines.  Just you and the bare beauty of the Son-Kul Lake. We will stay in a Kyrgyz yurt like the nomads of Central Asia have done so for thousands of years.

This is a chill day where we take in the beauty - the peace. In the evening we will sit around a campfire and look at the night sky, with no light pollution whatsoever. If there are no clouds, we will see the glimpse of our galaxy called the Milky Way. My undergraduate degree was in Astrophysics and Cosmology. I can tell you all about our galaxy and our place in the universe.

Accommodation: Yurt Camps Near Shore of Son-Kul

Day 5 - Drive to South Shore of Issyk-Kul

We will set off from Son-Kol and drive through the mountainous 32 Parrots Pass.This may be the most beautiful road I have ever driven on. The scale of the mountains is immense. Unending valleys and mountains, meandering roads, and clouds so close to you they are at your fingertips. This journey is breathtaking and you will be in silent awe.

We will drive to the south shore of the Issyk-Kul lake and stay at Beltam Yurt camp. For everyone who is willing, we will have an evening swim in the lake.

Accommodation: Beltam Yurt Camp

Day 6 - Eagle Hunting, Skazka Canyon and Hike to Barskon Waterfalls

After breakfast at Beltam yurt camp, we will set off to a masterclass with Golden Eagle hunting and Taigain (Kyrgyz Hunting Dog) hunting. This will be a demonstration of the ancient Kyrgyz traditions portrayed by the local hunter from the Bokanbaevo village. Everyone will be taught to shoot from bows like the warriors of old.

Afterwards we will visit the Skazka (Fairytale) canyon. This place is magical and comparable to the surface of Mars. We will follow the road on the south shore of Issyk-Kul and drive up to the Barskon gorge where we will hike up to three beautiful waterfalls. In Barskon you can see the Soviet statue of Yuri Gagarin (first man in space), the beautiful nature of this place used to be a sanitarium for soviet cosmonauts to relax.

Accommodation: Barskon Guesthouse

Day 7 - Hike to Altyn-Arashan

We will drive to Karakol, a city at the most eastern part of the Issyk-Kul lake. We will leave the car, pack our belongings for two days and hike up to the Altyn-Arashan valley.

The hike is beautiful with many animals on the path, beautiful forests, and pristine rivers. In the valley of Altyn-Arashan we will stay at the guest house and visit the secret wild hot springs. These are naturally formed hot-springs in a cave right next to a rapidly moving river. Formed by placing rocks into a little pool by hunters who used to bathe hundreds of years ago. This may be my favourite spot on Earth.

Accommodation: Altyn-Arashan Guesthouse

Day 8 Horse Ride to Ala-Kul Lake

We will start early and ride on horse back to the Ala-Kul lake. On this journey we will ascend the mountains while viewing beautiful scenery, wild animals and endless peaks. The lake itself is at a releif of 3800m, the air is cold but the view is breathtaking. This is definetly the hardest part of the tour but definetly worth it. The horses ride up to 3000m and the last steep ascent to the lake will be done on foot. After we come back to the guesthouse we can swim in the hot springs and relex.

Accommodation: Altyn-Arashan Guesthouse

Day 9 Cholpon Ata Beach Resort

We will leave Altyn Arashan early, hike down to the city of Karakol and drive through the north shore of Issyk-Kul to the city of Cholpon-Ata. It is a classic beach resort, with bars, restaurants, clubs, mountain landscapes behind you and golden beaches in front. We will relax, swim in the lake and gently finish our holiday. This is the opportunity to recover from hard treks and revitilise before ending the holiday. There are many sea sports activities including parasailing, jet skis and speed boats, which everyone is welcome to pursue. 

Accommodation: Issyk-Kul Villa

Day 10

After the breakfast at the guesthouse we will drive to Bishkek and drop-off people at the airport, we wish you a safe and wonderful flight. We hope you had a lovely holiday, and would be happy to have you back should you wish to join us again!

Price List

-  £1350 (€1550  - $1800) per person for an all included roundtrip (transport, food, stay, horses, guides, entrance fees etc).

- 3 Riding days. More beginner friendly. If group is more experienced Day 2 is changed to galloping in Ala-Archa National Park.

- £350 deposit to reserve a spot on the tour. £500 paid 2 months before the tour. Rest of money should be paid 2 weeks before the start of the tour. 

- Flights to and from Kyrgyzstan not included.

- If you have specific requests about the places you wish to visit or activities to you would like to engage in let me know! We will try to fit it in.