100% customisable travel idea
This summer, experience Kyrgyzstan as a family adventure Celestial Mountains, yurts, and eagle hunting
Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek - Chon Kemin - Issyk Kul - Jety Oguz - Song Kul
100% customisable travel idea
Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek - Chon Kemin - Issyk Kul - Jety Oguz - Song Kul
100% customisable for you
On arrival, private transfer to the city centre. The grid layout of the Kyrgyz capital means you can’t get lost. The former Frunze is well ordered, with official buildings and housing blocks lined up with ruler-straight precision. Wide avenues and plentiful green spaces give it room to breathe. Your overnight accommodation is a five-minute walk from Ala-Too Square. Your hotel is modern and well appointed, with an international style (neutral tones, clean lines, comfortable amenities). The guest rooms have everything you need, and shared spaces are entirely satisfactory. In the restaurant, Eurasian cuisine sets you up nicely for a night out in the city. At Osh Bazaar, stalls overflow with food, but also clothes - including the famous white felt hat - and handicrafts. The children won't know where to look first.
Meet your guide and driver, who will accompany you throughout the trip, then depart for Chon Kemin National Park. During this first part of the journey, you follow the Kazakh border through plains with towering peaks in the background. On the way, a stop at the Burana Minaret, dating back to the 9th century, is the chance to stretch your legs. Little by little, the country begins to reveal its charms.
Check in for a two-night stay at a spacious chalet with a stylish rustic feel. The décor uses traditional Kyrgyz rugs and patterns, without overdoing the folklore. As for the rooms, comfort is simple but real, and the shared spaces follow the same line. In the restaurant, international cuisine meets local dishes. When evening comes, children can start a game of billiards or table tennis, while parents settle on the covered porch and lose themselves in contemplation of the garden. The park - a green valley dominated by the snow-capped peaks of the Ala-Too - is truly beautiful.
Stretching between 4,593 ft and 9,186 ft (1,400-2,800 m) above sea level, Chon Kemin Nature Park is a setting of breathtaking natural beauty. When it comes to flora, forests and meadows blanket the landscape in deep greens and offer a remarkable diversity of plant life. As for wildlife, golden eagles wheel overhead, brown bears keep to cover, and the snow leopard waits its moment.
In your itinerary - Making and tasting boorsok. This traditional fried bread is found on most Central Asian tables, especially during celebrations and gatherings. Kyrgyzstan is no exception. Learning to prepare this simple, convivial dish is a first step towards understanding local traditions. The whole family gets stuck in (literally) before moving on to the best part: the tasting.
Optional - horse riding; rafting trip.
The gorges and pastures of Chon Kemin Park disappear in the rear-view mirror as you head towards the southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul. The high surrounding peaks keep you company, and the children have fun naming the most impressive among them. En route, stop at Skazka Canyon, whose name means “fairy tale”. The red-ochre earth looks as if it has been crumpled by a gigantic hand, creating a tangle of valleys and folds, peaks, pinnacles and spires. Losing yourself in this setting is a truly special experience.
Check in for a two-night stay in your first yurt camp - a key moment. With its well-organised paths and abundant flowers, the little felt village is a softer take on nomadic life, and makes for a gentle transition. Inside, the space often surprises its guests: it’s actually quite large. You can see the latticework that forms the structure. Colour, light, and no feeling of being shut in. Craftspeople have taken care of furnishings and decoration. Beds are comfortable, and the felt insulates against both cold and heat. For meals, head to the mess yurt for traditional Kyrgyz cuisine. And the sandy beach 0.3 miles (500 m) away is perfect for swimming.
The southern shore of Lake Issyk Kul, far less developed than the north with its sanatoriums and leisure zones, has kept a semi-wild, semi-agricultural feel. Alternating meadows and grain fields create a pleasant patchwork effect. Your base, Tamga, sits at 5,577 ft (1,700 m) above sea level, between the lake and the rocky ramparts of the Tian Shan. The village is made up of a line of low houses and a few small Soviet-era apartment blocks. As for the enormous snow-covered peaks rising above the blue waters, they create a dazzling tableau.
Not to be missed - A walk to Barskoon Waterfalls. Climbing above the village, you gradually reach the top of the cascade. Water plunges down the dark rock face; fleeting rainbows appear when the sun is out. Around you, the trees form something like a guard of honour. It's a real spectacle. And if you can tear your gaze away from this captivating aquatic display, you'll find the view over the lake below is equally impressive.
The driver follows the curve of the lake eastwards before slipping into the mountains. Suddenly, a sharp 90-degree turn pulls you away from Issyk Kul - and the mountain valley of Jety Ogouz, carved by the river of the same name, appears. Jety Ogouz means “seven bulls” in the local language; your guide will gladly share the legend behind the name, beginning with a khan’s abduction of another ruler’s wife. It’s a myth as colourful as the valley it evokes, split between orderly conifer forests and ochre-tinted rock formations.
Accommodation for two nights in a family yurt - by now, you'll be used to the experience.
A day to explore the Jety Ogouz gorges as a family. The beauty of this place is enchanting. You can ride horses, or visit yurts and chat with local herders, who are happy to talk about their lives, their families and fascinating aspects of this wonderful area. On walks, edelweiss and alpine daisies compete for attention. In summer, the landscape becomes a fabulous garden.
See and do - Choose between horse-riding or hiking to the waterfall; tackle the climb to Oguz-Bashy Peak; follow the Jety Oguz River to Tilety Pass, surrounded by conifers.
A journey of 150 miles (240 km) awaits you between the Jety Ogouz gorges and Kochkor But it's worth it: you travel the full length of Lake Issyk Kul, from east to west - a chance to take in as many landscapes as possible while chatting with your guide about discoveries past and to come.
In your itinerary, en route - Eagle-hunting demonstration. The Kyrgyz horseman with a bird perched on his fist is as much a national symbol as part of the collective imagination. The raptor must be captured young and trained patiently. Once it has mastered its craft, fox, hare and even gazelle are among possible quarry. After a theoretical introduction, the duo treats your family to a fascinating demonstration using an animal hide.
Also planned along the way - Building a yurt with a local family. Despite several nights spent under its frame, the yurt still holds a few secrets. So you head to a village specialising in crafting all the wooden elements that make up this dwelling. An enthusiastic family will reveal the secrets of this ancestral practice.
Settle in for the night in central Kochkor. Behind the façade, the hotel’s modern, immaculate spaces bring touches of traditional craftsmanship. Missing the traditional yurt already? Don’t worry: a huge one stands in the courtyard, serving hot and cold drinks to guests throughout the day.
In your itinerary - The secrets of felt. Essential to Kyrgyz life, this textile is used to make all sorts of things, from homes to clothing. Its strengths? It is both insulating and hard-wearing - perfectly suited to the mountain climate. The women welcoming you today handle felt with great mastery, making rugs, slippers and hats. It's hard to resist.
Then you set off for Lake Song Kul, a few hundred kilometres away. Hours pass in a desert-like landscape of mineral mountains. After the Kochkor Valley, the road follows the Chu River and then the Karakudzhur River before reaching Song Kul, perched at over 9,843 ft (3,000 metres) above sea level. Settle in for two nights on the southern shore, away from other tourist camps. Yurts are scattered across the prairie and meals are taken in the mess yurt - there’s a distinct sense of déjà vu. However, for hot water you now need to ask in advance, and it's lights out at 10pm - such are the constraints of the generator. You’re experiencing nomadic life on another level.
Take a day to savour the stunning scenery of this part of the country: carpets of edelweiss, soaring mountains and a lake with calm waters. Very much part of the scene, many herders accompanied by their sheep and horses come with their families to the jailoo (summer pasture) for the season. Welcomed by one of them, you are received like honoured guests. People take hospitality seriously in Central Asia, especially in remote areas. When koumys - the national drink made from mare’s milk - is offered, it would be frowned upon to refuse. Consider it a family experience.
See and do - Walk to meet local herders; taste the various traditional foods on offer; head to the other side of the lake to confirm that the south shore really is best; hike on foot or on horseback, the kirghiz way.
Optional - Horseback ride.
Optional, before departure - Demonstration of traditional equestrian games.
Depart from Lake Song Kul to return to the capital. The vehicle tackles a winding mountain track before rejoining the main road towards Bishkek. For the full 200 miles (300 km), it's a curious descent towards endless horizons - as if giving you time to say goodbye to the semi-nomadic life. In the capital, you return to your arrival hotel for your final night in the country. The loop is complete.
Private transfer to the airport and international return flight.
This suggested itinerary can be customisable down to the smallest detail, including duration, stops and content. An à la carte menu of experiences is also available to create a journey that reflects who you are.
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