Kol Ukok lake is an underrated but stunning turquoise lake sitting in a bowl of mountains not far from Kochkor town. It's far less visited than the more famous Song Kul Lake or Issyk Kul Lake, so I highly recommend this as a more authentic experience in Kyrgyzstan.

The lake sits at 3,000m in a valley, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and grassy slopes filled with animals grazing during the summer season. It’s relatively easy to reach Kol Ukok from Kochkor, with a dirt road running directly up the valley to the lake’s shore. This makes it an easy add-on to any Kyrgyzstan itinerary.

At the lake, you'll find just a handful of yurt camps there if you want to spend the night. This offers the chance to then be able to explore around the lake, with a wonderful day hike to a higher alpine lake a worthwhile excursion.

How to get there? Kol Ukok lake is located about 20km southeast of Kochkor town via a dirt road. There's no public transport to the lake. You can reach the lake on foot, on horseback or by car (4x4 recommended).

Hiking to the lake: A common way for budget travellers to reach Kol Ukok is on foot, which is what we did. Typically you take a taxi to the edge of town at a bridge. This saves you about 7km of walking. From there, it's a 14.5km walk on the dirt road up to the lake. Keep in mind it's uphill and exposed with no facilities along the way.

How much time to spend at the lake? It makes for an easy day trip from Kochkor if you travel by car, however, I really recommend spending at least a night at the lake if you can. We stayed two nights, which allowed us to also complete the day hike to the next lake, Kol Tor.

Camping Kol Ukok lake: There are currently three small yurt camps at Kol Ukok. The dirt road leading to the lake ends at the camps, so it’s not hard to find them. These are small scale yurt camps with only about 3-5 yurts each, so it feels much more homely and authentic than other places in Kyrgyzstan. We stayed at Yurt Camp Cholponai and paid for a bed, dinner and breakfast for two nights. You can also wild camp on the lake shore, this is free but you have to be fully self sufficient, although you can also purchase a meal from the yurt camps too.

See the separate pin/entry for more information on the day hike to Kol Tor from Kol Ukok!