8 Must Do Activities and Experiences in Kyrgyzstan

If you’re looking for the bucket list experiences and the must do activities in Kyrgyzstan, this is the ultimate list. If you manage to tick off all of these on your trip, then it’ll be one hell of an adventure!

Here’s what I recommend as the best activities in Kyrgyzstan:

Horse Trek to Song Kul

This has become the most viral image of Kyrgyzstan thanks to social media. Videos of galloping along Song Kul lake has fast become the absolute top experience in the country, and even though I was a little sceptical, it does live up to the hype.

Song Kul is a remote lake in the Naryn region south of Bishkek. At an elevation 3,000m, it’s a beautiful lake surrounded by mountain ranges and deep valleys where nomads have retreated with their livestock in the summer months.

While you can reach the lake by 4x4 or on foot, a horse trek is definitely the best way to do it. Horse treks leave daily from nearby Kyzart village to Song Kul lake and back over three days all summer long.

Most horse rides to the lake last from 3-4 days with a guide accompanying every group. While you don’t need horse riding experience, it’s definitely advantageous as the trail is steep in places and there are opportunities to gallop across open fields.

Along the way, you’ll stay in yurt camps, which are a cosy way to enjoy camping under the stars.

Read more in my complete guide here.

Hike to Travellers Pass

Travellers Pass is a high altitude pass on the climbing route to Lenin Peak in the Alay Mountains. While it still flies under the radar, I could make the case that it’s the best day hike in Kyrgyzstan.

The pass is the best way to get a close-up view of Peak Lenin on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, a mountain standing at 7,134m. It does take a bit of an effort to get there, which is why so many travellers don’t make it to southern Kyrgyzstan. But it’s incredibly rewarding if you have the time.

The hike begins from the yurt camps at Tulpar Lake, which is accessible from the village of Sary Mogul in southern Kyrgyzstan. You can reach Sary Mogul in a day from Osh.

The hike to Travellers Pass is a bit of a slog, reaching up to 4,200m. The trail gets steeper and steeper as you climb, with the final section appearing almost an impossible angle. However, with one foot in front of the other, you’ll get to the top.

The view is an incredible panorama of the Alay Mountains in the Pamir Mountain Range, with glaciers, rock layers, and snow-capped peaks in all directions.

Find more information in my complete guide here.

Do the 4 Day Ala Kul Trek

For hikers, this is a fantastic multi-day adventure that packs a lot of punch in just four days. The Ala Kul trek has become the most popular multi-day trek and for good reason. The 55-km one way hike from Karakol Valley to Ak-Suu village, takes you to Ala Kul lake and Altyn Arashan in a challenging few days walk.

Ala Kul is a magnificent sight. The alpine lake sitting at 3,500m is surrounded by a bowl of rugged mountains. It’s a very steep, tough trail for much of the hike though, with rocky trails, relentless climbs, and sketchy descents.

The trek typically takes 3-4 days to complete, although I recommend taking 4 days to really enjoy it. You can stay in yurts along the way, or carry all your own camping gear and wild camp along the trail anywhere you like.

I have a complete guide to the trek here.

Sleep in a Yurt

Yurts are the icon of Kyrgyzstan. The traditional tents have been used by nomads for generations, as they move to the mountains in the summer months with their livestock. Today, the yurts are also becoming one of the main drivers of tourism, allowing travellers to spend the night in some incredible places around the country.

Staying in a yurt is definitely a unique experience. Most offer comfortable beds, but you’ll still have to stay warm with layers and by sharing meals with your host in the communal dining tents.

There’s plenty of opportunities to stay in yurts. Yurt camps for tourists have been set up around the many lakes in the country and along popular trekking routes. They’re basically the equivalent to teahouses in Nepal!

I recommend staying in a yurt somewhere like Issyk Kul, Song Kul (on a horse trek), Tulpar Kol or Kol Ukok.

You can book some on Booking.com, although many are in locations without internet access. Try booking through local CBT offices (community-based tourism), or directly with yurt camp owners upon arrival.

Try Kyrgyz Local Food

Kyrgyzstan cuisine may not be the best in the world by a long shot, but it’s still an important part of exploring the country. It’s a very meat and wheat based diet, with noodles, dumplings, soup, and bread, being served along with beef, lamb or horse meat.

Surprisingly, fruit and vegetables are still plentiful, especially in summer.

I highly recommend trying Laghman (stiry fry noodles) or plov (one pot rice and meat dish).

Watch the Sunset from a Canyon

There plenty of canyons created by the natural folds of the mountain ranges in Kyrgyzstan. But the two most popular and incredibly beautiful canyons are on the south shore of Issyk Kul lake: Fairytale Canyon and Aksay Canyon.

Much more accessible that some other parts of the country, you can easily visit these canyons as side trips off the main road.

At their most beautiful at sunset, these canyons are really accentuated by the golden glow of the setting sun and long shadows. Fairytale Canyon is famed for its incredible rainbow of colours in the layers of rock, while Aksay Canyon wows with its rugged vein-like valleys spread across a mind-boggling landscape.

Read more about how to visit these canyons in my guide on Issyk Kul lake here.

Off-Road Journey to Kel Suu Lake

Kel Suu is considered the most beautiful place in Kyrgyzstan. The fluorescent blue lake sits beneath towering rocky cliffs that soar over 3,500m into the sky. Created by an earthquake, it’s one of nature’s incredible creations.

It’s a very remote place to reach and will take some time, but it only asdds to the adventure. The only road to get there is very rough, 4x4-only road. It passes through Kok Kiya Valley before reaching the lake, where you’ll find yurt camps to stay in before or after visiting the lake.

Most people join tours from Naryn which take in both Kel Suu and Tash Rabat Caravanserai in a 2-3 day round trip.

Note: You’ll need to obtain a border permit from the CBT Office in Naryn before you visit the lake as it’s in a sensitive location near the Chinese border.

Soak in Natural Hot Springs

There are a few places near Karakol in eastern Kyrgyzstan where you can enjoy a soak in natural sulphuric waters. The most famous place is Atyn Arashan, a village in a stunningly green valley, where you can stay in a guesthouse and enjoy their own private hot springs.

Just outside the village though is a free hot spring down near the river (find the pin on the map!). I highly recommend heading here, as it’s an incredible spot with two tiny pools filled by naturally hot water coming from the mountains.

You can also head to Ak Suu, a village a bit closer to Karakol. Here, there is a hot spring resort which offers a more comfortable way to experience the same sulphuric baths. They have outdoor pools, plus showers, change rooms and more.