Destinations / Asia & Middle East
Put together personally by Yari SteennotSpeciality
Kyrgyzstan
Yurts, horses and heavenly mountains: nomad country in summer, at your own pace
Brochure not opening? Email me and I will send it to you.
My recommended route: an active private trip through the Tien Shan, the Heavenly Mountains. Hike in Ala-Archa and to the Altyn-Arashan hot springs, travel around vast Lake Issyk-Kul and ride horses at Song-Kul, sleeping in yurts with herding families. You choose: a 4x4 with a private driver, or driving a rental 4x4 yourself.
Highlights
- Two nights in a yurt at mountain lake Song-Kul (3,016 m)
- Horse riding across alpine pastures with a local horseman, beginners welcome
- Hiking to the Altyn-Arashan hot springs
- The red rocks of Jeti-Oguz and Skazka canyon
- Eagle hunter and felt makers: living nomad heritage
- Ala-Archa National Park near Bishkek
- The vast Lake Issyk-Kul, with a private driver or driving your own 4x4
Day by day in the brochure (PDF)
For information only, not an offer yet
What I will arrange for you after launch
You travel, I arrange everything. You travel privately: no group and no fixed guide tagging along.
- Airport pickup and the transfer on your last day; the details are in the brochure.
- All hotels and guesthouses, booked in advance at the level you choose: Budget, Comfort or Premium.
- Transport on the ground: a rental car waiting for you (self-drive) or a private driver and private transfers. Domestic flights and trains where that makes sense.
- The activities and entrance fees on the route. Prefer a guide? I can add a local guide to any activity.
- Breakfast, and the meals at remote places with no alternative (such as a safari lodge, desert camp or yurt camp). For the other meals I give you my restaurant recommendations, but you choose completely freely where you eat.
- A personal intake, at your home or by video.
- A WhatsApp line with me, before and during your trip, and my personal 24/7 number.
- A call-back after your trip.
- Your international flight: after launch I will also book your flight for you. Prices on the site exclude the flight.
Travel whenever you like
Your dates are completely free: there are no fixed departure dates, you leave on the day that suits you. My recommended route takes 15 days. Shorter or longer is possible too; I adapt the route.
This is advice, not a rule. If you want to travel in another month, I tell you honestly what to expect (rain, heat, crowds) and adapt the route.
Price by level and transport
You choose the level of your hotels and how you get around. Same route, same care; only the hotels and the transport differ.
Estimated prices per person, based on 2 travellers, excl. international flight. Travelling solo, count on a supplement of roughly 84%. With four travellers the price per person drops by roughly 28%.
If you are interested, I am happy to send you the hotel guide with all the addresses.
More about self-drive and the private driver on this route
Self-drive
Self-drive is possible, and it is an adventure for keen, experienced drivers. You get a sturdy 4x4 with full insurance, delivered to and collected from your hotel in Bishkek (round trip, so no one-way fee), with offline maps and a satellite communicator. Fuel is paid locally (indicative price ± €200 per vehicle for the whole route; there are no toll roads). The main roads are tarmac, but the passes to and from Song-Kul (Kalmak-Ashuu and Moldo-Ashuu) are gravel roads above 3,300 m with hairpins, livestock on the road and few signposts. Traffic drives on the right; bring your Belgian licence and an International Driving Permit. The track to Altyn-Arashan is done on foot or in the 6x6 truck. The outing to Jyrgalan on day 8 (approx. 1h15, the last stretch on a good gravel road) is an easy drive on a public road the rental contract allows; like the Altyn-Arashan track, the Karakol gorge beyond the last bridge and the Ak-Suu gorge beyond the sanatorium are off limits for rental cars. In doubt? Choose the private driver.
Private driver
With the private driver you have one regular, experienced Kyrgyz driver with a 4x4 from day 3 to day 14; fuel and his board and lodging are included. He knows the passes, the yurt camps and the families along the way, and stops wherever you like. Most drivers speak Russian and basic English: if you want more explanation somewhere, a local guide can join, and I am reachable by WhatsApp. On your riding day at Song-Kul he stays at the camp.
Flight & price
After launch I will also book your flight for you. The prices on this page exclude the international flight.
Return flight Brussels–Bishkek not included: allow about € 480–850 p.p. depending on the month (June is usually cheaper than July). After launch I will find you the best flight with your proposal.
Indicative price (estimate) per person based on 2 travellers, excl. international flight. This is not an offer: nothing is being sold yet. Indicative price (estimate), not an offer. In high season the price can be higher, in low season lower. All prices are indicative estimates, not an offer. Nothing is being sold yet; after launch you receive a no-obligation proposal with the price of that moment.
Travelling responsibly
Kyrgyzstan is a model of community-based tourism: you stay with host families and herding families and we work with local drivers, horsemen, host families and a women's felt cooperative, so money goes straight to the villages. Yurt camps follow a carry-out-all-waste rule. Self-drivers stay on existing tracks to protect the fragile high pastures.