Practical answers to the questions travellers ask before a trip to Kyrgyzstan: where to go, when to go, and what it takes to get there. Every guide lists its sources and the month it was last checked.
New to Kyrgyzstan? Start with when to go. Then pick a destination, or come back to the practical detail once you have dates.
Planning
Jyrgalan in February
Season by season and month by month: when Song-Kul's yurt camps are open, when high passes clear, what May and October are good for, and when to come for freeride.
Lake
Song-Kul
How to reach Kyrgyzstan's best-known high lake, when the yurt camps are open, what a night in a yurt is actually like, and what to pack.
Trek
Ala-Kul lake
The classic hike from the Karakol valley over the Ala-Kul pass to the Altyn-Arashan hot springs: stages, altitudes, altitude sickness, season, fees and whether you need a guide.
Photo: Калачев Сергей · CC BY 3.0
Border zone
Kel-Suu lake
How the border-zone permit works and how long it takes, the route from Naryn to the Kok-Kiya yurt camps, and how many days the lake really needs.
Song-Kul
Song-Kul weather week by week, June to September: night lows, frost, rain and snow from 10 years of NASA data, adjusted to lake level.
