Kyrgyzstan Sample Itinerary: Independent Tours

Kyzyl-Art Border Point  – Lenin Peak – Osh Town – Kazarman Village – Song-Köl Lake – Burana Tower – Bishkek 

Day 1:  Cross the border point “Kyzyl-Art” from Tajikistan.  The driver will meet you and take you to Lenin Peak Base camp.  Arrival in the base camp of Lenin Peak, 3 600 meters ASL. There are other camps at 4,400 meters and 5,300 meters. Accommodation in tent. Dinner at base camp.  (Lunch not included)

Day 2:  You can trek around the base camp. Peak Petrovskiy is a nearby landmark at 4,800 meters ASL. Accommodation in tent. Dinner at base camp.

Day 3: Transfer to Osh (around 5 hours).  Afternoon city tour of Osh, a town which is 3,000 years old. Visit the sacred Sulaiman-Too (Prophet Solomon’s mountain) and Osh bazaar, one of Central Asia’s largest open-air markets. Lunch at café. Dinner at local café. (meals not included)

Day 4: After breakfast leave for Kazarman Village (6-7 hour drive). Visit Uzgen Tower en route. Lunch en route.  Afternoon arrival in Kazarman Village. Dinner and overnight stay in a local home stay.

Day 5: After breakfast leave for the Song-Köl Lake (3,600 meters ASL) via Moldo-Bel Pass (around 6 hour drive). Lunch en route. Afternoon arrival and welcome by your host family of shepherds. Dinner and overnight stay in a yurt.

Day 6: Spend the day at the lakeside. Watch and/or participate in the everyday life of the shepherds: milking mares; making traditional Kyrgyz milk products like kymyz (a fermented mare’s milk) or airan (a sour, dense milk product); tending cattle. Optional: horse riding or trekking around. Meals and overnight stay in a yurt.

Day 7: Breakfast. Leave for Bishkek town (about 300 km, 6-hour drive). On the way, visit the Burana Tower architectural complex (10-11th century, an important point on the Great Silk Road), 15km from the main road. Arrive in Bishkek, hotel accommodation. Short city tour of Bishkek. Farewell dinner.

Day 8: Check out of hotel at 4:00. Transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

Sample pricing based on 2 persons:

$1385 per person

Included:

• All accommodation in single rooms
  • Garden Hotel in Bishkek
  • Classic Hotel in Osh
  • Homestay in Kazarman
  • Yurt camp at Son Kol
• All meals other than those specified in the itinerary
• Transport according to the itinerary
• Entrance fees
• English speaking escort guide
• Mountain guide at Peak Lenin on Day 2

Excluded:

• Local trekking or horseback guide at Son Kol
• Meals as listed in the itinerary
• Optional activities or activities outside of the program
• Flight Bishkek to Tashkent to Tashkent
• Travel insurance

All treks are day treks so you can decide exactly what you do or don’t want to do at each point. If you have a local guide they’ll help with this as well. The camp at Peak Lenin Base Camp is set-up for two months, and the yurts at Son Kol for four months, so everything is semi-permanent and you can just carry what you need for the day.