A horse trek to Song-Kul, walks around Karakol and the mountains below Peak Lenin are the main stops on this twelve-day Kyrgyzstan route.

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Full Central Asia itinerary

Itinerary

Day 1 Bishkek

Bishkek is flat, wide, and rather uninspiring. The small centre was still under construction in parts.

Walk around Ala-Too Square and visit the State History Museum for Soviet and nomadic history. The other big visit is the Central Mosque, built in an Ottoman style.

The hostel I went in was Apple Hostel Bishkek. There were plenty of other travellers, hikers and backpackers to meet, and I spent the evening chatting and exchanging travel tips.

Day 2 Ala-Archa National Park

I left Bishkek early for Ala-Archa National Park, south of the city.

The half-day hike passed through pine forest and steep valleys, following streams and small waterfalls. There were rocky sections and mountain streams to cross.

I found the bus on Yandex. Bus 1 serves the park; its city route now runs along Akhunbaev, Pudovkin, Tokombaev and Baytik Baatyr streets. The municipality’s route notice gives the revised streets, but does not confirm a service all the way from the gate to the hiking trails.

Day 3 Kyzart to Song-Kul

Three days at Song-Kul, on horseback, sleeping in yurts.

We left Bishkek early and drove through the valleys and mountain passes to Kyzart. After lunch, we were given horses and attached our bags before riding out.

The trek crossed rivers and ridges, with steep climbs before the open plateau. The temperature dropped from about 30°C to 10°C as we climbed.

We slept in a shared yurt.

Day 4 Song-Kul

The ride continued across the plateau, with steeper climbs around the ridges and open plains for galloping. There were herds of horses and cattle around us, and we rode beside the lake. We spent a second night in a yurt.

Day 5 Song-Kul to Karakol

On the final day, we descended to the village.

It was my first multi days hike on a horse, it was truly something. I hate horses, but someone roped me into going, so I spent three days on a fart machine that did whatever he wanted. Great!

From Kyzart, I shared a taxi with six other travellers heading to Karakol. Road construction made the trip last around seven hours, and we arrived late in the evening.

My trek was booked separately. this three-day Song-Kul trip with a yurt stay and horse riding (affiliate link) includes a shorter horse ride and a yurt stay, rather than the three days on horseback I did.

Day 6 Karakol

Karakol sits between Lake Issyk-Kul and the Tian Shan mountains.

Walk around the centre for the Russian-style wooden houses, the Dungan Mosque and the Tatar Mosque. The bazaar is built from shipping containers, and there are Dungan-Chinese restaurants around town.

It’s the most beautiful city of Kyrgyzstan, probably because it’s a Russian/dungan city. I really appreciated the abundance of Dungan food.

The cafés had plenty of Russian and European visitors. There are also beaches on Issyk-Kul outside town, if you have more time here.

Day 7 Jeti-Ögüz

On a Sunday, begin at Karakol’s animal market. Cows, horses and sheep are brought in and traded there.

(Do it when it’s a sunday, if it’s not, spend more time around Jeti Ogyuz, there are nice hikes in the area)

I then took a minibus towards Jeti-Ögüz, followed by a shared taxi for the final stretch, around 1,50€.

Ask for Jeti Oguz Kurort (Resort), only a handful of buses go there, and not year round, seemingly not everyday either.

The red cliffs are beside the resort. From there, the walk goes into the alpine valley and up to a viewpoint. I found the viewpoint trail less exciting, but the scenery was still beautiful.

I hitchhiked back to Karakol because there was no minibus when I needed one, arriving around 17:00.

Day 8 Altyn Arashan

I took an early minibus from Karakol bazaar towards Ak-Suu, then started the walk into Altyn Arashan.

The first hour was muddy and under construction, with old water pipes along the route. Farther up, we followed the river through pine forest and grey rocky valleys, with horses grazing nearby.

The hike took around eight hours. We reached the yurt camp in the rain and found rather more development than the photos online had suggested.

But so worth it!! When you look up pictures of Kyrgyzstan online, you’ll often see the Altyn Arashan valley. Now it’s crowded with camps, yurts, tourists and booming infrastructure, but you can still find nice spots, especially going further.

Russian jeeps were also taking visitors up the valley, around 20€ per person.

If you’re lazy, you can use a car to go up or down. They ask for 40€ or something similar.

We missed the last minibus on the way back and hitchhiked part of the return.

Day 9 Trip to Osh

From Karakol, I took a six-hour minibus to Bishkek, then a twelve-hour overnight cargo bus to Osh. It was hot, and there was constant honking on the mountain roads.

There is no real night bus to Osh. At least not in 2025. Go to the market and find a Cargo Bus

It’s at the “Kerben section” of the Dordoi market says people online. I haven’t found this Kerben thing, but I went where cargo bus were loaded and found one leaving to Osh, I was allowed to seat behind the drivers. The whole night was seated with a family of four across a single row. Ouch. It was around 20€ for the privilege.

I arrived the following morning.

Day 10 Osh & Pamir Highway Start

Osh felt more Uzbek than Bishkek or Karakol, but surprisingly modern: bubble tea, ice cream, pizza and bars. Parts of the city were under reconstruction.

The sacred mountain didn’t impress me. Don’t waste time there it’s essentially just a starting point to the Pamir Highway or to Peak Lenin.

I joined a seven-day jeep trip from Osh to Dushanbe, through Gorno-Badakhshan. After the briefing, we left through the dry mountains between the Fergana and Alay valleys.

this ten-day, nine-night Pamir Highway tour from Dushanbe (affiliate link) is a ten-day round trip from Dushanbe, with both the southern and northern corridors. It differs from my one-way trip, and I did not use that company.

Day 11 Tulpar-Kul

The drive climbed to around 3 500 m, passing villages and rivers below the red mountains. We stayed in yurts near Tulpar-Kul, with views of Peak Lenin and its glaciers.

Day 12 Peak Lenin

With my group we spent one evening and a morning there, we did a small hike and enjoyed the red and green mountains as well as the multi colored lakes. Honestly, one of Kyrgyzstan’s prettiest area.

More days? Planned vs Done

What I had planned around Bishkek

My original plan included Burana Tower and Ala-Archa National Park as outings from Bishkek. Then I went horse riding with my friend Sofianos instead. I still reached Ala-Archa, but did not visit Burana.

Burana is a separate day trip east of Bishkek. Take a marshrutka to Tokmok, then arrange the return transfer to the tower. The Bishkek tourism department describes this route but does not list a direct bus to Burana. An accommodation-arranged driver can cover the Tokmok–Burana section, including the wait during your visit.

Naryn

The Naryn area has mountain scenery and routes towards Tash Rabat. I did not go, so I cannot give you much firsthand information.

Should you go to Osh?

Osh was useful to me because it is the main departure point for the Pamir Highway. Otherwise, I would skip it. Go onward towards Uzbekistan, return towards Kazakhstan, or spend those very long transport hours elsewhere in Kyrgyzstan. The city itself did not justify my cargo-bus night.

Kyrgyzstan is often combined with Kazakhstan through Almaty. Work is underway to widen busy sections of the Almaty–Bishkek road.

You may hear predictions of a future two-hour connection: I know the place well, it will take time. A lot of time. But the road is indeed planned.