Kyrgyzstan, a country you may not have heard of before or know where it actually is on the map (don't worry, I was the same), but I can assure you that this country is a must-see for yourself to believe that nature like this exists, and also before it changes due to the rising number of tourists in the country.
What is so special about Kyrgyzstan? Think Switzerland, but without the tourists, the Alps, without the high cost, and Mongolia without a long flight time. Basically, the entire country is off the beaten path. Within this post, I will guide you through the country, provide suggestions on where to go, and what to see in this small country in Central Asia.
Kyrgyzstan Itinerary Map
Quick Summary
| ☀️ Day 1-4: | Bishkek |
|---|---|
| ☀️ Day 5-8: | Karakol |
| ☀️ Day 9: | Kadji Say |
| ☀️ Day 10-11: | Kochkor and Song Kul |
| ☀️ Day 12-13: | Osh |
| ☀️ Day 14-15: | Arslanbob |
| ☀️ Day 16-17: | Sary Chelek |
3 Weeks Kyrgyzstan Itinerary
Day 1 - 4: Bishkek (5 nights)
- 📍 Stay: Madison Ave Hotel Bishkek
- 🕐 Time: 5 nights
- 📖 Full Guide: Top 10 Things to Do in Bishkek
Bishkek is the perfect base to launch yourself into many of the mountains surrounding this capital city. First, spend the day walking around the city, checking out the many brutalist architectures like the Manas statues and Ala Too Square. You can get a free audio walking tour app here to learn more about the city's top attractions.
Looking for a place to take a break? Drop by Sierra Cafe to have a nice coffee. At night, if you are interested in experiencing the party scene, do check out No Name Bar for a nice beer or Tuman for a crazy psychedelic trance club. If you are looking for a rooftop bar, check out Bar 12.
The next day, go on a day trip to Ala Archa National Park with an organized tour and hike the valley along the river to immerse yourself in the amazing nature the country has to offer. The national park is only 30 minutes away from the city, so you can easily do it in a day.
- Highlights of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan (9 days)
- Kyrgyzstan's Silk Road Journey (14 days)
- Walking in Kyrgyzstan (9 days)
The third day, take another taxi or a marshrutka towards Issyk Kul lake and drop off at Konorchek canyon and start hiking. The Konorchek canyon is considered a hidden gem since not many people know where it actually is. If you decide to hike the canyon, you will be rewarded with this beautiful orange landscape, a good change from the green you saw in Ala Archa National Park.
You can also visit Konorchek Canyon and Burana Tower, another remnant of the Ancient Silk Road, all in one day with a Konorchek Canyon & Burana Tower 1-day tour, which will save you a ton of trouble trying to manage your way around marshrutkas here.
The fourth day, take a marshrutka towards the town of Tokmok and, when you arrive, get a taxi to the Burana Tower and spend an hour there, climbing the tower and appreciating the surroundings. The trip should take half a day. Spend the last half of the day chilling out in the city and enjoy a selection of proper Kyrgyz food at Navat or Cafe Faiza.
Day 5 - 8: Karakol (4 nights)
- 📍 Stay: Madanur Hotel
- 🕐 Time: 4 nights
- 📖 Full Guide: how I trekked the Ala Kul trail in 2 days with a daypack
Karakol is where you start one of the most epic treks you can do in the Issyk Kul region: the Ala Kul trek. The trek will take you around 3 days of hiking, starting from Karakol Valley and ending in Altyn Arashan. So, spend your first day preparing for the trek by buying supplies, etc.
If you are there in the main trekking season, roughly from late June through September, seasonal yurt camps and other services may be operating along parts of the Ala-Kul route. Availability changes from year to year and with the weather, though, so confirm what is open in Karakol before setting out and do not assume you can hike without your own shelter, food, or emergency supplies.
The trail can be quite tricky to navigate since there aren't many signs along the trail, but I have a solution for you. Get Maps.me app and save the region offline. This will come in handy when you are at an intersection and you don't know which trail to take. The app will give you a quite accurate general direction you can take. Be careful as it is not uncommon to see people taking the wrong trail and wasting precious hours of daylight.
It is a tough trail that takes you up some crazy steep mountains and lots and lots of uphill in a few hours, so prepare accordingly.
That said, the view up on the pass (3,860 m) is one of the best views you can get in Kyrgyzstan.
Day 9: Kadji Say (1 night)
- 📍 Stay: Legenda Health Resort
- 🕐 Time: 1 night
After a crazy trek, don't you wish you could chill out at a beach, dipping your tired feet in the water? Well, this is the place to be. Kadji Say is a small beachside town in a remote part of Issyk Kul. It is the best place to have a quiet evening watching the sun set behind the Tian Shan mountain range and listening to waves crashing on the second-largest high-mountain lake in the world.
The next day, you can take a taxi to Fairy Tale Canyon and hike around the beautiful, jagged terrain for a few hours. You will see why it is named that when you get there.
Where to Stay in Kadji Say?
Day 10 - 11: Kochkor and Song Kul (2 nights)
- 📍 Stay: Traveller
- 🕐 Time: 2 nights
From Kadji Say, you can take a shared taxi to Kochkor, where you can start planning your trip to Song Kul Lake. There are a few options for you to get to Song Kul Lake. You can either go with one of the tourism organizations like CBT (Community Based Tourism) and Shepherd's Life, or you can go on this 2-day Song Kul Lake organized tour.
I chose the Shepherd's Life because they were one of the more affordable options I found, and I had a wonderful time with them. The transportation is not inexpensive because you are ascending up to 3000m through a desert-like landscape, so don't be surprised when you see the cost. However, I can assure you that it was definitely worth the price.
Where to Stay in Kochkor?
Where to Stay in Song Kul?
Day 12 - 13: Osh (2 nights)
- 📍 Stay: Asman Guest House
- 🕐 Time: 2 nights
From Kochkor, you can take a marshrutka back to Bishkek and either take an overnight bus or a flight to Osh. Osh is like a different country compared to Bishkek due to the number of Uzbeks living in that region. Spend one full day hiking the Sulayman Hill and enjoying all the tasty food they have in the city while paying half the price you would in Bishkek.
Day 14 - 15: Arslanbob (2 nights)
- 📍 Stay: CBT Arslanbap
- 🕐 Time: 2 nights
From Osh, you can travel to Arslanbob by marshrutka or shared transport. When I was there, there was a 2 PM marshrutka running, but that may have since changed, so I recommend you inquire with your accommodation before setting off. When you arrive, the CBT office is a useful place to ask about homestays and local hiking. Spend your full day here hiking to the waterfalls near the village; the trails can be tricky to navigate, so download an offline map before setting out.
Where to Stay in Arslanbob?
Day 16 - 17: Sary Chelek (2 nights)
- 📍 Stay: CBT Karasuu
- 🕐 Time: 2 nights
Sary Chelek is a beautiful biosphere reserve, and within the reserve, there is a stunning lake tucked away in the Chatkal mountains. Here, you can camp and experience nature at its best, with far fewer visitors than Kyrgyzstan's main tourist hubs.
Getting from Arslanbob to Sary Chelek is still one of the trickier transport legs in this itinerary. The old combination of buses via Jalal-Abad, Tash-Komur, and Kara-Jigat followed by a 25 km hitchhike to Arkyt is too unreliable to treat as a fixed route today. Public transport in this part of the country can change seasonally, so ask your accommodation or CBT contact in Arslanbob or Jalal-Abad for the current connections. If you are short on time, arranging a shared car or driver to Arkyt is the safer planning option.
Another option is to arrange transportation with CBT if you have enough people to share the cost with. This is definitely a much easier and more convenient option than taking multiple marshrutkas.
Where to Stay in Sary Chelek?
BONUS Tip: Start your trip to the Pamir Highway (8 days)
- 🕐 Time: Day Trip
- 📖 Full Guide: 8 Days Pamir Highway Itinerary
If you are planning to do the Pamir Highway, Osh is the best place to start planning your trip. I was able to find a bunch of other people to share the cost of the jeep through this Caravanistan Forum.
Kyrgyzstan Travel Video
Why Visit Kyrgyzstan?
Kyrgyzstan has some of the best mountains and countless alpine lakes in Central Asia. You can trek, ride horses, or spend some time with nomadic families in traditional yurts. There is something for all types of travelers here.
When To Visit Kyrgyzstan?
For this particular itinerary, which includes high-altitude trekking and Song Kul, July and August are the most straightforward months because the high passes are usually most accessible and seasonal yurt camps and tourism services are most likely to be operating.
June and September can also be excellent, with fewer visitors, but snow and cold weather are more likely to affect high passes. Always check current trail and road conditions before heading into the mountains.
How to Get to Kyrgyzstan?
Most international travelers arrive through Bishkek's Manas International Airport. Be sure to browse through Skyscanner or Expedia before comparing prices so that you will get the cheapest flight possible. Osh also has its own airport and can be useful if your wider Central Asia route starts or ends in southern Kyrgyzstan.
How To Get Around Kyrgyzstan?
Marshrutkas and shared taxis remain important for traveling between towns in Kyrgyzstan, especially on routes without convenient flights. Departures and pickup points can change, and some services leave when enough passengers have arrived rather than following a rigid timetable. Ask your accommodation or the local bus station for the current departure point and allow extra time for mountain-road journeys.
Within Bishkek and Osh, taxis are easy to find, and app-based ride services like YandexGO are generally more convenient than negotiating a fare with a driver on the street. Shared taxis are still useful for some intercity routes.
For traveling between Bishkek and Osh, flying is by far the fastest option, with multiple domestic services operating the route. Road transport is much slower because it has to cross the mountains, but it can be useful if you want to see more of the countryside or keep costs down.
Daily Budget
This place is quite affordable compared to all the other countries in the world. If you are planning a trip here, you can expect to spend around $25 - $45 USD per day per person, which should include accommodation and three meals.
Please keep in mind that these are suggested daily budgets based on my own style of travel, which leans more towards the budget side of things. If you aim to stick to this budget, anticipate sleeping in dormitories, dining out only occasionally, and being comfortable with the cheapest and most convenient modes of transportation, which often involve a considerable amount of walking.
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25 Comments
graet trip
Thank you! :)
I would like to something about the marshrutka from Osch to arslanbob. Where is the station the marshrutka is leaving?
Hey Dan,
To get a direct marshrutka from Osh to Arslanbob, you will have to go to the New Bus Station which is located a little out of town, Southeast corner of Lenin Av and Osmonova St. Search for "Oshskiy Avtovokzal" on Google Maps and you should be able to get the location.
One thing to note is that from what I gather a year ago, there is only one direct marshrutka that runs at 2PM and arrives late at night but that may change so be sure to ask your guesthouse for more info. There is also an indirect option that requires you to change marshrutka at Jalal Abad and Bazaar Korgo before getting a taxi to Arslanbob. It's not the most direct and can take an entire day but if gives you the flexibility of time.
To come back to Osh from Arslanbob, there is a direct bus early in the morning at 6AM ish or you can do the indirect route as well.
I hope this information helps you out on your journey!
Safe Travel!
Hey Pete,
I've been looking into some travel blogs for Kyrgyzstan recently, yours is by far the most helpful!
Do you think it is possible to travel this country without speaking fluent Russian?
I guess in order to prepare a trip I would at least learn the basics, but I doubt I'll be able to communicate much more than my name etc.
Thanks again for this amazing blog,
hope to see some updates ;)
Hey Kon,
Thank you for the kind words! :) I'm glad you find the article useful. To answer your question, no, you do not need to be fluent in English to travel to these countries. I know 2 languages, Thai and English and I survived most of these countries with either English or hand signs :) Most people who work in the tourism industry do know how to speak English but if not, you can always ask for help from those who do speak English, like people working in a hostel/hotels etc. I got my ATM card eaten at the airport and managed to get it back by asking for help from the hostel receptionist/a friend. :)
People are very friendly there so no need to worry, they will try their best to help you. :)
I hope this helps!
Hi Pete.
Wow, I was trying to find some helpful blog on Kyrgyzstan and so glad I found yours. So informative!!!!
Would you mind if I asked whether you met many tourists along the way? and was it is easy to find shared taxis? or how did you go about finding a taxi to share with people?
Did you visit the Jyrgalan area? I've read that it also has many hikes.
For the above 3 week itinerary, is there an approximate amount of money you would need to have saved for this trip? You mention that the ride to Sog Kul lake was expensive.
Thank you!!!
Hey Ursula,
Thank you so much for the comment. :)
I did meet a lot of fellow travelers in Kyrgyzstan, usually in hub cities like Bishkek and Karakol and it's not so hard to find people to share a taxi with especially in the summer. I didn't visit Jyrgalan when I was there, but I heard they were doing a ton of renovation to hiking trails and infrastructure to support western tourists. They hired my friends there to help as well so I'm sure, by now, it's becoming more and more popular destination to visit. If you have the time, I would recommend you give Jyrgalan a go.
For the average cost, I would say around 25 - 50 USD per day with accommodation at around 5 - 10 USD per night (dorm), food is around 3 - 5 USD per meal, and transportation (shared minivan) around 5 - 15 USD depending on the distance. Of course, you won't be traveling everyday so you can deduct them out etc.
The most expensive part is the transportation, if you are planning to go to remote areas like Song Kul and you are alone as I did, it will be very very expensive. If you find people to share it with, it will definitely be cheaper. If you are in Bishkek, I would recommend staying at Interhouse hostel. That's where I met the most travelers and shared a few trips with, like Ala Archa national park and the Konorcheck Canyon.
I hope this helps! Enjoy your trip!
Hi Pete
Thanks for your big information its really helpful. I want to know with which companies you booked tours. Because in Kyrgyzstan so many tour companies. I want to use this company "Pegas Adventure" anyone used this company
Hey Jessica,
I did the trip independently and it was no trouble at all. I have no experience with Pegas Adventure so I can not say how good they are but they seems alright. I do have experience with Stantours though (travelled to Turkmenistan with them) and they are great. Also, for more information if you wish to do it by yourself, you can check out Caravanistan.com and their forums. There might be people who went with Pegas Adventure and they might be able to help you out.
I hope this helps!