9-day south region
Day 1. Osh
Welcome to Kyrgyzstan! This tour officially starts today in Osh. It is advised to arrive the day before the tour starts, so that you will have plenty of time to acclimatise, rest after a day of traveling, and stroll around the city a little if you wish. You will be welcomed tomorrow by your guide and get to know the rest of your group. There will be a briefing about the tour and room for questions before you leave the hotel.
After breakfast, there is a city tour planned, to explore the highlights of the city: a vibrant Osh bazaar, Sulaiman Too mountain, a place that is considered sacred since ancient times, a museum situated in a cave, and some other interesting spots in the city.
Accommodation: hotel
Meals included: dinner
Issyk Kyl, Kyrgyzstan
Son Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan
Apple and pear season at the local market, Karakol region
Day 4. Arstanbap
From the yurt camp, we will return to Osh (again another drive of approx. 5). We will have stop for lunch at a local café to enjoy a renowned local cuisine.
Arstanbap is the biggest natural walnut forest in the world. Once we arrive, we will check-in to one of the guest houses, hosted by a local family, who will cook a lovely for us.
Accommodation: shared room in guest house
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5. Arstanbap
Today we will enjoy the area of Arstanbap. Firstly, we will visit a big waterfall. The first part of the road is covered with a Russian 4x4 called UAZ, a scenic and bumpy ride through the village to the mountains, where we start a short but steep hike to have a wonderful view of the big waterfall.
Once we return to the village, we will go for a horse ride (for approx. 2-3 hours), to enjoy the tranquility of the natural walnut forests.
We will end the day by a visit to a small waterfall situated inside the village.
Accommodation: shared room in a guesthouse
Hiking distance: approx. 2 km
Difficulty level: moderate, steep at times
Elevation gain: +280 m
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 6. Sary Chelek
We will drive from Arstanbap to Sary Chelek. We will reach Arkyt village first. We can either choose to go for a horse ride or a challenging hike to have a panorama view of the area and of the village.
We will drive further to Sary Chelek after this and check-in to our next welcoming guesthouse for a delicious meal and some free time.
Accommodation: shared room in a guesthouse
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 2. Achyk Tash (Lenin Peak Base Camp)
After having a delicous breakfast, we will leave Osh to Achyk Tash valley, situated at 3500 m. This long, but scenic drive will take approx. 5 hours.
When we will arrive in this beautiful mountainous region, we will have a walk in the area to enjoy magnificent views.If you wish, you can hike to panorama point – a breathtaking view of numerous mountain lakes of Tulpar Kul.
Accommodation: shared room in a yurt camp
Hiking level: hard
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3. Lenin Peak Base Camp
Today we are going to have day hike to Lenin peak base camp to get a glimpse on the second highest peak of Kyrgyzstan, a summit of 7134 m. We continue further and will reach Traveler’s Pass (4100 m), where we get an amazing view of its surroundings. After the hike, we will return to the yurt camp, where we will have a delicious local meal and stay the night.
Accommodation: shared room in a yurt camp
Hiking distance: approx. 19 km
Difficulty level: challenging (with high altitude and an ascent of 700m)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7. Sary Chelek
We will go on a day trip to the incredible Sary Chelek lake, a pearl of the southern regions of Kyrgyzstan, situated in a National Park with lush vegetation. We will see a system of mountain lakes situated in the proximity and we can climb a mountain from where we can get a glimpse of five lakes and the whole National Park. This hike is challenging but very, very rewarding.
Accommodation: guesthouse in Arkyt village
Hike distance: approx. 18 km
Difficulty level: moderate/hard
Elevation gain: +850 m approx.
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 8. Suusamyr
From Arkyt village, we will have another long, scenic drive via scenic Osh-Bishkek highway to Suusamyr – a high alpine valley situated at 3000m and higher, a place that is used as a summer pasture by nomads. There are very beautiful roads, several mountain passes that we will see on our way. We will have photo stops an lunch on our way. Once we arrive in Suusamyr, you will have some free time to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
Accommodation: shared room in a guesthouse
Driving distance: 6:30 hours
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 9. Bishkek
From Suusamyr we will drive via Too Ashuu pass (3200 m) and a tunnel that goes through a mountain (3 km). We will drive on serpentine roads and along breathtaking views.
Then, we will arrive to our final destination; Bishkek, the capital city of Kyrgyzstan. Once we arrive, we will check-in to the hotel and have a short city tour to see its highlights.
Accommodation: hotel
Hour of driving: approx. 4 hours
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
