Programme and details
Kyrgyzstan · 9 Days / 8 Nights · Private Tour
Kyrgyzstan in Summer from Tashkent
Tashkent – Bishkek – Kochkor – Song-Kul – Tash Rabat – Issyk-Kul – Karakol – Cholpon-Ata – Bishkek – Tashkent
In July, Bukhara averages 37 °C in the afternoon. At Song-Kul, a lake 3,016 m up in the Kyrgyz mountains, the average for the whole of July is 11 °C, and the herders’ yurts stand on grass that runs down to the water. Bishkek is an hour and ten minutes from Tashkent by air. In nine days you get two nights in a yurt camp at Song-Kul, the stone caravanserai of Tash Rabat and a loop around Issyk-Kul with eagle hunters, red rocks and the Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs.
| Duration | 9 days / 8 nights |
| Price | on request |
| Format | Private, or a small group on your dates |
| Where | Song-Kul, Tash Rabat, Lake Issyk-Kul and Karakol, Kyrgyzstan |
| Getting there | Flight Tashkent – Bishkek, about 1 h 10 min, then by car with driver |
| Season | Mid-June to mid-September, when the yurt camps are open |
Ideal for travellers who want cool mountain air after the summer heat of the Uzbek cities, and for anyone adding Kyrgyzstan to a trip to Uzbekistan.
Tash Rabat — a stone caravanserai with 31 rooms at 3,200 m, on the old caravan road to the Torugart pass.
Issyk-Kul — at 1,607 m, the second-largest mountain lake in the world, with eagle hunters on its south shore and about 2,000 petroglyphs on its north shore.
Itinerary
Day by Day
Day 1 · Tashkent – Bishkek — Arrival in Kyrgyzstan
The flight from Tashkent to Bishkek takes about an hour and ten minutes. At the airport your guide and driver meet you and take you to your hotel.
The rest of the day is free: a gentle start before the drive up to Song-Kul.
Good to know: We plan the first day around your flight times.
Overnight in Bishkek
Day 2 · Bishkek – Kochkor – Song-Kul — Felt carpets and the Kalmak-Ashuu pass
In the morning we drive to Kochkor, about 200 km from Bishkek. The village is known for shyrdak felt carpets, cut and stitched by hand; a women’s cooperative, Altyn Kol, “Golden Hands”, has worked here since the late 1990s. We stop at a felt workshop.
From Kochkor the shortest road to Song-Kul, about 90 km, climbs over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass at almost 3,500 m. Then the lake opens up at 3,016 m, and you settle into your yurt camp on the shore.
Good to know: Go slowly on your first day up, drink plenty of water and skip alcohol that evening.
Overnight in a yurt camp at Song-Kul
Day 3 · Song-Kul — A day on the summer pasture
Song-Kul is a mountain lake about 29 km long, and there are no permanent buildings on its shores, only summer yurts. In summer, herders bring their animals up to the jailoo, the high pasture, and live here until autumn.
The day goes at the pace of the pasture: a horse ride along the shore, a walk over the grass, and in the evening the herds coming in at dusk. If your hosts offer kymyz, fermented mare’s milk, take at least a sip. Part of the lake is a protected wetland for birds.
Good to know: Nights are cold even in July: pack a warm layer, a hat and a rain jacket.
Overnight in a yurt camp at Song-Kul
Day 4 · Song-Kul – Naryn – Tash Rabat — To the caravanserai on the road to China
We come down from the lake to Naryn and drive about 115 km on to Tash Rabat. The road is rough in places but fine in summer in a proper car.
Tash Rabat, “stone lodging”, stands at 3,200 m in a side valley of the At-Bashy district: a squat building of rubble stone set in clay, with 31 rooms under small domes. Historians date it to the 10th or the 15th century and still argue whether it began as a monastery. South of it lies the Torugart pass to China, the way the caravans went.
Overnight in a yurt camp near Tash Rabat
Day 5 · Tash Rabat – Issyk-Kul south shore — The longest drive of the trip
Today is the longest drive: back north past Naryn and Kochkor and down to Lake Issyk-Kul. We stop on the way whenever you want to stretch your legs.
Issyk-Kul lies at 1,607 m and is the second-largest mountain lake in the world. Its south shore is the quieter one, and the evening is yours by the water.
Overnight on the south shore of Issyk-Kul
Day 6 · Issyk-Kul south shore — Eagle hunters and the Skazka canyon
Around Bokonbaevo, eagle hunters, the berkutchi, show visitors their golden eagles: how the bird sits on the glove, how it is called back, how it strikes a lure. Real hunting is a winter affair, when prey has thick fur; in summer you see the training.
Then Skazka, the Fairy Tale canyon near the village of Tosor. Wind and water have cut the red and striped clay into walls, towers and dragons. The walk is short and easy.
Good to know: Ask before you photograph people.
Overnight on the south shore of Issyk-Kul
Day 7 · Jeti-Oguz – Karakol — Red rocks and two wooden landmarks
South-west of Karakol, the Jeti-Oguz valley opens with a ridge of red conglomerate, the Seven Bulls, and a cliff called the Broken Heart; the rocks have been protected since 1975. In summer the slopes below them are green, with spruce forest higher up.
Karakol, at the eastern end of the lake, is 380 km from Bishkek. The wooden Holy Trinity Cathedral was finished in 1895, after an earthquake destroyed the earlier stone church. In Soviet times it served as a school, a sports hall and a theatre, and in 1991 it was returned to the Church.
A few streets away stands the Dungan mosque, built for Chinese-speaking Muslims by an architect from Beijing and finished in 1910. It has 42 wooden pillars, a multi-tiered cornice carved with fruit and flowers, and not a single nail.
Good to know: The Dungan mosque is a working mosque, so dress modestly.
Overnight in Karakol
Day 8 · Karakol – Cholpon-Ata — The north shore and the petroglyphs
We drive along the north shore of Issyk-Kul, the beach side of the lake in summer, to Cholpon-Ata.
On the edge of the town lies a field of boulders with about 2,000 petroglyphs, carved between around 800 BC and 1200 AD. Most of them are ibex with long, swept-back horns. We come in the late afternoon, when the low sun makes the lines stand out.
Overnight in Cholpon-Ata
Day 9 · Burana – Bishkek – Tashkent — The Burana tower and the flight back
On the way back to Bishkek we stop at the Burana tower near Tokmok, about 80 km east of the capital. It is an 11th-century minaret of Balasagun, a city of the Karakhanids, part of the UNESCO Silk Roads site of the Chang’an–Tianshan corridor. It was once about 45 m tall; an earthquake in the 15th century left 25 m. A narrow staircase inside takes you to the top.
Around the tower stand balbals, stone grave markers of the Turkic nomads from the 6th to the 10th centuries. Then the airport in Bishkek and your flight to Tashkent, or onward home.
Accommodation
Where you stay
| Place | Stay |
|---|---|
| Bishkek | A comfortable hotel, 1 night |
| Song-Kul | A yurt camp on the shore, 2 nights |
| Tash Rabat | A yurt camp near the caravanserai, 1 night |
| Issyk-Kul, south shore | 2 nights |
| Karakol | A comfortable hotel, 1 night |
| Cholpon-Ata | A comfortable hotel, 1 night |
We confirm the hotels and yurt camps for your dates before booking.
Price
Price
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the size of your group, the language of the guide and the flights. We are finalising the programme details and confirm the times, the hotels and the route for your dates.
Good to know
Conditions
- Since 1 January 2026, citizens of 55 countries can enter Kyrgyzstan without a Entry rules depend on your passport. Once you are here, each stay must be registered within three days, and hotels do it for you; customs and registration rules are in our guide. Read more → for up to 30 days in any 60-day period; other passports use the official e-visa portal. Check the rules for your passport before booking, and we will check them with you.
- You re-enter Uzbekistan on the way back: if you travel on an Uzbek e-visa, it must be a double- or multiple-entry visa.
- Song-Kul is at 3,016 m, Tash Rabat at 3,200 m, and the passes on the way are higher. Tell us about any health conditions before booking.
- Pack for two climates: summer clothes for the Uzbek cities, and a fleece, a hat and a rain jacket for the mountains, where clouds build up fast.
- The yurt camps at Song-Kul and Tash Rabat work from mid-June to mid-September; the tour runs in that season.
- Programme details, times and accommodation are confirmed for your dates.
- Reservations are confirmed with passport copies only.
Cancellation policy
| Cancellation timing | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 21 days before the service | 20% |
| 20–7 days | 50% |
| 6–0 days | 100% |
🌿 Responsible tourism: we allocate part of our profits to good causes and are preparing for GSTC certification.
Expert opinion
Pluses
- Cool summer: July at Song-Kul averages 11 °C, while Bukhara is at 37 °C in the afternoon.
- Two nights at Song-Kul: a full day on the summer pasture at 3,016 m, with horses, herds and kymyz.
- The whole lake: eagle hunters and the Skazka canyon on the south shore, Karakol and Jeti-Oguz, the Cholpon-Ata petroglyphs on the north shore.
Minuses
- Altitude: Song-Kul is at 3,016 m, Tash Rabat at 3,200 m, and the Kalmak-Ashuu pass is almost 3,500 m.
- Long drives: the day from Tash Rabat to Issyk-Kul is the longest of the trip, partly on rough road.
- Short season: the yurt camps work only from mid-June to mid-September, and nights are cold even in July.
AroundCA numbers
How we counted
By the AroundCA programme: we count only what is written in the day-by-day programme of this tour. If the programme gives no figure, we show nothing.
- Hotel changes
- 5
Best time
Jul–Aug
July and August: the yurt camps are open all month, and Song-Kul averages about 11 °C in July while the Uzbek cities are hot.
A typical day
On day 3 you wake up in a yurt camp on the shore of Song-Kul, 3,016 m up. The day goes at the pace of the summer pasture: a horse ride along the shore, a walk over the grass, kymyz if your hosts offer it, and in the evening the herds coming in at dusk. A second night in the yurt follows.
What the price includes
What is included
- Meeting at Bishkek airport and the transfer back for your flight
- A private car with driver in Kyrgyzstan on all days
- A guide on all days in Kyrgyzstan
- Accommodation: 8 nights, including 3 nights in yurt camps
- Entrance tickets on the programme
- A check of the entry rules for your passport before booking
Not included
- Flights Tashkent – Bishkek – Tashkent (we book them on request)
- Meals and drinks not on the programme
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Visa fees for Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan (if applicable)
- Tips and personal expenses
Extra cost on site
- Photo and video fees at the sites
- Tips and personal expenses
Good for
- Travellers who want cool mountain air after the summer heat of the Uzbek cities
- Anyone adding Kyrgyzstan to a trip to Uzbekistan
- Lovers of nature, horses and nomad life who are happy to sleep in a yurt
Maybe not for you if
- Travellers who should avoid altitude: Song-Kul is at 3,016 m and Tash Rabat at 3,200 m
- Anyone who wants a hotel every night: three nights are in yurt camps
- Trips outside mid-June to mid-September, when the yurt camps are closed
Questions about this tour
How much does the tour cost?
The price is given on request: it depends on the dates, the hotels, the size of your group, the language of the guide and the flights.
Do I need a visa for Kyrgyzstan?
Since 1 January 2026, citizens of 55 countries enter without a visa for up to 30 days in any 60-day period; other passports use the official e-visa portal. If you return to Uzbekistan on an Uzbek e-visa, it must be a double- or multiple-entry one. We check the rules for your passport with you before booking.
How do we get from Tashkent to Kyrgyzstan?
By air: Tashkent to Bishkek takes about an hour and ten minutes. You can also fly home from Bishkek and save a day. Overland, the natural way is through the Fergana Valley, crossing at Dustlik near Andijan to Osh; from Osh to Bishkek is about 600 km, so this adds days and we plan it on request.
How hard is the altitude?
Song-Kul is at 3,016 m, Tash Rabat at 3,200 m, and the Kalmak-Ashuu pass on the way is almost 3,500 m. Go slowly on the first day up, drink plenty of water and skip alcohol that evening. Tell us about any health conditions before booking.
What should I pack?
Pack for two climates. At Song-Kul the July average is 11 °C and nights are cold: bring a fleece, a hat and a rain jacket, because clouds build up fast over the mountains.
Can we do it in June or September?
Yes, between mid-June and mid-September, when the yurt camps are open. In June we suggest the Uzbek cities first and the mountains at the end; in September, the mountains first.
Didn’t find your answer? Ask about this tour →
Make it your trip
Tick what you’d like to add — it goes into your request, and the manager confirms the final price.
