DESTINATION GUIDE
A hidden glacier lake at 3,514 m in the border zone near China, reachable only by 4x4 and a permit.
Kel-Suu is the reason people come back to Kyrgyzstan a second time. The lake fills a narrow gorge between vertical rock walls, and its level rises and falls with underground drainage — some years it is a long fjord, some years a chain of pools.
It sits inside a restricted border zone, so every visitor needs a permit arranged in advance. That, plus a rough track that defeats ordinary vehicles, keeps visitor numbers to a few hundred a season.
Camp is on the Kurumduk plain an hour below the lake, at around 3,300 m. Nights are cold in any month, and the weather can turn in twenty minutes — which is why we build a spare day into every Kel-Suu itinerary.
Every itinerary below spends at least one full day in this region.
Son-Kol, Kel-Suu, Issyk-Kul and Ala-Kul in one week — the most action-packed route we run, with hiking, horses and two nights in yurt camps.
From
€1,190
per person
Bishkek, Song-Kol and Kel-Suu in one loop — horse riding, two nights in yurts and two of the most striking lakes in Central Asia.
From
€890€1,040
per person
A proper expedition to Kel-Suu with high camps, 4x4 travel and a spare day built in for weather. Maximum eight travellers.
From
€1,290
per person