Song-Kol
Seven days and a border permit to reach one of the least-visited lakes in Central Asia.
Kel-Suu is not a day trip done properly. This route gives it the time it deserves: three nights above 3,000 metres, two full days at the lake, and a contingency day because the weather at that altitude decides the schedule, not us.
We travel in two 4x4 vehicles carrying spare fuel, and camp with proper expedition tents rather than relying on yurts that may not be standing. Everything above Naryn is off the grid.
This is the hardest tour we run. It is not technical — there is no climbing and no via ferrata — but it is cold, remote and consistently high, and the nearest hospital is a long drive away. We cap it at eight people and we ask about your fitness before confirming.
Open any day to see where you sleep, how far you travel and what the day actually feels like.
Arrival, hotel, and an afternoon expedition briefing: kit check, permit paperwork, and a walk through the plan day by day. Welcome dinner with the guide and driver who will be with you all week.
Out of the Chuy valley through the Boom canyon and along the western tip of Issyk-Kul. Afternoon in Kochkor with the felt-makers cooperative, then a guesthouse night at 1,800 m to start gaining height.
The climb to the lake by the western approach, arriving early enough to walk the shore. First night at 3,016 m in a yurt camp — this is the acclimatisation night that makes the rest of the week work.
Down the Kalmak-Ashuu switchbacks and east along the Naryn river. Afternoon resupply in Naryn town, final permit checks, and a comfortable guesthouse night before the road turns rough.
Permits checked at the Ak-Muz post, then four hours of track across high steppe to the Kurumduk plain. Camp is pitched at 3,300 m with the afternoon free to walk up the ridge behind it.
The full day at the lake: an hour on foot from the vehicle drop, then as long as the weather allows on the shoreline and the ridges above it. Back at camp for a second night at altitude.
Out of the border zone and north through Naryn and the Boom canyon to Bishkek — around nine hours with stops. Hotel and a final dinner, with airport transfers whenever you need them.
Three nights above 3,000 m and daily walking at altitude. You should be comfortable on a four-hour hike at home before booking. We build in an acclimatisation night at Song-Kol.
The Kel-Suu border zone requires a permit issued 45 days in advance. We need your passport scan at booking, and last-minute joiners cannot be added.
Snow is possible at Kel-Suu in any month. The spare day exists for exactly this reason, and your guide will use it rather than push into bad conditions.
Send us a note and we will reply within one working day with availability and the exact plan.
Other routes that cover similar ground or pair well as an extension.
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
The short version of the classic Kyrgyz trip: over the Too-Ashuu pass, two nights in yurts at Song-Kol, and back with time for an evening in Bishkek.
From
€560
per person