Biking 2 weeks in Kyrgyzstan
- Tour countries:
- Kyrgyzstan
- Type of tour:
- Adventure
Just about every tourist should make this journey at least once in their life!
This fully guided and supported tour allows you to take things at your own pace and to travel to the best places of Kyrgyzstan. We will carry your bags and feed you along the way! Our tours are manageable by just about any fit. Experienced riders will be trilled and pushed to their limits by such a fantastic tour! However, with the vehicle never far away, we can also pick up riders who want to have biking in our country but happy to do fewer kilometers a day.
It is much more than a biking trip; this is an opportunity to really experience Nomadic culture and to meet people ready to share their wonderful customs and traditions. During this biking tour you will ride 2 times over passes that are more than 3 000 meters high! And the highest pass will be 3 364 m - it is higher than any pass in the whole Alps! Very often you will meet nomads and communicate with them! You will even sleep 2 nights in their dwellings - yurts!!!
Highlights of this amazing tour:
Burana Tower - built in 11 century by Karahanids!
Stone Warriors Balbals - statures made in 7 century for brave warriors!
Petrogliphs - ancient stone pictures made more than 2 500 years ago!
Drinking Kumis - it is fermented mare's milk!
High passes - you will have biking over passes more than 3 000 meters high!
City tour in the capital - find out amazing facts about Bishkek city!
Meals - taste the most delicious Kyrgyz food!
Nomads - you will meet nomadic families to find out more about them!
Yurts - you will have a chance to sleep in nomadic felt dwellings yurts!
Mountains, Mountains, Mountains - amazing untouched nature will surprise you
Day 1: Bishkek - Burana Tower - Ak Tash
Welcome to Kyrgyzstan! Our guide will wait you in the airport and then you will drive together to the hotel. After a short rest we will start a city tour. The main buildings in Bishkek were built at Soviet Times and now you can see this kind of architecture. During the tour you will find out the whole history of our capital from the very begging till our days. Your guide will tell you a lot of amazing facts about Bishkek. This city tour includes visiting of Victory Square, Oak Park with stone sculptures, Old Square, The House of Parliament, Main Ala Too Square, White House, Manas Hero Square, City Hall and many other interesting places.
It is not a real city tour without visiting our Asian Bazaar! We will show you it today and you will be able to make a lot of photos there. This bazaar is very colorful and noisy. People sell there all kinds of goods. You will walk there about an hour to see local people, goods, fruits, vegetables, meat store, and other things! In the evening we will go to a national restaurant to eat Kyrgyz food. Kyrgyzstan is the country of nomads and almost all dishes consist of meet. If you prefer vegetarian food - just tell your guide, she will help you to choose the proper one. Among meals that have meet we suggest to taste during the tour the following dishes: Manti - look like big ravioli, kuurdak - fried pieces of meat with potatoes, lagman - a little bit spicy noodle soup, guro lagman - the same noodle with vegetables but dry, plov - rice with meet and small pieces of vegetables. Ask you guide - she will always suggest you something delicious! After dinner if you wish we can go for a walk to the main Square Ala Too. There are special fountains that always change their directions and colorful lights to enjoy the view!
Day 2: Bishkek - Burana Tower - Kara Talaa
Today we will drive to the most famous place of Kyrgyzstan - Issyk Kul Lake!!! Issyk Kul is the biggest mountain lake in Central Asia, and the second biggest mountain lake in the whole world! Its length is 180 km and it is 60 km wide! The view of the lake is fantastic - it has pure blue water and it is surrounded by high Tien Shan Mountains from all sights! You can swim in the lake and to see mountains around you with snow white peaks! The water is about 22 degrees and many people come there to swim in summer time. For more than 1 500 years local people considered the lake to be a sacred one. Nobody was allowed to swim there and even to touch the water! Only in 19th century people started to swim in the lake and to go fishing. On the way to the lake we will visit our popular Burana Tower. It was built in the 11th century. There was a thriving city on the Great Silk Road. Many caravans were there while moving from China to Rome. Also you will see Stone Warriors - Balbals. If a famous soldier was killed during a war then people would always make a stature for him. They belong to the 7-8th century. The road to the lake goes along Kyrgyz mountain range and then you drive inside Boom gorge. The views are really stunning there! Your night will be in a remote mountain gorge in a tent camp. You will have time in the evening to prepare your bikes for tomorrow biking.
Day 3: Kara Talaa - Kochkor
Our carefully chosen route avoids heavy traffic and busy towns and takes us well off the beaten tracks. Today you will drive 90% of the route along an old Soviet unpaved road where there are no cars at all! Only wild nature and beautiful mountains is there. Just at the end of the day we will ride in a small village to make a camp not far from it. On the way you will ride over many hills and you will be surprised by the beauty of our mountains. There can be few other places in Kyrgyzstan where the nature has remained so unchanged. You even can see on the way some stone warriors balbals that still stand there. The place is so far from the main roads - so still few people come to this forgotten mountain road. It is an amazing journey through a stunning and mythical land. Several times you even can not see the road properly because almost nobody uses it nowadays. Only shepherds come to this gorge with cattle. Your guide will show you the right direction to ride. If you are tired you always can use our support car that can take you over a pass or to transfer to the tent camp. In the evening you will visit a very nice home museum of Kyrgyz handicraft.
Day 4: Kochkor - Ak Tash
Our biking begins this morning with an easy route that gives us a chance to be ready for the challenging mountain passes of the next day. Tomorrow will be more difficult as you will ride over a high Jalpak Bel pass, which is at 3 348 meters! The biking today starts from Kochkor village and part of the route will be along an asphalt road. Then we will turn to an unpaved route that is rarely used by cars. This is a challenging journey deep into the heart of Tien Shan Mountains, requiring a reasonable level of fitness rather than technical experience. You will visit places where nomadic life has hardly changed in hundred of years! With 93% of mountains in Kyrgyzstan, nomadic life in remote places - our country is a real paradise for people that are in love with mountains and unusual cultures. The biking route today takes you along roads that wind along incredible gorges. During your ride be prepared for amazing views of the impressive mountains and gorges. Today we will see some nomads that still live at this region.
Day 5:Ak Tash - Eki Naryn
Today we will continue our fantastic biking! You will see a lot of completely different mountain views and you will fall in love with Kyrgyzstan. The highest point of the day is Jalpak Bel - it is 3 348 meters high! You will see fantastic views along the whole way! Our biking takes place in the Central Tien Shan, along the Terskey range. Tien Shan is the Chinese name. The Kyrgyz name is Tenir Too - Celestial Mountains. Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country and 93% of the land is mountains, including Central Tien Shan, Kyrgyz Mountains and the Alai range of the Pamirs. The highest point of the Kyrgyz part of the Tien Shan is Victory peak - it is 7 437 meters high! The Tien Shan Range is one of the largest in Asia. It stretches across several countries and 2/3rd of the system lies in the territory of Kyrgyzstan. This tour boasts some of the most spectacular mountain riding you could ever wish for!
Day 6: Eki Naryn - Emgek Talaa
From here we continue making our way across the country, allowing plenty of time to enjoy the spectacular scenery in the Heart of Tien Shan Mountains. You will have today stunning climbs, thrilling descents and unforgettable views. On a mixture of dirt road and parts of paved road we ride among impressive mountains to our next camp. Today is quite possible that we will meet real nomads! They come to these mountains in summer times with their cattle. Nomadic families do not live at one place all the time. Every month they move from one pasture to another in order to have more fresh grass. Nomads still live in their felt houses yurts. It is the best dwelling to live and to transfer from place to place. Nomads still keep all their amazing traditions that are completely different from all other nations in the world. Your guide will tell you about them. Also it will be possible to communicate with nomads. Part of the road we will ride along a small Naryn town. This town is built right in the gorge! Mountain slopes are going from both sides along this narrow town.
Day 7: Emgek Talaa - Kurtka
Today we have an interesting route over a mountain landscapes and you will have challenging climbs and exciting descents on a traffic-free unpaved road. Part of the road will go along a beautiful valley and you will ride then over many hills. You will have very nice biking. There is simply no better way to experience our country. Following unpaved quite roads along mountain gorges, weaving from side to side, up and down - this day provides the ideal opportunity to explore Kyrgyzstan. This night we will spend in Kurtka village. It gives you an insight into the local traditional way of life. Kurtka is a very interesting village where you can see nowadays life of Kyrgyz people. We will sleep in a small home stay with a local family to find out more about Kyrgyz. The following day we will have our biking which will ultimately bring us all the way back to the times of nomads!
Day 8: Kurtka - Son Kul Lake South
The summit of 2 802 m of Cime de la Bonette pass (French Alps) is the highest point reached by the Tour de France. Today you will have biking over 3 225 m and it is higher then the highest road pass in the whole Alps!!! Plus the next day you will have biking around the lake on the altitude from 3 016 m till 3 113 m! You will be higher then all other people in Europe! And it is not the limit! The next day you will even have biking higher - over 3 364 m! The road today will lead us to the most famous place in Kyrgyzstan - Son Kul Lake! It is a wild mountain place with a big lake where real nomads still live! They come to this high mountain lake every year and you will meet a lot of them there! Son Kul Lake is very far from civilization and you can enjoy the beauty of untouched Nature! The road to the lake is fantastic - you can see on the photos the serpentine road to the summit and a narrow road that goes along the top of the mountain peak! At the end of the day we will come to the yurt camp! And this night you will spend as real nomads in Kyrgyz yurts!!! It is a great opportunity to get unforgettable memories about Kyrgyzstan and its people!
Day 9:Son Kul Lake
You will have the whole day to have a rest among nomads! We will go with you to visit nomads and to speak with them. There are many of them around Son Kul Lake. It is very interesting to watch their old yurts and to see the way they live. You can see how they make kumis or you can participate in making small cheese balls - kurts. Kurts are very salty and it is the favorite snack of Kyrgyz. They roll them with the help of hands. Also you can make a deal with them and to take horse for rent. You can bargain to have the best price and then to ride horses along the shore of the lake. It is an unforgettable feeling to ride horses as nomads among yurts and cattle. You will feel as if you are at the ancient time and you will forget about the whole world. In the morning we will visit a place where you will see ancient pictures on stones! They are called petroglpihs. These petroglpihs were made more than 2 000 years ago by shamans. All these stones are still at the same place as they were at that time. You can see a panorama view of the Son Kul Lake from this place. This place is so far from civilization and there are no buildings at all! Only wild virgin nature is there. You can just relax in the afternoon lying on a carpet near the yurt and enjoying the view of the lake and nomads around it. It is so calm there and you will have nice time to have a rest. This is a real nomadic paradise! It becomes obvious why this place is the most popular among all nomads!!!
Day 10:Son Kul Lake South - Son Kul Lake North
Today you will have biking around the lake. You will ride over different hills and you will see many new nomadic families. The road is with rolling hills as far as the eye can see. It is possible that on the way some nomads will offer you to drink Kumis. It is our national drink. Kumis is made of mare's milk and it is an alcoholic drink as a beer. We suggest you not to drink too much for the first time. It is better just to taste it a little bit and in this case you will not have stomach problems. It is a very healthy natural drink and at Soviet Times we had even a lot of special health resort to treat people only with kumis. Be aware that this alcoholic mare's milk has an unusual taste. This night you will spend again in a yurt! Yurt is a collapsible felt dwelling. It is made of felt and wood without using a single nail! To fix the wooden sticks people use stripes made of leather. It takes just one hour to collapse or to erect a yurt. And you need just 3-4 horses to take it from one place to another. It is very nice to sleep inside at summer time and it is very warm to sleep there in winter. Take your chance to get new feelings!
Day 11:Son Kul Lake- Kara Keche
You will have today magnificent climbs, thrilling descents and unforgettable views. Also we will see some more nomads along the way. Combining these truly stunning and very different places presents an extraordinary and unique Nomadic experience. The road goes up and down over the high hills before we come to the third pass that is more then 3 000 meters high. The pass is called Kara Keche and it is 3 364 meters high! It is even higher than the pervious pass to Son Kul Lake! This time riding to the top of it is much easier because you are already on the altitude of 3 050 meters. After riding to the top of the pass you will have a long sweeping descent! These passes, combined with high mountains and nomadic way of life - make Kyrgyzstan an irresistible travel destination! In the evening we will sleep in our camp in a very nice place surrounded by high mountains. Our guide will tell you a lot of amazing facts about Kyrgyz nomads and their life.
Day 12:Kara Keche - Kyzyl Korgon
We spend our last biking part of the tour riding to amazing Kyzyl Korgon - the gorge of Red Rocks! This last day is not without its challenges; however the going does get easier as the altitudes become more "normal'. Enjoy riding through remote mountain gorges and small villages. It is a stunning route between dirt roads, old paved road, small villages, steep climbs and thrilling descents. There is plenty of time to meet and engage with the friendly locals, always quick to smile and return a "Salam Aleikum" when greeted. Rural regions remain delightfully unspoiled, traditional and rich in culture. Tourism is still in its infancy and vast areas are largely untouched by foreign visitors. Beaming smiles, open arms and unrivalled hospitality await those who do make this tour. At the end of the day we will come to Kyzyl Korgon. Views of these red mountains are absolutely breathtaking, and there is no better way to finish the day than by setting a camp near a mountain river. That is an excellent way to end a fantastic and unforgettable biking tour! This tour offers a great chance to experience the variety of mountains which make Kyrgyzstan so popular!!!
Day 13:Kyzyl Korgon - Bishkek
Today we will have a fantastic drive to Bishkek city. The road goes up and down over the high hills before we come to the pass that is more than 3 000 meters high. It is called Tue Ashu. After driving to the top of the pass you will have a long sweeping descent! This part of road goes over the southern part of Kyrgyzstan. During your transfer be prepared for amazing views of the impressive mountains and gorges. This road is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Kyrgyzstan! You will have many photo stops to remember this day. Farewell dinner in Bishkek will be at 8 o'clock. In the evening after your dinner we can go for a walk and to see night Bishkek. After an overnight in a hotel you will be transferred to the airport early in the morning. This tour boasts some of the most spectacular nomadic mountain travelling you could ever wish for! You will fall in love with Kyrgyzstan! "Chon Rakhmat! Ak Jol!" - Thank you! Have a good flight!
Travel season in Kyrgyzstan is from May till the end of October. The best time to have a biking tour is from the middle of June till the end of August. At this time are warm temperatures and almost no rain. At September we have cooler temperatures with a chance of rain. You can see nomads and yurts only from the middle of June till the end of September.
Tour schedule
| Group | Price per person | |
| 3 star hotel | 4 star hotel | |
| 2 people | $2140 | $2120 |
| 4 people | $1820 | $1950 |
| 6 people | $1350 | $1470 |
| 8 people | $1040 | $1230 |
| 10 people | $980 | $1070 |
| Single | $75 | $95 |
| Early check-in | $40 | $90 |
| Attention: 3-4 Star hotels are available only in Bishkek. | ||
Service includes:
- Airport transfers
- Transport for all transfers and excursions
- Support car during biking
- Double room accommodation in hotels, guesthouses and home stays
- Four-five people accommodation in a yurt
- Three time meals and mineral water during the tour
- Full-time service of your English speaking guide-interpreter
- Double tents, mats and kitchen equipment
- Personal for tour
- Entry fees to museums
- No extra charge after confirmation
Service does not include:
- Single room accommodation
- Alcohol and soft drinks
- Personal travel insurance
- Cost for the Kyrgyz visa (additional payment is 70$ per person)
