Nomadic Kyrgyzstan - 5
- Tour countries:
- Kyrgyzstan
- Type of tour:
- General
Just about every tourist should make this journey at least once in their life!
It is much more than a cultural tour; this is an opportunity to really experience Nomadic culture and to meet people ready to share their wonderful customs and traditions. During this tour you will drive along the most beautiful places of Kyrgyzstan! You will meet real nomads and communicate with them! You will even have an opportunity to sleep in their felt dwellings - yurts! There is simply no better way to experience our country! These views really shouldn't be missed. It is an unforgettable journey through a mythical land of nomads!!!
Highlights of this amazing tour:
Burana Tower - built in 11 century by Karahanids!
Stone Warriors Balbals - statures made in 7 century for brave warriors!
Issyk Kul Lake - the second largest mountain lake in the world!
Petrogliphs - ancient stone pictures made more than 2 500 years ago!
Karakol town - old town with famous Orthodox Church and Dungan Mosque!
Jeti Oguz gorge - the gorge of red rocks with nomads not far from it!
Eagle Hunter - a real Kyrgyz family that still practice this ancient skill!
Kochkor museum - a museum with examples of national Kyrgyz handicraft!
Felt Show - You'll see the way carpets are made and you'll even participate!
Son Kul Lake - a hidden lake in the mountains where real nomads live!
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!
High passes - you will drive over passes more than 3 000 meters high!
Local people - get acquainted with Kyrgyz that live in remote places!
Asian Bazaar - it is very bright and colorful, photo paradise!
Drinking Kumis - it is fermented mare's milk!
Yaks - it is possible to see these unusual animals in the mountains!
Mountains, Mountains, Mountains - amazing nature will surprise you!
Day 1: Bishkek
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 - Chon Kemin
We are going to visit today our famous 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. After an interesting excursion and climbing on the top of the Tower we will drive to Chon Kemin village. This village is situated in a national park and you will see many amazing mountain views. Rural regions remain delightfully unspoiled, traditional and rich in culture whilst the capital is quite developed. 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. As an option you can book beforehand a short horse riding tour for 3 hours. We can book for you horses and a horse man to ride for a while in our amazing mountains. It takes just 10 minutes from your home stay to ride to the mountains. There is a very nice round horse riding trip with a panorama view on the top. Also you will ride through a mountain forest! This night you will spend in a house of a very friendly Kyrgyz family. You will see the way they live. In the evening you will have an excellent dinner that the owner will make for you! There are no people who would not like all these food! Also it is a great chance to get acquainted with locals.
Day 3: Chon Kemin - Issyk Kul Lake
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 here 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. The road to the Lake goes along Boom gorge. The views are really stunning there! There is a spectacular canyon inside Boom with unusual Red Rocks formations. If you want we can stop to have a short hiking there. The road to the Red Rocks takes about 2 hours one way. At the end you will see an incredible view of this canyon. If you are not tired then you can spend one more hour walking around. The road to the red canyon is not a difficult one. It goes along amazing rocky mountains. Only 3 times you will need to go over some big stones. After coming to your home stay you will have time to go on the beach and to swim in the lake. At 8 o'clock you will have a very good dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 4: Issyk Kul Lake - Karakol
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 Issyk Kul Lake from this place - people were thinking that it was the middle of the world. All these pictures were depicted on the southern side of stones. People believed that in this case the God of the Sun will see their messages. Also beside the pictures there are big stones put in a circle way to make sacrifices. After an excursion you will visit a museum in Cholpon Ata. There are many attractive things from the Kyrgyz history, handicraft, music instruments and a lot of other interesting artifacts. Afterwards we will drive to Karakol town. The road goes along the northern shore of the lake and you will have many photo stops to make pictures of our amazing lake. Karakol is an old town that was built in the time of Russian Czar. Many houses still have decorated wooden frames of windows. The main highlights of Karakol town are Russian Orthdox Church and Dungan Mosque. Russian Orthodox Church was built at the end of 19th century. It is a wooden church and there are many nice icons that are very old. You will have enough time to go around the church and to go inside also. Women have to cover their head with a kerchief. Dungan mosque is made by Chinese architecture as a present for Kyrgyz. It is made of wood without using any nails.
Day 5: Karakol - Jeti Oguz
We will travel today to Jeti Oguz gorge. This is one of the most well-known places in Kyrgyzstan! It's famous for its red rocks formations that have a name Seven Bulls - Jeti Oguz. Your guide will tell you a beautiful legend about these rocks. Also you will see our amazing Broken Heart Mountain! We will make many photos there and if you want it is possible to go on a top of a mountain (20 minutes) to see a panorama view of the gorge! There are yurts on the way and people can offer you to drink Kumis. It is a national drink that is made of mare's milk, and it is an alcoholic drink as a beer. Today you 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. And this night you will also spend as real nomads in Kyrgyz yurts!!! It is a great opportunity to get unforgettable memories about Kyrgyzstan and its people! 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 leather stripes. 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! Nomads still keep all their amazing traditions that are completely different from all other nations in the world. Also it will be possible to communicate with nomads.
Day 6: Jeti Oguz -Kochkor
After a night in yurts we will drive to Kochkor. This time we will drive along the southern shore of Issyk Kul Lake. This is a great chance to see the whole lake from all sights! If you wish you can swim there for 30 minutes before we continue our driving. Today we will visit one of the most interesting families in Kyrgyzstan - the family of Eagle Hunters! There are still some people in villages that continue this ancient way of hunting in our days. They train eagles and hawks when they are young and every winter go with them to the mountains for hunting. The Eagle Hunter just let the bird fly and it finds the victim on its own. You will find out many interesting facts about this way of hunting and you will be able to make photo while keeping the bird on your hand! We will have lunch in this house and the owners will tell you unusual stories about their hunting. This family goes hunting like this from generation to generation and that is why they know everything about it. Then we will drive to Kyrgyz village Kochkor. This night you will also spend with a nice Kyrgyz family. They will prepare traditional dinner for you.
Day 7: Kochkor- Son Kul
In the morning we will visit a local museum that is made in a private house. The owners have collected a lot of interesting things of Kyrgyz handicraft from all villages around! Then we will show you the way our women produce traditional felt carpets. You will not just watch the production but you will even participate. You will have a chance to make your own picture with a help of colored wool and then all together we will beat it in a special way to get a nice felt carpet. Afterwards we will drive to the most favorite place of our tourists - to Nomadic 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! Son Kul Lake is situated on the altitude of 3 016 meters. The views along the road to the lake are stunning! It is even possible to see yaks on the way! Following unpaved roads along mountain gorges, weaving between the dramatic peaks of surrounded mountains, this tour provides the ideal opportunity to explore Kyrgyzstan! 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!
Day 8:Son Kul - Bishkek
You will visit places today where nomadic life has hardly changed in hundred of years! We will go for walk in the morning to visit local nomadic families and to see their way of life. You will discover another world - the world of Nomads! It is an excellent way to taste the cultural life of nomads and amazing mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Also we will have a short walk on a top of a hill to see a panorama view of the lake. At this place you will see also petrogliphs on stones that are more than 2 000 years old! After an interesting meeting with locals we will drive to the capital of Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek city. The road to the city will go over the southern part of Kyrgyzstan. During the drive you will see amazing panorama views form Tue Ashuu pass that is more than 3 000 meter high! This road is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Kyrgyzstan! Fantastic roads, amazing views, nomads, high mountains ensure your memories of Kyrgyzstan will last a lifetime. Farewell dinner in Bishkek will be at 8 o'clock. After a night in a hotel you will be transferred to the airport early in the morning.
Travel season in Kyrgyzstan is from May till the end of October. The best time to have a cultural 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 | $1120 | $1230 |
| 4 people | $750 | $860 |
| 6 people | $640 | $750 |
| 8 people | $590 | $700 |
| 10 people | $535 | $670 |
| Single | $180 | $190 |
| Early check-in | $40 | $90 |
| Attention: 3-4 Star hotels are available only in Bishkek. | ||
Service includes:
- Airport transfers
- Transport for all transfers and excursions
- Double room accommodation in hotels, guesthouses and home stays
- Three time meals and mineral water during the tour
- Full-time service of your English speaking guide-interpreter
- Entry fees to museums
- Service charges and government tax
- No extra charge after confirmation
Service does not include:
- Single room accommodation
- Early check-in
- Alcohol and soft drinks
- International flight tickets
- Personal travel insurance
- Cost for the Kyrgyz visa (additional payment is 70$ per person)
