Welcome to Kyrgyzstan

On arrival at Bishkek International Airport you will be met by our local representative and you will be transferred to the hotel.

Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, borders Central Asia's Tian Shan range. It’s a gateway to the Kyrgyz Ala-Too mountains and Ala Archa National Park, with glaciers and wildlife trails. The city’s arts scene encompasses the monumental State Museum of Fine Arts and the colonnaded Opera and Ballet Theater. The vast, central Ala-Too Square features the Manas monument, honoring the hero of the Kyrgyz Epic of Manas.

Overnight in Bishkek.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today morning explore the most beautiful and picturesque view of The Ala Archa National Park is an alpine national park in the Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, established in 1976 and located approximately 40 km south of the capital city of Bishkek. Ala-Archa Canyon has become one of the most visited places in all of Kyrgyzstan. With snow-covered peaks rising above 4,500 meters (15,000 feet), steep forested slopes, picturesque meadows, unique alpine wildlife and fast-flowing rivers, Ala Archa is the premier destination. As well as a convenient spot for picnicking weekenders, the park is also a magnet for hikers, horse trekkers, skiers in addition to the skilled mountain climbers looking for challenging ice, rock and mixed routes. The wide beautiful valley of the Ala Archa river sweeps up to the highest peaks and largest glaciers of the Kyrgyz Alatau range. Later in the day drive to Kashka-suu resort is located 2,100 meters above sea level, 35 km from the capital of Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek. Fresh air, stunning panorama of the Great Kyrgyz Range and the Chuy valley, great tracks and the quality of service contribute to a good holiday in Kyrgyzstan. You will have an amazing chance to lift to the mountain by cable car and enjoy panoramic views of lofty mountains.

Overnight in Bishkek.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Prepare for check out and the driver will pick you up and drive you to drop you to your next destination which is Karakol.

On the way to Karakol you will be passing by the northern shore of Issyk-Kul lake. Issyk-Kul is an endorheic lake in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh deepest lake in the world, the tenth largest lake in the world by volume and the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea. Enroute visit the ancient Burana Tower. The name of the tower Burana comes from the Arabic word “monar”, which means minaret. A minaret is part of a mosque, a high tower which is used for the call for prayer. There are a lot of legends about the construction of the tower, one of them reminding me of the fairy-tale of Sleeping Beauty: Once upon a time there was a powerful khan who had a beautiful daughter. To celebrate her birth, he invited all the fortune tellers and wise men of the land. They all foretold she would have a long and happy one, well… all except for one. One old man predicted that the girl would die from a spider bite on her sixteenth birthday. This prediction terrified the khan so much, that he built a tall tower where he placed his daughter in isolation. The girl grew up in the tower. Servants brought her food and drinks, delivering it in a basket by climbing a ladder that was placed against the outside walls of the tower. Everything got inspected thoroughly, to make sure that no spider would ever reach her. On the day of her 16th birthday, the khan was so happy that the old man’s prediction didn’t come true, that he hurried to the tower to celebrate it with his daughter. He went to her room carrying a basket of fresh grapes. In his rush, he failed to notice a poisonous spider which had concealed itself in the basket. As his daughter was reaching for the fruit, the spider bit her and the girl immediately collapsed and died. The khan was stricken with grief and cried so loudly, that the tower shook. The top part of the tower toppled down, leaving it in ruins. How beautiful (and sad) this legend might be, the fact is that the upper part of the minaret collapsed during after a major earthquake in the 15th century, reducing its size from 40 to 25 meters.

On arrival in Karakol, driver will drop you to the hotel and check in.

Karakol town is situated in the south-east part of Issyk-Kul lake at the foot of the mountains on the banks of the Karakol river. It is a cultural, industrial and kind of administrative center of Issyk-Kul region. Since it is located so close to so many spectacular mountains, Karakol is a great base for starting off on hikes and treks. There are hikes that set out from Karakol to suit any adventurer, from day hikes to extended treks. The surrounding mountains are some of the most dramatic in Kyrgyzstan, including hidden lakes, broad glaciers, and Kyrgyzstan’s two tallest peaks, Pobeda Peak (7,439 m or 24,406 ft) and Khan Tengri (7,010 m or 23,000 ft). The two most popular destinations near Karakol are Altyn Arashan and Jeti Oguz, both of which are great for hikes or picnics.

Overnight in Karakol.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today morning explore the beautiful city of Karakol by visiting the famous Dungan Mosque. In the 1880s Karakol's population surged with an influx of Dungans, Chinese Muslims fleeing warfare in China. The wooden mosque built by Chinese artisans for the local Dungans between 1907 and 1910. Completed in 1910, the mosque was built to serve Karakol's community of Dungans (Chinese Muslims who fled persecution in the 1880s). Designed by a Chinese architect, the building is constructed entirely without nails and much of its imagery, including a wheel of fire, reflects the Dungans' pre-Islamic, Buddhist past. Instead of a minaret the mosque has a wooden pagoda. Despite being closed by the government from 1933-43, the mosque continues to be used as a place of worship. These days worshippers are not exclusively Dungan and include a large Kyrgyz contingent. The 'Dungan Mosque' has therefore become simply 'The Mosque' in local parlance. Women are not always allowed to enter, but the friendly caretaker, who lives in the grounds, will open its doors and allow you to peer inside. All colors represent different Dungan cultural concepts, red - protects from evil spirits, yellow - contributes to the accumulation of wealth and brings prosperity and green - symbolizes happiness. The History of Dungan Mosque in Karakol begins in the end of 19th and early 20th century. Due to the rebellion in 1877 about 300,000 Dungan, passing through the dangerous Torugart Passover fled from Chinese punitive squads. Many Dungan died of cold, died of starvation, but many of them have reached the Karakol town, where they were warmly received by representatives of Russian and Kyrgyz peoples. After visiting the Dungan Mosque, your guide will show the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Karakol. The story of the church goes back to July, 1869, when Karakol was basically a garrison town established as an outpost on the edges of the Tsarist Russian Empire. A chapel was established in the city centre to serve the Cossacks and other troops sent here, and a small brick building on stone foundations was erected.

Later in the day, explore the picturesque Jeti-Oguz gorge, which is located 28 kilometers to the south-west of the town of Karakol. Its name is translated from Kyrgyz language means “Seven bulls”. The name is symbolic, because there is a 35 km long wall of seven huge red-brown cliffs resembling ranked furious bulls standing together. In front of the cliffs there are flat mountain slopes, thickly overgrown with grass and pine trees. Especially romantic look has the rock "Broken Heart" located at the entrance to the gorge. Jeti-Oguz is also famous for its hot springs with water enriched with radon and hydrogen sulfide. In the place they hit out of the ground, at the altitude of 2200 m, there is a resort. The water in springs is useful for the treatment of rheumatism, gastric and nervous diseases. Rising higher, you can reach the flower valley called Kok-Dzhayyk with wonderful views of the gorge, or the Valley of Flowers strewn with poppies. At the upper part of Jets-Oguz there are also mountain lakes and roaring waterfalls. Return back to the hotel and relax.

Overnight in Karakol.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Explore a full day mountain ski base in Karakol which is located 400 km from the capital of Kyrgyzstan and situated at altitude of 3040 meters above sea level on the slopes of the Tien Shan mountains. This is the highest ski resort in Central Asia. It is located approximately 30 min. and 7 km from Karakol city.  There is also a helicopter platform. There are all chairlifts and rope lifts take you to some of the best runs. The base is located in the picturesque place, surrounded with coniferous wood. The climate of this region is soft in winter time because of favorable influence of nonfreezing Issyk-Kul lake. Average temperature is about -5 C. The ski season is open since December till March. From panorama top overlook the surrounding landscape and the nearest five thousand meters mountains and high-mountainous Issyk Kul lake. This mountain was used as a training base for Olympic athletes during Soviet times. The highest run in Karakol, often reached using special transportation, begins at 3,450 meters. All remaining trails stretch down to the resort's base, which sits at an altitude of 2,300 meters. The mountain provides tons of opportunities for intermediate and advanced skiers to enjoy off-piste runs and challenging trails. (Note: optional skiing depends on weather conditions & rent of equipment are not included).

Overnight in Karakol.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Prepare for check out and the driver cum guide will drive you to the scenic southern shore of Issyk-Kul lake before arriving in Tokmok.

On the way to Tokmok, visit the Skazka canyon. Moving along the south coast of Issyk-Kul lake from Karakol town, before you reach the small village named Kadji-Sai, you have an opportunity to get into the most beautiful mountain landscapes. Turning after Tosor village towards Terskey Ala-Too mountains and after passing about 4 km, we will notice how mountains part, and immediately, as if by the wave of a magic stick we will find ourselves in this valley of fairytales. In Russian, the word Skazka means “Fairy Tale” and the place is certainly a magical place, full of mystery and mysticism, sufficuent to stimulate the imagination of those with the inclination to stand, and stare, and wonder. Legends have it that, at one time, the Issyk Kul basin wasn’t filled with a lake, but was home to a number of rich and powerful cities.  There is probably some truth in this because under the lake archaeologists have discovered the ruins of several settlements. According to one legend in particular, in one of the cities lived a beautiful girl and a seven headed dragon fell in love with her and pursued her, asking her to marry him. She, however, declined saying that she loved another. The dragon was distraught and cursed the valley, saying that one a month, on the occasion of the full moon, the water in one of the wells would rise and flood the valley, until such time as she changed her mind. He then went into a deep sleep. The citizens decided to cover the well with a golden lid whenever the Full Moon approached, and agreed to take turns to make sure it was in place. At first, everything went well, but when it was her turn, she “forgot” and the waters duly rose and burst from the well, flooding the basic and drowning the cities. The dragon awoke from his sleep and when he stood on the slopes of the hills above the newly formed lake and saw what had happened, went into a state of shock and turned into stone. The place where he stood was Skazka, and, although the legend tells of only one dragon, it is said that in the sandstone rock formations here it is possible to see the petrified bodies of several, all mingled one with another so that it is difficult to tell one from the other, where the heads meet the tails, and so forth, along with gigantic tortoises, herons, and camels. Amongst the weird rock formations there is a ridge which resembles two walls of fortification, something like the Great Wall of China, rising vertically out of the surrounding sandstone. Looking around and applying your imagination, it is also to see formations which resemble other structures with arches and columns. They are not manmade, however, and neither are they petrified fossils, but creations carved out of the rock by the effect of the weather, ice, wind and water. It’s a dry valley, there is no stream flowing through it down to the lake. The rocks vary in colour from a sandy yellow to red and orange, and there are also colourful striations visible in places which show the different chemical composition of the rocks. With sand underfoot, there is little plant cover, just the occasional tree, and mainly gorse and alpine ferns.

Tokmok is a city in the Chuy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek, with a population of 53,231 in 2009. Its geographical location is 42°50′N 75°17′E; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 to 2006, it was the administrative seat of Chuy Region.

Overnight in Tokmok.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Prepare for check out and the driver cum guide will drive you back to the capital city Bishkek.

On the way to Bishkek, your driver cum guide will be passing the town of Kegeti is considered by some to be the most beautiful gorge in Kyrgyzstan. It’s about 90 km (55 miles) from Bishkek, on the northern side of the Kyrgyz Range. The bottom of the gorge holds a valley and a river of the same name, and the slopes are famous for their meadows and alpine woods. There are not only berries, such as strawberries, stone brambles, and blackberries, but also rare and unique medicinal herbs. Kegeti is also famous for its waterfall, dropping 20m (65 feet) into the gorge. The waterfall is easy to reach, which means that both places are frequently visited by tourists. It is also an excellent place for horseback riding, another reason why tourists frequent Kegeti. Nearby are other famous sites, including Kel-Tor Gorge, with a small “dead sea” and Burana Tower, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most famous archeological sites. Visitors can also travel to Bel-Saz, which is a summer pasture, or jailoo. Dozens of various mammals live in Kegeti, as well as birds, like falcons, golden eagles, and gyrfalcons.

Overnight in Bishkek.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Day is free, for you to explore more of the natural beauty in the nearby surroundings of Bishkek.

There are variety of OPTIONAL TOURS that you can choose from & book with us.

Kol Tor Lake

Kol Tor lake is located not far from Bishkek, 80km to drive to Kegeti gorge and 6km to trek to the lake, approximately take 2-3 hour to get to the lake from 1850m above sea level and hike up to 2720m. 900m. Its surounded by the Tien Shan ranges make THE LAKE MORE BEAUTIFUL! Trekking through the green meadows and on a trial. Morning pick you up from your hotel at around 9am (flexible upon your request and timing) and drive to Kegeti gorge (takes about 2 hours). And start the trek to the lake. 4 to 6 hours in a trail including a rest at the top at the lake. And drive back to Bishkek. arrive in Bishkek around 7pm. Looking forward to see you in one of my tours in Kyrgyzstan! Let's rock and enjoy the pure nature with its wonders!

Cost per person AED 950.00

Bishkek City Tour

Get a comprehensive overview of Kyrgyzstan on a private sightseeing tour of Biskek. Visit parks, museums, and city squares and listen to engaging commentary from your guide about the history of Kyrgyzstan. Then visit the Osh Market to learn about the traditional cuisine of the country and sample national dishes, local tea, and sweets. Leave the tour with a full belly and new information about Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan.

Cost per person AED 350.00

Overnight in Bishkek.

After breakfast. The day is free until checkout time. The driver will pick you up and drop you to the airport for your onward flight.