Offroad Adventure through Sacred Kyrgyzstan

Transfer to the hotel for a rest. Bishkek is a city of many green parks and marble-faced public buildings combined with numerous Soviet-style apartment blocks and thousands of smaller privately built houses. It is laid out on a grid pattern, with most streets flanked on both sides by narrow irrigation channels that water the innumerable trees which provide shade in the hot summers.

Our sightseeing tour includes: Ala-Too square, the main square of the country. The square serves as a place for state events and celebrations and includes many monuments, open-air picture gallery, famous Oak Park, marble government buildings and theaters. In the afternoon we visit Ala-Archa National Park. The reserve is a small valley inside the gorge, its ridges are covered with eternal ice, and the slopes are the finest spruce forests. The streams flow down from the glaciers on the slopes, by flow down streams of melt water, which then are converted into Ala-Archa River.

Transfer to Son-Kul Lake over Tuya-Ashuu (3250 m) and Kara-Keche (3449 m) Passes. It is the second largest lake after Issyk-Kul Lake and the largest fresh water lake in Kyrgyzstan. It is surrounded by broad summer pastures dotted with yurts, grazing cattle and mountains. These lands are used by shepherds of the neighboring regions as summer pastures for their flocks. Shepherds drive the livestock up in the mountains; set a yurt camp where they live during summer months. Here you will get familiar with traditional lifestyle of Kyrgyz nomads.

Road conditions: 180 km paved, 180 unpaved

Transfer to Tash-Rabat Caravanserai over Moldo-Ashuu Pass (3235 m) Baetovo and Kyzyl-Jar Pass (3165 m).
Tash-Rabat (“Stone Wall”) is a carefully restored stone caravanserai originally built in 12 century that once served as an inn at the Great Silk Road. There is evidence that it was a place of both rest and worship and would have served to protect caravans to and from China from both the ravages of the weather and bandits. A central hall of the construction is surrounded by 30 rooms, dungeon for prisoners and khan’s central seat.

Road conditions: 50 km paved, 155 unpaved

Transfer to Kel-Suu alpine lake located in a remote area of Naryn's south-eastern range at the altitude of 3500m over Tyuz-Ashuu Pass (3362 m). The lake was formed by a landslide in the 1980’s and became a must-see destination due to colorful scenery surrounded by severe rocks. Because the elevation of this region is so high, snow is possible at any time of the year. Visiting the lake is a true adventure which involves 6 hours of off-road driving over sketchy bridges and multiple river crossings.

Road conditions: 80 km paved, 150 unpaved

We continue our trip along Kakshaal Too mountain range in the Central Tien-Shan which borders with China. Enjoy fascinating views of Peak Dankova (5982 m) and Peak Koroleva (5816 m). The valley is a paradise for wildlife. Very few people visit this area. You may be lucky to see mountain goats, thousands of wild rabbits and rare Marco-Polo sheep. Overnight at hunter’s GH with please you with a Finnish sauna and tasty dinner.

Road conditions: unpaved, multiple difficult parts

The toughest day of you journey will lead us along Uzengyu-Kuush River over two border checkpoints and via short detour at Chinese territory, over Djurek (3869 m), Suyek (4021 m) Passes to beautiful southern shore of Issyk-Kul Lake (1609 m). Multiple river crossings, stone slides are possible. Destination for today is a southern shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. The lake sits in a tectonic hollow surrounded by snowcapped peaks of Terskei and Kungei Ala-Tau Mountain ranges at the altitude of 1600 m. Issyk-Kul Lake is 180 km long, 60 km wide and 700 m deep. 134 streams and rivers flow into the lake but none flows out what is explained by underwater tectonic activity.

Road conditions: unpaved, multiple difficult parts

On the way we visit Jety-Oguz gorge with famous “7 bulls” and “Broken Heart” rocks and canyon "Skazka" (Fairy tale). The atmosphere of Karakol town will bring you hundred years back and give you an impression of Tsarist Russia. Karakol in previous times had another name – Prjevalsk, in honor of the famous Russian explorer of Asia – Nikolai Prjevalski, whose grave is situated at the shore of Issyk-Kul Lake. Visiting of Prjevalsk Museum. The town was founded in 1869 and constructed in an old Russian style with many buildings from Tsar time.

Dinner with Uighur family to taste national cuisine and lagman-show (lagman – is a traditional Uighur dish. You will be able to see the process of Lagman cooking and participate in it.

Road conditions: paved

We proceed over Chon-Ashuu Pass (3822 m) to abandoned ghost town of Enilchek. The area is famous for countless deposits of minerals — tungsten, tin, molybdenum and other metals, mining started here in the beginning of 1980. After the collapse of USSR the place faded. Nowadays population consists of 30 families. You can see many abandoned blocks of flats, houses, school, hospital, playgrounds and many other buildings, even a runway and airfield here and get impression of Soviet scale of mining.
Continue to Sary-Jaz valley. Sary-Jaz is a untouchable place where you can fully retire and escape from bustle, in an embrace of beauty, tranquility and majesty of the valleys and mountain ranges.

Road conditions: mostly unpaved

Continue along the Kazakh border over Aktog Pass (3481 m), through Karkara valley, famous for its mountain flowers that attract many bee-keepers, and over San-Tash Pass to the mountain village of Jergalan. The beautiful, broad valley of the Karkara River is an age-old summer pasture for herds. Enjoy pristine, mountainous beauty of the Jyrgalan Valley.

Road conditions: unpaved

Our further way along panoramic views of Issyk-Kul Lake will lead us to hidden Chon-Kemin National Park. Stunning views and diverse wildlife of this picturesque place as well as fruitful farmlands will remarkably fulfill your picture gallery. 
In Cholpon-Ata we visit the petroglyphs ‐ a large open-air collection of rock carvings sometimes referred to as a Stone Garden, which covers some 42 hectares and contains a number of prehistoric monumental structures. Also we visit Cholpon‐Alta Museum of History. It exhibits a wide collection of national embroidery
Our evening will be accompanied by a song of Manaschi. The epic poem Manas is central to Kyrgyz traditional culture and character, psychology and spirit. It is recited by specialists known as Manaschi, who hold a special place of respect in Kyrgyz culture.

Road conditions: mostly paved

On the way to Bishkek we make a stop at Karakhanid’s minaret of the 12 century - Burana tower. Nowadays it is a museum complex which includes the tower itself, reconstructions of mausoleums found on the site, remains of a citadel, collection of balbals (grave stones used by nomadic Turkic peoples), petroglyphs (stone carvings) and a small museum. 
Free afternoon in Bishkek will be culminated by farewell dinner with folklore show. Artists will demonstrate you national musical instruments and techniques of playing.

Road conditions: paved