Home / Tours / Song-Kul & Kel-Suu in a Week - 7 Days
Song-Kul & Kel-Suu in a Week - 7 Days
Seven fast days. Ride from Kyzart to Kilemche and on to Song-Kul, drive to Tash-Bashat and walk to Kel-Suu, then follow the south shore of Issyk-Kul back towards Bishkek. Two nights each in yurts, guesthouses and hotels.
Why you'll love this tour
Good to know
- Accommodation: 2 nights at guesthouse, 2 nights at hotel, 2 nights at yurt
- Activities: Horse riding - 2 days
- Departures from: Bishkek
- Best time to go: May to October
- Local certified English-speaking guide
- Private transport & airport transfers
- Small group or fully private
- 24/7 support team in Bishkek
What to pack
- Long trousers that won't chafe during long hours in the saddle
- Closed shoes or boots with a small heel that sit well in the stirrups
- Riding gloves to protect your hands on the reins
- A waterproof, windproof jacket and a warm layer for cold yurt evenings
- Sun protection: a hat or cap, sunglasses, and high-SPF sunscreen
Full packing list and arrival tips: Easy from abroad: visas, arrival and logistics
Before you go
- Visa: most Western and East-Asian passports enter visa-free for up to 30 days within any 60-day period (the rule changed at the end of 2025), so check your own nationality on evisa.e-gov.kg
- Money: the local currency is the Kyrgyz som; carry cash for villages and camps, as card payments mostly work only in towns
- Connectivity: mobile data is decent in towns, but there is usually no signal at high mountain yurt camps, so let people know you may be offline
- Altitude: camps sit around 2,500 to 3,900 metres, so take it easy on the first day and drink plenty of water
- Drinking water: stick to bottled or boiled water, and bring enough for stretches where none is available
Read before you go: Staying in a yurt: nomad culture & etiquette · Safety first: how we look after you in the mountains
Day-by-day itinerary
Tap any day to expand. Every itinerary can be tailored to your dates, pace and fitness.
We set out by road to Kyzart Village, in the hills below Song-Kul. A home-cooked lunch waits at a family homestay, and before you mount up your guide walks you through the basics so you feel settled in the saddle.
The afternoon ride follows the Chaar-Archa River through wide, open valleys to Kilemche, an easy trail to start on. By evening you reach a herder family's yurt camp, with the slopes and the quiet all to yourself before dinner.
After breakfast the trail climbs toward Jalgyz-Karagai Pass at 3300 m, a steeper morning's riding than the first day. From the top Song-Kul spreads out below, a wide blue lake ringed by summer pasture.
You drop down past yurts and grazing herds, reaching the lakeside camp by midday. The rest of the day is for resting, walking the shore, and watching the stars come out over the water.
Following the lakeshore, we climb the serpentine Terskey-Torpu Pass at 3300 m before dropping toward Naryn, where we stop to rest and have lunch.
The road carries on to Tash-Bashat Village. In the evening you can explore the village or settle in for a bonfire under the stars at the hotel.
An early start takes us into the Kok-Kiya Valley over the Kyndy Pass at 3200 m, deep in the borderlands near China. After lunch at a guesthouse, you trek along the river to Kel-Suu, a hidden lake held between sheer rock walls.
A short boat ride lets you slip in among the cliffs before the walk back. The night is spent at the guesthouse, far from anywhere.
This is the longest day on the road. We retrace the route through Naryn, then cross the Dolon Pass at 3030 m and pass through Kochkor on the way north.
A short stop at the Ak-Say Canyons shows off their wind-carved rock before we reach Bokonbaev Village on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul. The evening is for resting and dinner at the guesthouse.
The day begins with an eagle hunter and his bird, then a walk through the Fairy-Tale Canyons and their strange, glowing rock. Lunch is at the home of a veteran mountaineer in Tamga Village.
From there we visit the Barskoon Waterfalls and the red ridges of Jety-Oguz before arriving in Karakol. There is time in the evening to explore the town at your own pace.
We follow the northern shore of Issyk-Kul on the way home, stopping in the Kyrchyn Valley, the green meadow that hosts the World Nomad Games. Lunch is in Cholpon-Ata.
From there it is a steady drive back to Bishkek, where the journey comes to a close.
Sights visited on this tour
Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan's leafy, Soviet-planned capital and the gateway to the mountains.
Song-Kul Lake
A high alpine lake ringed by summer yurt camps and grazing horses.
Issyk-Kul Lake
A vast, warm mountain lake that never freezes, framed by snowy peaks.
Kel-Suu Lake
A remote, fjord-like lake hidden among cliffs near the Chinese border.
Kyzart
A quiet farming village and trailhead for the horse route to Song-Kul.
Tash-Bashat
A small mountain village offering warm homestays and rural calm.Gallery
Common questions
It runs 7 days, starting and ending in Bishkek.
The season runs May to October. June to September brings the warmest days, and the high-pasture yurt camps are open.
It's fast-paced, with 2 days Horse riding. Good general fitness is enough, and there is no technical climbing.
No. Our guides match each horse to your level and keep the first day gentle, so complete beginners ride this route every season.
A mix over the trip: 2 nights at guesthouse, 2 nights at hotel, 2 nights at yurt.
Tell us about your trip
Tell us your dates and we'll confirm availability and a tailored price within 24 hours. Free to enquire, no prepayment.
Enquiry received!
A local expert will email you within 24 hours about “Song-Kul & Kel-Suu in a Week - 7 Days”.
Other tours you might like
Combined8 daysSong-Kul, Kel-Suu & Altyn-Arashan - 8 Days
- Riding from Kyzart over the Jalgyz-Karagai pass to Song-Kul
- The 14 km walk to Kel-Suu lake
- Eagle hunter, canyons and Jety-Oguz on the south shore
Combined9 daysSong-Kul, Kok-Kiya & Kel-Suu - 9 Days
- Two days riding over the Jalgyz-Karagai pass to Song-Kul
- Off-road to Kok-Kiya, then on foot to Kel-Suu
- Eagle hunter, canyons and Jety-Oguz on Issyk-Kul's south shore
Combined12 daysComplete Kyrgyzstan Adventure - 12 Days
- Three days on horseback from Kyzart to the western shore of Song-Kul
- A night by the Tash-Rabat caravanserai
- Off-road to Kok-Kiya and the walk to Kel-Suu lake