Home / Tours / Song-Kul on Horseback & Issyk-Kul - 4 Days
Song-Kul on Horseback & Issyk-Kul - 4 Days
Two lakes in four days. You ride for three days from Kyzart over two 3,400-meter passes to Song-Kul, sleeping with herders in Kilemche and in a lakeside yurt. Then we drive you to the south shore of Issyk-Kul for an eagle show, Skazka Canyon and the Barskoon waterfall. Any riding level is fine, and it runs all year.
Why you'll love this tour
Good to know
- Accommodation: 1 night at shepherd's house, 2 nights at yurt
- Activities: horse riding - 3 days, sightseeing - 1 day
- Departures from: Bishkek
- Best time to go: All year round
- 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 collect you early from your Bishkek hotel. The 4 to 5 hour drive heads south into Naryn Province and passes the wide Orto-Tokoy reservoir, where the real mountains begin.
Around midday you reach Kyzart and sit down to a home-cooked lunch at a local guesthouse. Then you meet your horses. Your guide shows you how to sit, steer and stop before you set off.
The trail climbs gently through green valleys. After 3 to 4 hours you arrive in Kilemche, a meadow at 2,500 meters. You stay the night with a shepherd family in a simple home, with a warm dinner.
After breakfast with the shepherd's family, you ride up to the Jalgyz-Karagai Pass at 3,400 meters. Your guide stays with the group the whole way and sets an easy pace.
As you climb, thousands of horses, sheep and cattle graze in the valleys below. From the top you get your first look at Song-Kul, huge and calm, with nothing on its shore to block the view.
You reach the yurt camp in the early afternoon, with time to walk along the water. Dinner is in the yurt, and with no city lights for miles, the Milky Way fills the night sky.
Wake early for mist on the lake and horses grazing as the last stars fade. Breakfast is in the yurt, with no rush.
Your final ride crosses the Kara-Kiya Pass, a different trail from the way in. From the top you see Song-Kul behind you and the open valley ahead. The ride down to Kyzart takes 2 to 3 hours.
A farewell lunch at a Kyzart guesthouse ends the trek. Then we drive you 2 to 3 hours down to the south shore of Issyk-Kul, one of the largest lakes in the world. The night is in a yurt camp by the water.
The morning starts with a berkutchi, a Kyrgyz eagle hunter. He shows how golden eagles have been trained to hunt here for more than a thousand years. You can hold the bird and take photos with him.
Next is Skazka Canyon, whose name means fairy tale in Russian. Wind and rain have shaped its red and orange walls into strange forms. A short walk takes you inside, with views over Issyk-Kul.
Then we hike to the waterfall in Barskoon Gorge, a narrow rocky valley in the forest. Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, liked to rest here.
From Barskoon we drive back along the south shore, about 4 to 5 hours with mountains in view. You are at your Bishkek hotel by early evening, around 7 to 8 pm.
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.
Fairy-Tale Canyon
Wind-carved red and orange rock formations near the Issyk-Kul shore.
Kyzart
A quiet farming village and trailhead for the horse route to Song-Kul.Gallery
Common questions
It runs 4 days, starting and ending in Bishkek.
The season runs All year round. June to September brings the warmest days, and the high-pasture yurt camps are open.
It's moderately paced, with 3 days horse riding and 1 days sightseeing. 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: 1 night at shepherd's house, 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.
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