Home / Tours / Song-Kul Shoreline Horse Trek - 4 Days
Song-Kul Shoreline Horse Trek - 4 Days
Four days of riding with no driving at all. From Kyzart to Kilemche, over the Jalgyz-Karagai pass to Song-Kul, a day along the shore to its western end, and back over the Ozbek-Ashuu pass. Three nights in yurts.
Why you'll love this tour
Good to know
- Accommodation: 3 nights at yurt
- Activities: horse riding - 4 days
- Departures from: Kyzart
- 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.
The trip begins in Kyzart, where your guide fits you to your horse and runs through the basics, there's no need for any riding experience. Once you feel settled, you set off at an easy pace along the Chaar-Archa River, with open valleys and rounded green hills on every side.
You stop for a picnic lunch out on the trail, then ride on to a herder family's yurt camp at Kilemche. There's time before dinner to wander the surrounding hills and watch the rhythm of nomad life, animals brought in for the evening, smoke rising from the stoves.
This is the most demanding day of the ride. You climb steadily toward the Jalgyz-Karagai Pass at 3300 m, the trail rising through high pasture with wide mountain views opening up behind you. The work is worth it: from the top, Song-Kul appears far below, a sheet of pale blue against the grass.
From the pass you drop down toward the lake, riding west along the shore past grazing herds and scattered summer yurts. You finish the day at the Tuz-Ashuu pasture, right by the water, where a nomad family hosts you for the night.
After two days in the saddle you'll feel more at home with your horse, and today's ride is the relaxed one. The trail runs flat along the lakeshore, and on the smooth open grass there's room to pick up the pace, a canter, even a gallop, if you're game.
By midday you reach the Ozbek-Ashuu pasture, where a local family serves lunch in their yurt and welcomes you to stay the night. The afternoon is yours: walk along the water, rest, or take a short ride into the nearby hills before dinner.
The last day takes you back across the mountains to Kyzart. You climb gradually to the Ozbek-Ashuu Pass at 3300 m for one final look at Song-Kul spread out behind you, then begin the long, scenic descent down a pretty trail toward the valley.
You arrive in Kyzart Village by afternoon, where a hot homemade lunch is waiting. There's time to rest and clean up before you carry on to your next stop.
Sights visited on this tour
Song-Kul Lake
A high alpine lake ringed by summer yurt camps and grazing horses.
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 Kyzart.
The season runs May to October. June to September brings the warmest days, and the high-pasture yurt camps are open.
It's moderately paced, with 4 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: 3 nights at yurt.
Tell us about your trip
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