With Almaty now behind us, we traveled by bus to the southern border of Kazakhstan and crossed into Kyrgyzstan. For this particular border crossing you must take a bus to the border and then depart the bus to go through immigration. You can then choose to reboard the same bus on the other side of the border, however, this bus will take you to a station outside of the next major town, so it is easier to take a Marshrutka from this point instead. You will hear the term Marshrutka a lot in the coming posts and it is essentially a white van that serves as a shared taxi and provides a very affordable form of public transportation in this part of the world. Longer-distance marshrutkas have seats throughout the van, but local and shorter-distance routes will allow people to stand in the aisles.
While we were in line for Kyrgystan immigration we met a local girl in front of us who offered us a ride into the next city in her car, which allowed us to avoid the hassle of the Marshrutka and the bus altogether. She was so nice and wanted no payment for the ride. We found this is actually a very common occurrence in Kyrgyzstan where people often offer rides to anyone, including people standing on the side of the road. Some act more like impromptu Uber drivers and look for payment, while others do not, so you need to clarify this before getting in. She drove us all the way to our guesthouse called Sakura Guesthouse, which is run by a local woman and her Japanese husband. It is a really cute space with an outside courtyard filled with flowers, which we found lovely on sunny days.
We took the opportunity to wander around the capital city of Bishkek on the first day we arrived. We arrived well after lunch time, so the first this that we found was a shawarma shop with perhaps the most unfriendly man I have ever met, but he made a mean shawarma and HUGE! We found that Bishkek was similar in style to Almaty, but slightly less well-kept, and with more people out and about. Bishkek is full of many parks where people enjoy strolling around and sitting on benches. We found a really good beer bar called Craft where we had German and Czech beers for less than $2 USD.
The following day we had another slow morning where we made breakfast and utilized our nice courtyard and good wi-fi for some research and catch up on some work we needed to do. Through the required documents we needed, we also had the opportunity to get a closer look at some government bureaucracy of Kyrgyzstan. We wanted to do a hike in the southeast state of Naryn to the most picturesque Kel Suu lake, but since it is located near the Chinese border, you need a special border permit to go. You can pay a company $30 USD online to secure this for you, or you can try to do this yourself, which is the route we chose.
We found the main government building and walked into a chaotic scene. It reminded me of a large US DMV office downstairs, however, we were luckily sent upstairs to a department where we subsequently attempted to explain what we needed to the one non-English speaking man who occupied this small office. He filled in the paperwork for us, then sent us back downstairs where we had to make payment for three copies of the paperwork and our passports, as well as the permit fees ($3 USD). We took the paperwork back upstairs to him and were instructed to come back in one week. The entire process seemed a bit extensive for such a small fee. The rest of the evening was quite relaxed, as we enjoyed some cheese and crackers along with a wonderful bottle of Champagne that we were gifted before departing from Malaysia.
Onward from Bishkek, our next stop was a visit to the second-largest alpine lake in the world and the largest in Kyrgyzstan, the great Issyk-Lakelake. We went to the bus station and boarded a marshrutka that took us a six-hour journey around the north side of the lake. Marshrutka drivers are a bit crazy here, and I thought we were going to crash many times, but somehow it always seems to work out okay. Arriving at the bus station, we were harassed but the normal overpriced taxi drivers, and instead decided to walk the 2km to our hostel instead. We stayed at Karakol Based Hostel (KBH) which we found to be a very nice guest house with two sisters behind the desk that were very helpful. For dinner that evening, we stumbled across a restaurant in an alleyway that was packed with patrons. We were told that this shop was famous for a cold spicy soup called Ashlan Fu. It was delicious!!
One of the most popular tourist attractions for hikers in Kyrgyzstan is a three-day trek to the alpine Ala-Kol Lake which is situated at 3,532 meters (11,587 feet). We found the first day of the hike wasn’t too difficult for us. We joined a French couple and took a taxi from our hostel to the second bridge in the park, where we began the trek. We started out in a valley going slightly uphill as we followed the river through beautiful green hills. Throughout our walk, we were greeted by donkeys, cows, horses, and sheep. We stopped at one point to have a snack and watch the horses graze in the valley.
After around four hours into the hike, we reached the first yurt camp and it became a bit more difficult. We crossed a cable bridge, and from there it was pretty much uphill. Nate and I decided to combine our clothes into one pack instead of bringing both big bags, and we traded off the big backpack throughout the hike to keep our back and legs fresh, which was a good decision. We worked our way up through the wooded valley until we were above the tree line and could see more miles in every direction. These rock-covered mountains are quite amazing with so many different colors and giant boulders that have slid down the steep cliffs towering above.
We arrived at the yurt camp still relatively early in the day around 2:00. If we had brought tents, we would have trekked the final two hours up to the lake. Instead, we wanted to stay in the yurts which we found ridiculously priced at 4,000 Kyrg som per night ($45 per person). Compared to every other yurt camp we saw in Kyrgystan the general feeling amongst all hikers seemed to be that this was too much to pay, but in retrospect, we had a warm dinner and a comfortable place to stay at 10,000 feet, followed up with a nice breakfast to get us started the next morning, so for, us this was the best choice compared to a freezing cold tent and going hungry.
The following morning we woke up early, had some breakfast, and began our final ascent up to Ala-Kol Lake. Unfortunately, the sunny warm weather from the day before disappeared overnight, and we were instead greeted by very cold rain to start our second day. The final push to the top begins with a vertical climb up a rocky slope to the lake. Despite the weather, much of the time we were climbing next to a waterfall which made for some picturesque views and photos. The journey to the lake took around two hours, and we were greeted with absolutely stunning scenery at the lake. Unfortunately, amongst all the large rocks surrounding the lake, we took a route that was a little too high and got off the trail, but we eventually found our way.
For the next two hours, we made our way around the lake, which allowed us to see it from multiple viewpoints. As we walked further the view of a larger high mountain glacier began to open up to us at the far end of the lake. Our final push was up to the pass that overlooks the lake and provides the signature viewpoint. This is a vertical ascent up a gravely slope, and we took it slow and easy since we were now at 3,900 meters (12,795 feet). In front of me were a couple of young men who apparently worked as high mountain Sherpas who were on a training hike each carrying 50kg in their packs. Crazy!
At the top, we found ourselves surrounded by 360-degree views of the area and stunning mountains all around us. On one side, we had the lake and glacier, and on the other, the valley where we were about to descend. Following many summit photos from the top, we enjoyed a much-needed snack before beginning our way down the mountain.
The other side of the pass was very different and made up of unstable small rocks, which were like sand, which meant every step that you took your foot would give away and slide further down the mountain. You can either take this descent slowly, which I found quite scary or instead take the run-and-slide approach. We felt like we were cross-country skiing down the mountain and once you got the hang of it, was really quite fun!
For the next five to six hours we made our way down through the valley where we caught up with another hiker named Paul, who happened to also be from the US, and we finished the rest of the hike down with him. Paul told us that he is 64 years old, which we found quite remarkable for this intense of a trek, and humbling me even more he was still able to hike faster most of the way down. I was so impressed! There were several yurt camps at the base of the Rocky steep slope, followed by some difficult descending after that due to all the mud from the morning rain. We tried our best to stay on the grass but there were spots where we inevitably found ourselves trampling through the mud.
After a long morning, the slow and steady walk down the valley felt like an unending journey. While the scenery was beautiful, and there were many cows and horses to keep us entertained, we also had to be sure of our footing and try not to slide or fall in the mud. By the end of the hike, my knees were hurting my and quads were burning.
Our final destination that night was Altyn Arashan, a small village in the mountains known for its natural hot springs. We arrived ate, and disappointingly found out that all of the times for the small private hot spring houses were already taken for the evening. We walked around to several of the guesthouses, but we found that they were trying to price gouge us a bit from what we had researched was the going rate, so we continued a bit further down through the village to a yurt camp instead. I am so glad that we did because we ended up with a wonderful host and a much more chill vibe than we felt in the guest houses slightly up higher.
Our young host then told us about another natural hot spring in the woods a bit further down the river and just slightly outside of the village, and with muscles aching we bravely gave this one last natural spring a chance. Unfortunately, we did not realize exactly how far away this one was located. It had begun to rain once again, and the steep path down to it had become very muddy and slippery. Since dinner was approaching quickly, we reluctantly stopped short of reaching the spring, but it would have been amazing had the weather been sunny and the path dry.
Dinner at the Yurt camp was very good that evening, and we met a Portuguese couple named Pedro and Sofia whom we carried on quite well with. They were so nice, and we chatted for hours that evening about travel, as well as where we should visit when we go to Portugal. Then, we settled into our yurt which was big enough to sleep eight, but it was just Nate and I, so we had to cuddle close to stay warm on this cold late August night.
The following day was the final, and easiest day of the trek. We started early in order to get back to the town of Karakol by mid-day. The weather was once again cold and a little rainy, and we were eager to get back to the warmth of a nice shower and some fresh dry clothes. The final day of the Ala-Kol trek winds down a rocky road back to the main town. Another option would have been to take a 4×4 vehicle, however, we set out on the three-day hike with the intention of completing the entire trek and decided despite the weather that we would finish the descent on foot. One annoying part of this final day was that cars passed by on this narrow trail all day, and the road was still quite muddy for us. Nevertheless, it was a pretty walk down the valley and we paralleled the roaring river most of the way.
Upon reaching a main road, Marshrutka #35 soon came by and we were able to pile in and take the transport back to Karakol. After a shower, we were ravenous for a big and warm meal. We found a local restaurant and ordered about half the menu for dinner. The food was very good, and quite reasonably priced, leaving us very content. We enjoyed it so much that we even went back for breakfast the next morning!
Next stop…Barskoon Valley!
Teri and Nate's World Adventures 
Would love to do this hike!
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