EXOTIC ESCAPES

A Piece of the Tien Shan

Nine days across the Tien Shan: a yurt village, the north shore of Issyk-Kul, and a Chinese-style mosque.

9 Days / 8 NightsBishkek, Chon-Kemin, Cholpon-Ata, Karakol

FROM$2,033per person

The trip

Nine days across the Tien Shan: a yurt village, the north shore of Issyk-Kul, and a Chinese-style mosque.

You start and finish in Bishkek, and the middle of the trip belongs to Lake Issyk-Kul and the gorges above it. One night is at the Alakush yurt village in Chon Kemin, with horses out into the national park, and another is in Kyzyl-Tuu, a village with no hotels in it, where the felt is worked in front of you and you help raise a yurt yourself. In Karakol you eat with a Dungan family and see the Dungan Mosque, built in the Chinese style. The drives carry the rest: red rock at Zheti-Oguz, the Skazka canyon, a hunting demonstration with a golden eagle, and the Burana Tower, a minaret standing on open ground since the Karakhanid period.

In Kyzyl-Tuu the felt is worked in front of you and the yurt goes up with your hands on it. There are no hotels here, so you stay in the village.

Day by day

Every day, already considered.

Prayer, dining, and where you rest, planned into each day, so you are never caught out.

01
DESTINATION
Arrival, and an afternoon in Bishkek
A guide meets you at the airport, and it is 35 km into Bishkek. You check in early and rest until lunch, letting the altitude settle. At one o'clock you go into the centre to eat at Supara, then on to the Osh Bazaar for local honey, dried fruit and things you have not tried before. Dinner is at a teahouse. A jewellery show of handmade pieces is optional.
02
DESTINATION
Flatbread on the road to Chon Kemin
A late breakfast at eleven, then two hours east to Chon Kemin, 150 km in all. You stop at a market for picnic food, and at Appamdyna Kattamasy for kattama, the layered flatbread, with sour cream and milk tea. Check in at the Alakush yurt village, then ride out on horseback around the Chon Kemin National Park. Dinner at the camp, and the evening is yours.
03
DESTINATION
East to the north shore of Issyk-Kul
Another late breakfast, then 190 km to Cholpon-Ata on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul. Two stops on the way are optional: the petroglyphs, rock paintings left out in the open, and Rukh Ordo, the spiritual centre near the water. You check in and eat lunch, and the afternoon is free to walk along the lake. Dinner at the hotel.
04
DESTINATION
Two gorges and lunch in a yurt
You drive up into the Semenovskoye gorge, where a tasting of kymyz, the national drink, is optional, and horses can be arranged on request. You stop at Kyrchyn, the village where the Nomad Games are held, and eat lunch in a traditional yurt. Then across to Grigorievskoye for a short walk before the drive back to the hotel.
05
DESTINATION
Lagman, and the Dungan Mosque
Breakfast at nine, then 220 km to Karakol and check-in at the guest house. Lunch is with a Dungan family, and the lagman show, the dish made in front of you, is optional. Then the Dungan Mosque, a building in the Chinese style. The zoo is optional too. Dinner at the Dastorkon restaurant with folk music, and afterwards the Ak-Suu hot springs if you want them.
06
DESTINATION
Seven bulls, and a village that makes felt
Breakfast at ten, then 220 km round to Kyzyl-Tuu. You stop at Zheti-Oguz, red rocks in the shape of seven bulls, and the Broken Heart rock, with the legends that go with both. Then the Skazka canyon. There are no hotels here, so you stay in a guest house. After lunch: shyrdak, ala-kiyiz and chiy, felt made in front of you, and a yurt you help build.
07
DESTINATION
A golden eagle and the Burana Tower
A late breakfast, then the long leg back to Bishkek, 300 km. You stop at the berkut show for a hunting demonstration with a golden eagle, and photographs with it. Then the Burana Tower, a minaret raised between the 9th and 11th centuries under the Karakhanids. Lunch at the Hawaii recreation centre, where you can feed the swans and the fish and walk the small zoo.
08
DESTINATION
Bishkek, and whatever you are taking home
A late breakfast, then into the city centre for the day. Bishkek Park, Dordoi Plaza and TSUM, the three shopping centres, for whatever you are taking home. Lunch somewhere in between, then a short walk around the city. You are back at the hotel by the afternoon, with free time and a chance to rest before the flight.
09
DESTINATION
The same road, in the other direction
The last morning is unhurried, with breakfast at the hotel before you leave. Then 35 km back to the airport, the same road you came in on, and the tour ends there. Behind you: something over a thousand kilometres of driving, two nights spent outside a town, and one yurt you helped put up.