Horse Tour To Son-Kul Lake - 10 Days
About this tour
An adventures horse riding tour with long camping trail trough the hidden valley and open meadows in the foothills of Tien-Shan Mountains. For many years horses played a great role for nomads and now you can ride them in our Tien Shan Mountains. During this tour you will ride a horse from Shamshy Gorge to the mountain lake “Son-Kul” 3016m. You will meet shepherds and nomad’s on the trail and can enjoy unique, untouched nature, mountains, lake, Mountain Rivers, forests of fir-trees and etc.
Activities included
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Shamshy, Kyrgyzstan
Day 1. Bishkek - Shamshy Gorge, 2 hrs driving Breakfast. Transfer to Smashy Gorge (120 km, 2 hrs). On the way excursion to Burana Tower (X-XI cen.). Lunch in Yurt Inn. Afternoon walking in the fir-trees forest and enjoy nature. Dinner and accommodation in Yurt Inn. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 2: Shamshy, Kyrgyzstan to Shamshy Nature Reserve, Kyrgyzstan
Day 2. Horse trekking Breakfast. Meet with horsemen and guides’ team, load all the stuffs and start horseback riding towards Shamshy pass (3 570 meters). Full Board. Overnight in tents before the pass. Horse riding time: 6 hours. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3: Shamshy Nature Reserve, Kyrgyzstan to Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan
Day 3. Horse trekking After breakfast continue tour and cross the Shamshy pass (3 570 meters). Discover the nice view of Kochkor-Shamshy valley and hike up to Sarala-Saz jailoo, which opens beautiful views of the Sandyk mountains. Meet local nomads and see local traditions and customs. View of nomad’s yurts from the top of the mountain look like Parisian’s mushrooms. Full board. Set up the tents near the nomad’s yurts in Sarala-Saz. Horse riding time: 6 hours. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4: Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan to Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan
Day 4. Horse riding Horse riding tour towards Karakol river. Descend to Iri-Suu jailoo, and then take an evening walk over the hill into the beautiful Karakol River valley. Overnight in tent. Full board. Horse riding time: 4 hours. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5: Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan
Day 5. Horse riding Loading of the gears for a long day tour through nearly-empty country. Pass over the Buchuk Pass (3400 m). On the other side, after a brief break for lunch on the trail, descend into the beautiful Sook Valley. Wild onions cover the high cold ridges, while lower down whole hillsides of wildflowers bloom. You can see eagles soar and plenty marmots in the amazing pasture. Set up the tents close to Sook river. Full board. Horse riding time: 5-6 hours. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 6: Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan
Day 6. Horse riding Breakfast. Detour to the next valley west, the Kum Bel to approach to the 3 600 m Kum Bel Pass. From the pass, follow a ridge to the peak, 3656 m above sea level, with fascinating 360 views and sheer drops to the north. After lunch descend into the Jumgal valley, and follow it down to the Kyzart Pass (2664m). Set up the tent camp before the pass. Full board. Horse riding time: 6-7 hours. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7: Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan to Song-Kul, Kyrgyzstan
Day 7. Horse riding Pass the Kyzart Pass (2664m) and then cross Kyzyl-Kiya jailoo, an enormous, relatively flat sea of grass. Continue over the Chaar-Archa Pass (3 061 m) into the Chaar-Archa Valley. After lunch cross the river and follow the trail over hills to Kilemche Jailoo. The meaning of the jailoo is “like a carpet,” and this swathe of grass covers whole mountain ranges, with shadings as subtle as any shyrdak (shyrdak is a Kyrgyz felt carpet). Full board. Overnight in the tent. Horse riding time: 5 hours. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 8: Song-Kul, Kyrgyzstan to Batay Aral Yourt Camp, Kyrgyzstan
Day 8. Horse riding After breakfast spend the morning climbing to Jalgyz Karagai pass (3400 m), over the Song-Kol Mountains and into the lake’s basin. The morning climb affords wonderful views of Kilemche jailoo, and the pass itself is rocky and exciting. From the pass, Song-Kol is still distant, but as you traipse down the slopes, it gets larger and larger; the mountains on the other side get higher and higher, until finally the lake fills most of your field of view and the southern mountains tower above it. After lunch at Jaman Echki, follow the lakeshore east to the yurt at Batai Aral. Upon arrival meet your host family of Kyrgyz shepherds in Son-Kul lake. Meals and overnight are in a yurt of shepherds. Horse riding time: 5 hours. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 9: Batay Aral Yourt Camp, Kyrgyzstan to Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan
Day 9. Batay Aral - Cholpon-Ata Breakfast. Transfer to Cholpon-Ata, northern shore of Issyk-Kul lake via Kochkor (250 km, 5-6 hrs). On the way visit handicraft and souvenir shop in Kochkor. As option: Folklore and Felt show. Accommodation in the CBT Home stay. Meals: breakfast
Day 10: Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Day 10 Cholpon-Ata - Bishkek Breakfast. Rest on the shore of the lake. Afternoon visit Cultural Complex “Ruh Ordo”, Petroglyphs Museum on open air. Transfer to Bishkek (270 km, 4-5 hrs). Overnight in Family Home Stay. Meals: breakfast, lunch
What's included
Program price includes: 1. Transportation as per program - For the group up to 4 persons by Minvan Delica 6 seats, 4 WD - Fore the group up to 5 persons by Minibus, 13 seats 2. Accommodation: - Shamshy Gorge: Guest Cottage - Tents on double sharing basis during horse trek - Son-Kul Lake, Yurt Inn on sharing basis - Cholpon-Ata: CBT Home Stay, 1 night, private bathroom 3. Horses for horse riding (10 days, including return way) 4. Horses to load equipments 5. 2 Horsemen (10 day, including return way), including their meals 6. English / French speaking guide including horse, salary, meals and accommodation 7. Full board during horse trek from lunch on day 1 to lunch on day 10 8. Kitchen and dining utensils 9. Memorable souvenirs
Extra: 1. International air ticket 2. Kyrgyz visa / visa support letter 3. Carry mats, sleeping bag 4. Meals en-routes 5. Alcohol beverage during tour
What to know
Notes: 1. The offered program can be conducted from early June till early September 2. The horse riding program must be ordered in advance at least 7 days before arrival dates to Shamshy Gorge. Otherwise we can guarantee arrangement of the horse riding tour for such long days 3. Cook is provided for group more than 4 persons. For the smaller group up to 3 persons are provided / prepared by horseman assistant and guide-interpreter. 4. Weather in the mountain even in August is quite cold at night and it is highly recommended to have warm clothes and raincoat.
Route & locations
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Shamshy, Kyrgyzstan