We all know that the most powerful experiences aren’t amenable to maps, at least when you’re half out of breath to say much at all.

Cycling up to Song-Kul or Song-Kol lake, a paradise in Naryn region was a mean feat to achieve when the road was obliterated with stones and dust across one of the highest passes, the Kalmak-Ashuu pass. I have been told it goes “sharply uphill” and oh yes, it does!

After camping in Keng-Suu village, we were heading to the Northern Shore of Song Kul lake using the Kalmak-Ashuu pass.

At an altitude of 3,447m, the pass is one of four passes that lead up to the Song-Kul lake. There is a lot of hype and love for Song Kul Lake among locals and travellers. It is afterall called the ‘Jewel in the Kyrygz Crown' for natural beauty; as this is a land of nomadic shepherds tending to their flocks.

Holing up in a yurt in this side of Kyrgyzstan with nomadic herders in the countryside cottage began to sound awfully appealing especially when I was dead tired from the washboard roads.

There were three other passes as well with equally breathtaking views such as the Terskey Torpok Ashuu pass (3,132 m), Moldo Ashuu pass (3,346 m) and Kara-Keche Ashuu pass (3.384 m).

Also Read: Cycling in Kyrgyzstan: Bicycle Touring The Silk Road in Central Asia

Starting with the Kalmak-Ashuu Pass

Cracks on the road and constant stony gravelly washboard roads seemed to testify with something enormous coming through, after all we are in the mountains and we escaped the street traffic, honking Lada cars and marshutka for the mountains, remoteness and solitude.

I kept stopping to try and ride this incredibly hard road and somehow with PMS and the usual flush of deep fatigue in my legs I gave up.

I felt a crawl of lactic acid burning through my thighs and calves and I looked strung-out.

Maybe it was the lack of oxygen or the low blood pressure and the onset of passes that made me dread reaching Song Kul with my own power. I envisioned a haggard-looking old me still cycling through a decade if I continued at this rate!

I saw a family coming through in a truck and I hitched a ride with them to head towards the Yurts.

I was teary eyed with defeat and a sense of relief. I could feel a kind of shame trailing red and loud behind me. I didn’t want to accept defeat too fast, but my emotions were a mess and I didn’t even know why I was so emotional about giving up.

I saw the scenery quickly change — from ragged desert-like mountains to lush greenery. The surrounding views changed colour and texture. It was like going from from black and white to colour.

After a stony uphill, it gets quite pretty and a bloom green silvered through these rolling pastures. How glorious is this? I wanted to get out and ride through but I was quite happy watching this kid paint happy faces with his ice-cream next to me.

Reaching Song-Kul Lake & Chilling With a Nomadic Family

I reached the first yurt of the families who supply a bunch of meat, beer and other perishables to families across the network of Yurts in Song-Kul Lake.

They readily accepted me like their long lost daughter and didn’t even asked for money when I decided to stop here for a couple of hours as I waited with bated breath for my friend, Joanna to come through.

Arriving with my bike briefly offered some entertainment to kids when I started taking off the bags, and the kids wandered off and wanted to ride my bike later in the afternoon.

I took the time to nap in the yurt, and woke up to lunch being served. It was heavy meat with a lot of greasiness and fried stuff as with everything in Central Asia.

I enjoyed homemade jam, fresh cream, bread still warm from the oven, granny applies, homemade butter with comforting milk tea.

I tried Kurut, a traditional Kyrgyz snack made from sour milk or yoghurt and squirmed with uneasiness with this stinky, dried yoghurt ball. I thought to myself if they would have the same expression if I offered them Durian.

We exchanged glances and curiosity during our lunchtable conversations as they grew fascinated with my ordinary modern plastic bottle.

I was here and unwanted guest but deeply welcomed to their village as they grew a deep interest of who I am, where did I come from and what’s my purpose.

Their expressions gave that they were puzzled with absurdity — why was I choosing to cycle here?

In my isolation, I frequently calculated the journey of my old life. The expensive social outings.

The journey to work. The life of having a 9 to 7pm job. The money quotient and to think of taking journeys like this which somehow seemed reserved for the tough, and rich-enough individuals with savings, with such intense noise that I stopped thinking about it and decided to brush it off and go play with the kids.

It was freeing to throw pebbles, lie on green grass, kite flying and live life among these nomadic kids. This is not to romanticise the experience as life is often very hard for them and if they had to choose, I am sure they would wish for an easier way.

It was their summer holidays and their entire family were here to tend to their flocks. Their life was mostly in Kochkor attending school but during long summer periods, they too love the slow life, ringed by opalescent mountains.

Staying At Ishen & Roza Yurt

Once Joanna reached the Yurt camp and had her lunch as well, we headed deep into the mountains closer to Song Kul lake to find the other scattered yurts where we would stay for a night and spend the entire morning and afternoon staying with the nomads.

For about $10-$15 a day with food, it was gratifyingly simple and wondrous to slow down and not do anything really. I threw myself into the rhythms of slow life where we passed time on the wooden swings, and tried to go closer to the Song-Kul lake but was met with swampy grasslands.

The landscapes may look drop-dead gorgeous but a lot of kids and locals would pick Isyk-Kul as their preferred alternative to swimming in the lake as their makeshift beach.

Living Life In The Slow Lane

We joined cheeky children as they milked goats and saw families hauled goods and perishables from the city onto their yurt kitchens.

We sat down at the dinner and lunch tent and befriended local Kyrgz who lived in the US and they were visiting Song-Kul with their young teenage children for the first time. It was a road trip for them to try out yurt glamping — to wake up in a strange land known as their home.

We sat down with a feast and I was served ravioli with potato dumplings, the only sort of vegetarian dish available here. Kygyrz bread, eggs, salad, homemade jam and tea were also part of the whole vegetarian mix.

I brushed my teeth in the fully functioning sink and visited the toilet with a flush and a deep well holed in the ground which seemed scary!

I had deep burning set of questions firing within me — the openness to the experience meant a lot of undecided decisions on what comes next — to cycle or to not cycle. We decided we will take the shared taxi for about 13USD each all the way down to Kochkor where we can relax for a while.

With a personal dichotomy firmly established, we descended from Song Kul lake. The bending roads and turns gave way to wonder as we reached Kochkor.

“The true risks of travel are dissapointment and transformation: the fear you’ll be the same person when you go home, and the fear you won’t. And then there’s fear of the roads and terrains in parts of the world like this, that you won’t make it home at all.”

What To Do In Song Kul Lake?

There are a lot of things to do in Song-Kul Lake, if you’re like us where meandering walks along the lakeshore, spending time with local families as you milk goats and drinking bowls of kumys, a mildly alcoholic drink of fermented mare’s milk then that’s great while getting to know Kyrgyz nomadic lifestyle. You don’t really need to plan anything — just show up and be positive!

But there are plenty of other adventurous hiking and exploring to do as well:

Hiking From Kyzart to Song Kul

Many people choose to go horse riding or a mix of trekking during this trail as some sections may be steep in nature. Situated at 3,061 meters high, after all Song Kul is the second largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and one of the main touristic attractions in the country.

If you start from the small village of Kyzart, reaching the lake on foot takes about two to three days depending on how fast you walk. Alternatively, you could arrange for a tour with with the Trekking Union of Kyrgyzstan or in Kochkor.

Alternatively, you could book a 3-day tour that takes you on an epic horseriding trek to Song Kul lake covering the passes as well!

Also Read: Trekking in Kyrgyzstan: 10 Surreal Hikes In The Tien Shan Mountains

Wandering Around

The best thing about Song Kul is really wandering around and observing horses galloping. It is a special sight when you see a protective male horse leading the pack and heading home before sunset. The same with cows and other animals.

It is almost like being in Mongolia and being in Ladakh, India where spending time with locals and seeing them live side-by-side with their flocks makes you think about the simple lifestyle and what’s it like to live a life toward wildness.

Spotting Wildlife & Stargazing

Song Kul is home to 10 different kinds of fish and 70 bird species, including waterfowl. The eastern section of Lake Song Kul is now a wildlife refuge named Karatal-Zhapyryk. It was established in 1994 with a purpose of conservation of unique nature complexes, protection of rare deers, snow leopards and wolves and threatened species of flora due to illegal hunting.

You may not spot any wildlife other than horses, yaks, goats and sheeps. However, you may spot migratory birds and they are known to have over 66 species of seasonal birds who nest at its shores.

At night, when the temperature drops and you cosy up in your yurt dwelling with the shyrdak carpet hanging on the wall of a herder’s yurt, it will take a lot of courage to come out to watch the stars as you see the majestic landscapes scream freedom.

How To Get To Song Kul Lake?

Cycling (Not an option for most people, I know)

If you would like to test your limits, you could opt to cycle to Song Kul lake from Kochkor. But considering the roads and the altitude, you need to be physically and mentally prepared to face the uphill battles of climbing a mountain on a two wheeler.

Hiking On Your Own or With a Tour

You may consider hiking from Kochkor or Kyzart which will take you approximately three days in the summer.

Remember to pick the right season, such as June till September. You can easily get to Kyzart by shared local taxi for less than 2USD from Kochkor. You don’t even need camping equipment. They will charge 10USD, including dinner and a heavy breakfast consisting of the usual staples.

You can arrange it at either the CBT office in Kochkor or in Kyzart

Alternatively, you could book a 3-day tour that takes you on an epic horseriding trek to Song Kul lake covering the passes as well!

Arranging a car from Bishkek / Kochkor to Song Kul

You can arrange for a shared taxi from either Bishkek or Kochkor. You can do it with the CBT office or with the hostel or guest house you’re staying with. The CBT in Kochkor is not very helpful sometimes and you’re better off arranging it on your own within the guest house you’re staying.

Where To Stay In Song-Kul Lake?

The best place to stay would mean often just showing up but if you would like to prepare yourself, you could try the following places to camp or stay in a yurt. Be sure to check Maps.Me to plan from which direction you’ll be coming from:

Ishen & Roza Yurt (near to the CBT Yurt camp at Song-Kul Lake): You may Whatsapp or call them on this number to make a booking: +996 777 74 0976 / +996 773 596954
Yurt Camp Azamat
Yurt Camp Muras

When Is The Best Time To Visit Song-Kul Lake?

Kyrgyzstan is often a placed that is filled with mountains and since the country is often covered in snow, the best time to visit would be during Summer and Autumn.

The weather is unpredictable and I visited Song Kul in August when the weather was perfect. You could visit it from June to September but expect constant changing weather patterns.

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