Kyrgyzstan road trip : The Ultimate 3-Week Travel Guide and itinerary

Kyrgyz people hospitality is unforgettable. Their yurts’ door is always open to you and they’re always willing to share some heat, a cup of tea, hot bread or a bowl of vodka… despite the language barrier (main spoken languages there are Kyrgyz and Russian)!

Given the topography of the country, the use of 4×4 is essential: stony tracks, rivers to cross, snowy passes… Nevertheless, these are the same tracks that will allow you to access beautiful, rarely visited areas and locals for whom you will be a curiosity. It is also possible to do horse trekking, which is a funny way to experience nomadic life in the mountains. We have some local guides to recommend on our dedicated page: Horse riding in Kyrgyzstan.

Accompanied by our loyal comrades – a hardy Toyota Land Cruiser nicknamed “Mr Wolf” and the valiant Yamaha 600 XT, “Mrs Crocodile” – we have been exploring Kyrgyzstan since 2017. Our time in this country and with its inhabitants has forever left its mark on us, so much so that we decided to write a book about it! We are convinced that the hospitality of the Kyrgyz people and the beauty of their country will leave a lasting impression on you. Designed like a roadbook, and illustrated with a multitude of maps and photos, EXPLORE KYRGYZSTAN  is both a tool and guide for independent travellers who wish to discover, understand, and visit Kyrgyzstan.

It is up to you to pick from this selection based on your desires and time constraints. Use this guide to build a personalised itinerary of your own, but do remember to let the Kyrgyz natural hospitality and any spur-of-the-moment decisions sway and tempt you.
We recommend including at least one day of outdoor activities to your itinerary (hiking on foot or horseback, rock climbing, white water rafting, etc.) to turn this trip into an unforgettable adventure!

In order to help you prepare an itinerary adapted to your chosen mode of transport, all routes in the book are indicated with a difficulty ranking from 1 to 5. As some routes are poorly maintained, their degree of difficulty may vary according to the weather and recent flooding or landslides. We recommend that you increase the level of the track by 1 in the event of bad weather. If in doubt about an itinerary, do not hesitate to ask the local people or the tourist offices.

Download a navigation application that allows you to locate where you are and download maps in advance (which can be used offline). We recommend, for example, the Maps.me or OSMand applications. Please note that the maps on these applications are not updated frequently and roads are being built at a fast pace in Kyrgyzstan. So don’t be surprised if some tracks or roads do not appear on the maps or if they are slightly different. If you are using a Garmin-type GPS, download the OpenStreetMap maps before you leave.

We have published a foldable A2 format tourist map (scale 1:2 000 000) to help you prepare and organise your trip to Kyrgyzstan. You will find the main and secondary roads and mountain passes, the 24 off-road routes of the book EXPLORE KYRGYZSTAN
and more than 50 touristic sites. Overleaf, you will find a complete Kyrgyz-English phrase book to help you start a discussion under the yurt!

If you need a precise map of Kyrgyzstan, we recommand the GIZI map (1:750,000). Please note, however, that some roads are no longer up to date.

During our first trip to Kyrgyzstan in 2017, we travelled through the country with a 4×4 Toyota Prado and a BMW 650 GS that we had rented in Bishkek. The map below represents the itinerary of our road-trip over 3 weeks including 4 days of horse riding (3 days at Song-Kul lake, 1 day at Kol-Suu lake).

This itinerary gives you the opportunity to discover the different faces of the country, from arid canyons to sparkling lakes surrounded by snowy peaks. It also allows you to experience nomadic life in the high altitude meadows and to discover the vestiges of the Silk Road, such as the caravanserai of Tash-rabat.

Please note that the route over the Tosor Pass is only possible for travellers with off-road driving experience and a suitable vehicle (4×4 obligatory, mountain bike, trail bike). If you travel to Kyrgyzstan before June, the pass may be covered with snow. Check with travel agencies in Bokonbaevo or Naryn.

Popular with visitors for its turquoise-blue waters and its lush shores overrun with horses and yurts in the summer, Lake Song-Kul is one of the must-see places in Kyrgyzstan. Read our article about Lake Song-Kul here. If you have enough time, we strongly recommend you to discover the Kol-Suu lake. Set at an altitude of 3,500 m, Lake Kol-Suu sparkles bright blue, perched in the middle of high granite cliffs. Although it attracts more and more visitors every year, its remoteness and the fact that a permit is required to access it, dissuades the majority of tourists. As you may have understood, the detour is well worth it, especially since the track to get there has been rebuilt recently. More information here.