Tour Program

Accomodation during the trek:

In season 2022 Supplier SR1401 sets tent camps along the whole route. It gives us you s number of advantages:

Your journey is easier and more comfortable than ever as you do not need to carry any food, tents, kitchen utensils, etc.;

Your journey becomes cheaper, as there is no need to hire any porters, cooks, etc. Moreover, there is no crowd to spoil the views;

The journey is safer, as you get a detailed map with the route description. There is means of communication in every tent camp;

Your journey is a discover. You learn new things, try new dishes of the national cuisine, etc.

Day
1
Airport – Bishkek city (drive 30 km, 45 min.
Itinerary
Upon arrival to the international airport Manas meet local guide and driver and transfer to Bishkek city. On arrival accommodation at the hotel (early check-in is included).

After some rest we go to visit famous Osh bazaar. This is the brightest example of trading and boiling life. This a good chance to buy handmade souvenirs, dried fruits etc. After visit the market we head back to the city center to start walking tour around the main Ala Too square to see the legacy of the Soviet Union. There are several objects on our way: Manas Monument, the main national hero of Kyrgyz people; the State Flag and the ceremony of changing the Guards of Honor; the monument of the Revolution of 2010 and the White House, Lenin statue and the old Ala Too Square with number of interesting buildings of the past; Oak park and museum under the clear sky; unique fine art gallery and Kurmanjan Datka monument, finishing walk back at the main Ala Too square and transfer to the Victory Square dedicated to the WWII to finish the city tour by short excursion there.

Lunch and dinner at a local cafe.

Overnight.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Hotel
Day
2
Bishkek – Burana Tower – Son-Kul (drive 390 km, 8-9 hours, + 2300 m.)
Itinerary
In the morning transfer to the Son Kul lake and en route visit to Burana Tower (old minaret) near Tokmok city. That minaret was constructed in Balasagun town, one of the capitals of Karakhanid State existed in 12 centuries AD. Also, watch a collection of Balbals, Turkic ancient stone statues.

After excursion lunch at the Kazakh family house in Tokmok, where we can learn more about life of local people.

In the afternoon continue the journey to Son Kul lake, the second largest mountain lake in Kyrgyzstan. Upon arrival accommodation in the yurt camp located on the south shore, not far from the water of the Song Kul Lake.

Dinner at the yurt camp. Overnight.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Yurt camp
Day
3
Full day at Son-Kul Lake
Itinerary
Today, we step into the nomadic life at the Son Kul Lake. Here, Kyrgyz people still live in traditional houses of nomads – yurt. Yurt – is a traditional dwelling of nomadic people of Central Asia. The foundation of yurt consists of wooden carcass and several felt layers. The construction of such dwelling does not require a lot of time that makes it practical and useful for locals. We can optionally have horseback riding (own arrangements) or just hiking, spend time with friendly Kyrgyz families and taste their products, like Airan (yogurt) and Kymys (a fermented national drink from mare’s milk).

Lunch and dinner at the yurt camp. Overnight.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Yurt camp
Day
4
Lake Son-Kul - Karakol town (drive 350 km, 7-8 hours, -1400 m.
Itinerary
In the morning continue the trip and head further to Karakol town along the south shore of Issyk-Kul lake.

Lunch in Bokonbaev village at a local kyrgyz family house.

On the way stop to visit and walk around Skazka canyon. The canyon looks scenic with the dark blue Issyk-Kul Lake on the background.

After walk we continue drive and in a few hours reach the town. Upon arrival dinner at a local cafe and accommodation at the hotel. Overnight.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Hotel 3*
Day
5
Karakol town – Karkara Base camp (drive 120 km, 3 hours, +500 m.)
Itinerary
In the morning we have sightseeing tour. It starts from the visit to the Memorial Complex of N.M.Przhevalsky - Great Russian explorer and researcher of Asian continent (12 km far from Karakol). Later return back to Karakol town and visit Dungan mosque - unique building in a style of the Chinese pagoda, which is functioning mosque up to now. In addition, we visit Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Church. In the miraculous iconostasis of the church there is the famous Tikhvinian icon of Divine Mother, painted in 1897.

After sightseeing, lunch at a local cafe. Later, transfer to Karkara Base Camp, located in 120 kilometers to the South-East from Karakol town. The drive will take us about 3 hours. The road passes through Tup village, then continues East towards checkpoint Karkyra. As we are going to enter the border zone, we must show our border-permits and passports to the soldier on duty.

Dinner and overnight in tents.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Tent camp
Day
6
Karkara Base camp – Iva camp 2900 m. (trek 10 km, 3-4 hours, +700 m.)
Itinerary
After breakfast we take a helicopter flight to starting point of the trek in Inylchek Valley to a place which called Prijim. Then we trek up along the valley to the foot of Inylchek glacier. On the way you can see Nansen peak (5690 m) and Tuz pass (4001 m). In 1902, German geographer Gottfried Merzbacher noticed Nansen peak. Even he, who had seen the panorama of many mountains on the globe, such as the Alps, the Caucasus, the Himalayas and Karkorum, had a feeling of surprise and delight at the sight of the giant ridge that bounded the valley of Inylchek from the South. Its mighty snow-capped peaks of the most varied sculptural forms (of which the creative forces of nature are capable for) are visible all the way from West to East. In his opinion this is the one of the greatest Alpine paintings of the globe.

Arrival to the tent camp called Iva. Meet by local staff and get accommodated. Dinner and overnight in tents.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Tent camp
Day
7
Iva camp – Glina camp 3100 m. (trek 8 km, 5-6 hours, +200 m.)
Itinerary
After breakfast we take our lunch boxes and leave the tent camp. Today is trekking is going to continue along the lateral moraine of the Inylcheck glacier to the confluence with Putevodnyi glacier. Very steep ascents and descents pretty much exhausting that will add some chellenge to the day. We will try to go through the right slope of the terrace. Please note: there are lots of rockfalls along the trail, it’s better to be very careful. The way goes up and down all the time.

The lunch will be on the glacier. Then we ascent another steep terrace along a narrow trail. The variety of terrains and the steepness of the slope trails will add some more adrenaline into the blood.

Arriving to the next camp – Glina, we will have some tea/coffee and rest. The camp has got its name (which means clay in Russian) because of its location on a green clay field. Dinner and overnight in tents.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Tent camp
Day
8
Camp Glina – Merzbacher Glade 3400 m. (trek 9 km, 5-6 hours, +300 m.)
Itinerary
Today, we trek up and down various terraces, though we have about 9-10 km of a straight way for today. Only once we trek across a small glacier, passing a river and have lunch on the shore of a small lake, where you can have some rest. There will be about one hour left to get to the Camp.

Upon arrival we get some tea or coffee along with wonderful views of Merzbacher lake from that spot. Merzbacher glade is the last grassy place in the area located just across the unique Merzbacher Lake. There is a scientific research station on the glacier. Scientists from all over the world come to work here every summer. They study glaciers moving, meteorological situation of the region and the lake Merzbacher itself. There is a large green area around which is flat enough for camping.

Dinner and overnight at the tent camp.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Tent camp
Day
9
Radial hiking to Merzbacher Lake (trek 7 km, 4-5 hours)
Itinerary
In the morning we start radial hiking, cross South Inylchek glacier up to Mertzbacher Lake. The glacier terrain is ice covered with rocks and stones, sand and mud. Sandwiched between the Northern and Southern branches of the glacier lies the mysterious Merzbacher Lake, which form every summer and then, sometime in August, burst through the ice banks and the waters flow into the Inylchek river. The lakes empty twice a year – once in the summer and once in the winter – but most people only know about the summer event. In 1903, German geographer and mountaineer, Gottfried Merzbacher, first discovered the lake while leading an expedition into Tian Shan Mountains aiming to reach the summit of Khan Tengri.

Dinner and overnight at the tent camp.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Tent camp
Day
10
Merzbacher Glade – South Inylchek base camp 4100 m.
Itinerary
Today, we have helicopter flight to Base Camp South Inylchek. We have our lunch, tea or coffee. Dinner at 7 pm.

South Inylchek BC is open from 6 of July till 31 of August every year and might be interesting not only for alpinists, but also for usual travelers, who would like to enjoy the views of beautiful mountains on the flight by helicopter.

INYLCHEK Base Camp is ideally situated in the heart of North Tien-Shan at the South Inylchek glacier approximately at 4000 m. above the sea level. It has a picturesque view of Khan-Tengri ( 7010 m .) and Pobeda ( 7439 m .) peaks.

Overnight and dinner in BC.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Tent camp
Day
11
South Inylchek BC – Karkara BC – Issyk-Kul Lake (drive 200 km, 3 hours, -2500 m.)
Itinerary
Breakfast at the Base Camp, than we take a helicopter flight to Karkara base camp. On arrival to the Base Camp we start drive to the hotel located on the shore of Issyk-Kul lake. Lunch en route at a local cafe.

Also, on the way we visit so called Stone garden or Cholpon Ata Petroglyphs site, the temple in the open air of Scythians and Hung suns civilizations dated back to 9-8 centuries BC till 3-4 centuries AD. The area of those stone drawing lies at the foot of Kungei Ala-Too Range with a beautiful view of the whole lake.

After excursion short transfer to the hotel, accommodation. Dinner at the restaurant on the area of the hotel.

Overnight.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Hotel
Day
12
Issyk-Kul Lake – Bishkek city (drive 270 km, 5-6 hours, -800 m.)
Itinerary
After breakfast we start drive to the city of Bishkek and en route visit to Burana Tower (old minaret) near Tokmok city. That minaret was constructed in Balasagun town, one of the capitals of Karakhanid State existed in 12 centuries AD. Also, watch a collection of Balbals, Turkic ancient stone statues. Lunch en route.

Continue drive to the capital. Upon arrival accommodation at the hotel.

Dinner and overnight.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Hotel
Day
13
Bishkek city
Itinerary
After breakfast we have sightseeing tour that is starting from the famous Osh bazaar, located at the west part of Bishkek. This is the brightest example of trading and boiling life. It is a good chance to buy handmade souvenirs, dried fruits, spices etc. After visit the market we head back to the city center to start walking tour around the main Ala Too square to see the legacy of the Soviet Union. There are several objects on our way: Manas Monument, the main national hero of Kyrgyz people; the State Flag and the ceremony of changing the Guards of Honor; the monument of the Revolution of 2010 and the White House, Lenin statue and the old Ala Too Square with number of interesting buildings of the past; Oak park and museum under the clear sky; unique fine art gallery and Kurmanjan Datka monument, finishing walk back at the main Ala Too square and transfer to the Victory Square dedicated to the WWII to finish the city tour by short excursion there.

Lunch and dinner at a local cafe/restaurants.

Overnight at the hotel.

Meals
B L D
Accommodation
Hotel
Day
14
Bishkek city – Airport (30 km, 45 min)
Itinerary
Early in the morning transfer to the airport. Departure back home.
Meals
B - -
Accommodation
- - -