Category: Trekking
Duration: 3 days / 2 nights, 3 trekking days
Difficulty: Moderate — 13–15 km per day, three passes above 3,000 m
Trekking Distance: approx. 43 km (13–15 km per day)
Total Ascent / Descent: approx. 1,700 m / 2,090 m
Altitude Range: 2,280 – 3,326 m (highest point: Jalgyz-Karagai Pass)
Walking Time: 5–6 hours per day
Terrain: Shepherd trails and open pastures, a short rocky section below Jalgyz-Karagai Pass; no climbing skills required
Luggage: Carried by pack horse — you hike with a light daypack
Best Season: May to September
Accommodation: 2 nights in traditional Kyrgyz yurts with beds and warm blankets
Meals Included: 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinners
Group Size: Private tour, 1–6 participants (solo travellers and groups of more than 6 on request)
This 3-day Song-Kol trek follows shepherd trails from jailoo to jailoo, from Kyzart Pass to Song-Kol Lake (3,016 m). It crosses three passes above 3,000 m and ends in the Bazar-Turuk Gorge. A pack horse carries your luggage. You spend the first night in a yurt camp at Kilemche and the second with a shepherd family by the lake.
Trekking boots and poles, a waterproof jacket, warm layers (nights near freezing), a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, a 20–30 L daypack and a water bottle. You don’t need a sleeping bag because the yurts have beds and warm blanket
Hikers with regular walking experience who can manage 5–6 hours a day at 2,300–3,300 m. You don’t need technical skills or previous high-altitude experience. It makes a good first trek in Kyrgyzstan or a short add-on to a longer trip.
Route: Kyzart Pass → Chaar-Archa Pass (3,061 m) → Kilemche → Jalgyz-Karagai Pass (3,326 m) → Song-Kol → Tuz-Ashuu Pass (~3,270 m) → Bazar-Turuk Gorge
Drive from Bishkek to Kyzart Pass, approximately 3–4 hours. Here you meet your trekking guide, horseman and pack horse, who will carry the main luggage throughout the trek.
The trail starts across Kyzyl-Kiya Jailoo, a wide open mountain pasture, and climbs steadily to Chaar-Archa Pass (3,061 m) — a good warm-up that lets your body adjust to the altitude. Descend into the Chaar-Archa Valley for a riverside lunch with views of the Baba-Ata Mountains.
In the afternoon, cross the river and follow rolling green hills to Kilemche Jailoo. Kilemche means “like a carpet”, a fitting name for the endless pastures around the camp. Dinner and overnight in a yurt.
Trekking: approx. 15 km, 5–6 hours
Ascent / Descent: approx. 660 m / 790 m
Highest Point: Chaar-Archa Pass (3,061 m)
Overnight: Yurt camp at Kilemche Jailoo (approx. 2,500 m)
The main trekking day. After breakfast, climb about 870 m to Jalgyz-Karagai Pass (3,326 m), the highest point of the trek. Keep a steady pace and enjoy the widening views back over Kilemche Jailoo. The final section below the pass is steeper and rocky, but non-technical.
From the top, Song-Kol slowly comes into view as you descend into the vast lake basin, framed by the ranges of the Tien Shan. After lunch at Jaman-Echki, continue across the pastures to the western shore of the lake near Tuz-Ashuu.
Spend the night in a shepherd family’s yurt close to the lake, experience the evening rhythm of life on the jailoo and, on clear nights, a sky full of stars.
Trekking: approx. 13 km, 5–6 hours
Ascent / Descent: approx. 870 m / 350 m
Highest Point: Jalgyz-Karagai Pass (3,326 m)
Overnight: Shepherd family’s yurt at Tuz-Ashuu (approx. 3,000 m)
After breakfast, a short climb of about 250 m brings you to Tuz-Ashuu Pass (approx. 3,270 m), the last pass of the trek, with panoramic views over the Song-Kol basin on one side and the Jumgal Valley on the other.
Then comes the longest descent of the trip — about 980 m down into the Bazar-Turuk Gorge, where the trek ends beside the river. Trekking poles are very helpful here. Your vehicle meets you in the gorge for the short 10 km drive to Kyzart village, where a final traditional lunch and a hot shower await you at a local family homestay.
Transfer back to Bishkek by private vehicle, arriving in the early evening.
Trekking: approx. 14.5 km, 5–6 hours
Ascent / Descent: approx. 250 m / 980 m
Highest Point: Tuz-Ashuu Pass (approx. 3,270 m)
Driving: Bazar-Turuk Gorge – Kyzart approx. 10 km; Kyzart – Bishkek approximately 3–4 hours
Included in the Price
Not Included
Other Ways to Reach Song-Kol
Prefer to ride? Follow a similar route on horseback with our 3-Day Horseback Adventure to Song-Kol Lake. Have more time? Join the 9-day Jailoo Hopping to Lake Song-Kol trek from Shamshy Gorge for the full jailoo experience.
It is moderate: 13–15 km and 5–6 hours of walking per day, with three passes above 3,000 m. You don’t need technical skills.
No. A pack horse carries your main luggage, and you walk with a light daypack.
In traditional yurts with beds and warm blankets. You don’t need a sleeping bag.
From mid-May to mid-September.
It is a private tour for 1–6 people. Contact us about solo travel or groups larger than 6.
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