Recorres caminos sin asfaltar por el paso de Kalmak-Ashuu hasta el lago Song-Kul y sigues hacia Jeti-Oguz, Karakol y las aguas termales de Altyn-Arashan, durmiendo en yurtas por el camino.
The organiser's signature route through Kyrgyzstan, where Alpine scenery meets Mongolian-style steppe: Kalmak-Ashuu Pass, high-altitude Song-Kul lake, Parrot Pass, Jeti-Oguz, Karakol and Altyn-Arashan. Nights in yurts with campfires, horse riding and hot springs. Requires the stamina for steady pedalling on unpaved and forest roads.
We rode the grasslands around Issyk-Kul with the snowy Tian Shan in the distance.
Wildflowers were in full bloom, with herds of cows, horses and sheep grazing.
For about ten days we breathed air full of grass and flowers alongside great companions.
Elsewhere we glided across grassland as soft as a carpet.
Ciclista · 2025.06Kyrgyzstan Ride: the Alps of Central Asia
At night the Milky Way spread over the guesthouse while talk went on around the campfire.
In the morning we soaked in the hot spring, with no phone signal anywhere in the valley.
The roughly 10 km we had climbed turned into one long, thrilling downhill.
Back on pavement, we picked sweet apricots growing wild all along the road.
Ciclista · 2019.09Kyrgyzstan Ride: the Alps of Central Asia
Day 6 in Altyn-Arashan was spent on horseback instead of on the bike.
With no real lesson, we each picked a horse and set off across meadows and streams.
When the handler got my slow horse trotting, the fear gave way to pure fun.
Ciclista · 2019.09Kyrgyzstan Ride: the Alps of Central Asia
Day 5 took us from our hotel in Karakol up to a guesthouse in Altyn-Arashan.
After the pavement, a long, gentle gravel climb followed the river valley.
The boulder sections became a fun challenge to ride through without putting a foot down.
After lunch came a steep, rutted climb of rocks and loose sand, and most of us pushed.
At the guesthouse the night stars felt close enough to touch.
Ciclista · 2019.09Kyrgyzstan Ride: the Alps of Central Asia
Day 4 began with a steep climb behind the guesthouse, revealing the ochre rocks of Jeti-Oguz.
A long, steep, shadeless climb past herders' yurts led to a grassy pass at 2,580 m.
We were told these fields turn into a carpet of wildflowers in June.
Lunch was a kimchi stew cooked by the trip leader beside a clear stream.
The stone-free grassland descent toward Karakol went on and on, and it was a blast.
Ciclista · 2019.08Kyrgyzstan Ride: the Alps of Central Asia
Day 3 was our first ride, setting out from the guesthouse in Jeti-Oguz.
A road wide enough for one car narrowed into singletrack worn by cattle and horses.
The traverse along the hillside, full of yellow wildflowers, rolled up and down nicely.
We finished with a green grassy descent, barely touching the brakes.
Ciclista · 2019.08Kyrgyzstan Ride: the Alps of Central Asia
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Song-Kul Lake Loop
A full loop of high-altitude Song-Kul lake on steppe tracks, ridden on the Kyrgyzstan trip after a night in a yurt.
