Day: July 1, 2026

Deryn found this new little guesthouse a little way out of the town of Teplokyuchenka, close to some local hot springs.  It was also the exit point for the most well-known hike in Kyrgyzstan, the 4-day Ala-Kul hike.  We had intended to do it but decided we were not fit enough to do the 1600m climb on the second day to 3900m. Sandra had headed out to Ganbar guesthouse the day before so thankfully she was there to welcome us when we arrived.  Once again Google Maps was a challenge.  Our room was lovely and our host Sahil was there with a fruit platter. However, the rest of the established was still very much in development.  There were 3 rooms of which Sahil had taken 1. He was an IT bod from Azerbaijan who had married a Kyrgyz lady and decided it was time for a sea change.  He had ambitious plans for his guesthouse and given the rapid growth in the local tourism sector, he is probably on to a winner.  

We decided to let him cook us dinner (duck) but before that it was time for a hike – basically doing a bit of the last day of the Ala-Kul hike down the Alta Arashan valley.  We could have grabbed a taxi to the Altyn and walked the 15km back but the thought of 2 hours on a very bumpy road put us off.  So, we walked halfway, had some lunch and walked home. The scenery was really beautiful although the regular flow of traffic – most which was the famous Russian workhorse UAZ-452.

Before dinner Sahir drove us the ‘local’ hot springs, by passing the more touristy Ak-Suu Kench hot springs.  It was lovely relaxing in the warm water after the hike.  There was a shower drawing water directly from the nearby Aksu River – nice way to cool off after soaking in the hot water.  It cost us 300 Som each, the entry fee included a nice little dust up between a couple of local ladies.  Sahir’s dinner was OK but a a little bit too much oil. He really did try hard though.   The next day was a bit of a chill-out day with Dits hanging in the village in the morning and then walking to the touristy hot baths after lunch.  They were slightly more expensive at 400 Som but so much better.  The hottest pool was impossible to even stand in – I cannot believe anyone could cope with it.  The cold pool was actually part of the river – you had to be careful not to be swept into the river when sitting in it. When we got home, I told Sahil he should not discourage his guests going to it as it really is much better than his local one.   I guess we may been spoiled as there were not that many people there.  We grabbed a Yandex into town for dinner and had a really great meal at a Japanese restaurant called Aori.  We had a cow pay a visit while we were in bed which was nice until she emptied her bowels nearby and stunk the place out

Next morning we grabbed a Yandex to Jyrgalan – initially the driver was a bit reluctant as he was fearful his BYD would not cope with the roads.  The 90 minutes drive was basically one continuous roadwork.  Jyrgalan is being developed into a ski resort – a Euro 1.2b mega resort spanning 3 peaks with over 250km skiable terrain.  They get over 3 metres of snow a year. It’s meant to open Dec 26, but by the look of it it’ll be a bit later than that.  The level of development is insane – with hundreds of massive pipes bing laid, roads rebuilt and not to mention the actual ski fields. A lot of houses in the village looked decrepit; perhaps sold to be knocked down and rebuilt into lodges.  Will be really interesting to see what happens to the local horse, cattle and sheep farmers.

Our guesthouse – called the curious Mine Hostel – was run by a family of Russians who come down every summer to live on the local horse milk.  Very good for you apparently. The place was 2 stories with 3 rooms upstairs for guests although 1 was taken by a sickly old family member.  There was also a yurt outside.  We unpacked and then decided to do the 14km round trip hike to Turnaluu-Kol Lake.  The first part of the hike was a bit of challenge as we were basically waking through roadworks but once we got into the hills it was lovely.  Loads of horses, the odd cow and the rare sheep. We were welcomed by a couple of cranes when we finally made it to the lake.  The lake wasn’t for swimming, but it was certainly relaxing lying on the soft grass around it and enjoying the peace and quiet. While we only climbed 500m, the 2500m altitude made the last 2 km a bit of a grind. Dinner was the usual guesthouse fare – salad, soup and pasta.

The next morning Deryn and I booked in a horse ride to Kok-Bel waterfall at 2pm. We headed into explore the town and grab some lunch from a local café.  The town had a power failure, so it was some local cold fare – which actually turned out to be really good.  We ate it by the river and enjoyed watching some young horses come down to the river for a drink.  The horse ride was 5500 Som for the guides plus 1800 for each rider. Our guide was a 15 year over chatty local kid who was joined by his 18-year-old, a lot less chatty, cousin.   They were anti us doing any cantering as ‘we could fall”.  I think they had concerns about my ability as a rider.  Damn annoying.   We did manage to get a few canters in later in the ride which was nice. We spent about an hour climbing up the valley before leaving the horses and walking the last 400m to the falls.  Again, they were OK – again more of a journey than a destination.  The return leg was a lot more enjoyable as we kept off the road and spent more time in the paddocks.  The 2 kids were a bit annoying as they were continually using their horses to bump into each other. The 15 years olds horse ran off when he got off to pick up his hat which would have been embarrassing. The older cousin jumped on the runaway when we captured him and gave him a couple of very hard whips as punishment.  We stopped at the family farm for a glass of very smokey horse milk before cantering home just as the heavens were opening.

Our ride back into Karakol the next morning was a big Ute with a 4-seat cabin.  It was actually very comfortable over the bumpy roads.  We got the driver to drop us off at Aori again so we could grab some lunch before separating from Sandra. It was sad to say goodbye as we had spent over a week travelling together.   We will miss her. We grabbed a Yandex (4000 Som) to Chalton Ata -a 2-hour drive from Karakol.  I had convinced Deryn to book a decent hotel on the lake front because I really wanted to just lay in the sun for a couple of days doing nothing before heading back to our day jobs. The hotel was called Silent and it was costing us $A300 for 2 nights.

The hotel was perfect – although a room with lake views would have been better.  We unpacked and then headed to the lakefront for a swim. As noted before, Issyk Kul is unique in that it doesn’t freeze and is endorheic – ie no outflow.  The beach was packed with Sunday revellers. It’s a perfect spot for kids as the water is warm and shallow for at least 50m from the shoreline. Lovely. The snowy peaks of the Tian Shan mountains seemed to float like clouds across the southern part of the lake. You could hire recliners and umbrellas for a mere 300 Som a day so that was tomorrow sorted. We walked to a local restaurant in the village – very little western tourists in this part of the world so no English.  The area was popular with the Russians who used to come down in their hordes as package tours in the good old days of the USSR.

We headed out early to visit the local Petroglyphs Museum before it got too hot.  It was an outdoor museum of 42 hectares that contained over 2000 carvings onto the many boulders that are a feature of Kyrgyzstan’s glacial past.  Some of the carvings are over 4000 years old.  We spent 45 minutes wandering around but really struggled to make out many of the carvings. It was back to Silence, breakfast and the beach until around 2 when we decided that was enough sun. Our time in Kyrgyzstan is coming to a close.  This county is going to change immensely in the next 5 or so years as the tourist wave engulfs it.  We just really hope that the things that made this place to special does not get ruined by too many people coming here to experience it.  It’s been a magic 7 weeks with my bestie

Deryn managed to organise a driver from our hotel in Karakol to pick us up in Naryn, drive us to our guest house on the southern shores of Issyk Kul and then drive us to the canyon, waterfall and finally on to Karakol. All for the pricey sum of 17,000 Som ($280). We decided against paying an additional 8,000 Som for an SUV. Our original quote from the tourist office in Naryn was 14,800 Som just to our lake guest house.  

We got picked up at 9.15 with Sandra already in the car. It was an easy drive to the little village and the Umar guest house, although again we marvelled at the amount of roadworks (and development) going on. Kyrgyzstan really is pumping billions into roading infrastructure.  Issyk Kul is quite unique as although it is nearly 1900m above sea level it does not freeze because of its salinity and nearby thermal springs.

We were met at the guest house by Nora, a daughter of the family that owned it.  She was down for a holiday, living in Bishkek working for a tourism company.  Her English was really good.  We had a choice of a room downstairs with a big bathroom or a room upstairs (with great views) but with a tiny bathroom (and I mean really tiny – you had to sit sideways on the toilet).  We chose the view.  I noticed on a laminated pamphlet that said there was eagle viewing available.  I checked with Nora who said she could arrange it for 5,500 Som as a group charge.  Bargain.  She also recommended a restaurant down the road in a resort for lunch.  The resort was very tidy but was only partially completed.  It certainly will be impressive when done. The food was OK but half the stuff we ordered wasn’t available.  Nora had arranged the eagle viewing for 630 with our driver taking us there for an additional 500 Som.

We all jumped in the car, including Nora, at 610.  She was joining us as finding the location wasn’t that easy.  After a 15-minute drive, Nora informed us we had to walk up this hill to meet with the eagle crew.  It took us about 15 minutes to get to the top, only to find that the eagle crew were over the other side in a valley.  We could have driven there in the car.  We decided to walk there rather than turning round.  Nora felt she had to escort us while the driver headed back to the car to drive it around the hill to meet us. It took us about 15 minutes to get down as Deryn and Sandra both had sandles on. The eagle crew consisted of an elder and 2 junior apprentices.  One of the apprentices took an eagle and climbed up to the top of the hill from where we had just come.  The elder then talked us through the process of training the eagles – they typically start training them when chicks but can train them up to 5 years old.  Once the eagle reaches 15 years, they let them loose back into the wild – after a transition period.   Golden eagles can live up to 35 years .  

The second apprentice took one of the eagles across the paddock so that it could chase a rabbit skin tied to some rope attached to the elder’s horse. The speed of the eagle as it attacked the skin was incredible.  Then it was the turn off the eagle up the hill. The elder held up his arm and called the eagle – it would have been at least 600m away.  Hearing and watching it swoop in to land on his arm and grab the bit of rabbit the elder was holding was again impressive.  The size of the eagle’s talons and the strength of its beak as it ripped the rabbit skin showed how eagles can hunt wild dogs etc.  As an aside it took the kid about a 1 minutes to get from the top of the hill back us.  The one that took us 15!!

Then it was the chance of the 3 hunting Afghan hounds to hunt a rabbit skin by a piece of rope attached to a horse.  The dogs were strange looking things – but again could certainly move.  Dits and I got to then don some local gear and have a chance holding the eagles on the super thick glove.  The one we held was 5kg, so it was understandable why the elder had a wooden stick to help keep his arm extended.  They need to be held at arms length from the horse or else they can damage their tail feathers.  Holding anything weighing 5kgs at arms length is impossible for any length of time

We then got to do some archery.  Firing at a target about 25m away.  After a couple of sighters, Deryn and I both got our aim in.  I even managed to hit within the circle of the bullseye.  The elder was obviously impressed with my ability, so he offered me the chance of shooting at a moving target – a 50cm wide foam disk.  I hit it with my second attempt much to everyone’s, including mine, surprise. We finished off the evening with a meal at a local restaurant, shouting both the driver and Nora as a sign of thanks.  Easy to be generous when the meal for 5 of us cost $A40.

We got away early next next morning as we had a full agenda.  The first stop was the Fairytale Canyon; or the Great Wall of China as our driver called it because of the steep wall of sandstone that ran for several kilometres through the canyon.  The canyon is comprised of red Neogen-era clay and sandstone. The colours and rocks sculptures were amazing – hence the name Fairytale.  The colours reminded Deryn and I of the coloured mountains in northern Argentina; although the source of those colours twas choral. We spent a fun hour exploring the myriads of shapes and colours before deciding it was getting a bit busy and time to get back on the road. Our driver enjoyed the stop as much as we did. Next stop was the Barksoon Waterfall.

The road to the waterfall was one big roadwork – even more so than the road alongside Issyk Kul. Our driver said the road was being developed to get the gold out of the mountains (gold is key source of Kyrgyzstan revenue).  We parked in a yurt camp and headed up into the hills for a bit of a hike to the falls. It took us about 25 min of non-stop climbing to reach the first waterfall – there are 3 cascading falls. The lower waterfall was OK but nothing special.  That’s not to say it wasn’t lovely being in the wilds. Our driver said we should climb up to the upper falls, but it was a very sketchy climb – after initially saying no we thought what the hell and up we went. We could see the second waterfall from our higher point but decided against going any higher.  We then bumped into a group of tourists who had walked up from the yurt camp on a different path.   Their path took you past a lower waterfall which they thought was it.  They were pleased to know it wasn’t.  We headed down the path to check out the other waterfall.  Once again, they were just OK. Under instructions from our driver, I dipped my head under the water.  Not as cold as I expected. There were about 7 or 8 Germans girls there who were spending a year in Kyrgyzstan teaching German.  Apparently, Germany is a country of choice for emigrants or those looking for work

We grabbed an awful coffee and got back on the road to Karakol. It was nearly 4 by the time we arrived at our hotel. Virtually every time we use Google Maps in this country we end up in strange places. Must be a better local version.  The hotel was very Russian but nice.  As it was getting to the end of our trip, we were gradually increasing our nightly budget on accommodation – the Tagaytay Karakol Hotel was the $A75 per night.    We were shattered so decided to go for a walk and grab an early dinner. The hotel gave us a nearby recommendation which was another of there very Chinese restaurants – in appearance nor cuisine.  I did the ordering and completely botched it up.  We thought we would have some bread while playing cards then order a main to share.  I ordered a bread platter followed by creamy chicken to follow later.  They brought out the bread quickly which comprised of these little dough balls that you dipped into some very tasty cheese dip.  We were 1/3 of the way though when the waiter came out and said it was the wrong order and took the dish away.   Language challenges made it impossible to convince him to leave it and flag the other order. The other order arrived and it was a massive plate of bread.  Should have know as it cost 800 Son.

Breakfast was an impressive buffet with a broad range of sweets and savouries.  Best of all there was a coffee shop next door that made decent coffees. Suitably nourished we headed off to our first destination – the Holy Trinity Cathedral – a Russian Orthodox Church made entirely from wood.  We had to walk through the main square to get to the church which was a hive of activity with a stage being set up for some event later in the day.  Karakol was a lot more Chinese (and probably Muslim) than other places we had visited.  It was also a lot less touristy.  The cathedral was impressive with golden domes glistening in the sunlight. The original church was destroyed by an earthquake in 1889 and replaced by a wooden one.  The church was surrounded by lovely gardens.  Next stop was the mosque – no accusations of religious favouritism with Dits and me.  We ended going the wrong way getting to the mosque so we got to see a lot more of Karakol than we intended which was great in a way.  We stumbled across a lovely little café so took the opportunity to grab some lunch – a chicken panini no less.  The mosque itself was a waste of space – really not worth the time and effort.  As they say, “it’s the journey that matters not the destination”.

We headed back to our hotel and Deryn grabbed a massage from a “strong Russian woman” while I spent some time writing the blog. We did a bit more research on a place for dinner and ended finding a place that provided a much better experience than the prior evening. It took a while to get to sleep as the activity we saw in the square tuned out to be a concert – mostly DJs with a fair bit of base.  Thankfully, it finished at 10.  In the morning we were heading to a new little guest house in the mountain town of Teploklyuchenka for a bit more hiking.