I huffed and I puffed, my lungs straining for oxygen that just wasn’t there. The top of the hill didn’t seem that far away, but every time I looked up it wasn’t actually any closer.
I kept going. Huff. Puff. One foot in front of the other, up up and up. A stop now and then to catch my breath.
Then I was nearly there. Nadine was calling down to me from her perch on top of a rock, saying that the view was fantastic. One last bit of adrenaline kicked in and that burst of energy propelled me to the top of the pass.
Laid out before me was a vast grassland, a shallow valley slowly descending to silvery blue Song-Kol lake in the distance, reflecting the snowy mountains that shimmered in the bright sunlight.
Behind me, I could see where we’d come from, the yurt camp that was just above ours now just a tiny white speck far, far below.
No, I had not climbed Everest. Or Kilimanjaro, or any other high mountain. I had simply made it to the top of a 3400 metre pass through the mountains surrounding Song-Kol lake in Kyrgyzstan.
Now, I made that sound impressive, but really, it isn’t. Yes, 3400 metres is high but it’s not THAT high, and it was a steep climb up, but it was only two and a half hours worth of hiking. It shouldn’t have been so difficult.
But this was Monday morning, and I’d only left my home in Oman on Thursday night, from my lovely little house which is just about at sea level. By 10am on Sunday I was at 2000 metres, beginning to climb. Let’s just say that zero acclimatization time makes for a rough hike.
So I was ecstatic to reach the top of that pass and look at that glorious view, knowing that the trek for the rest of the day was either downhill or relatively flat.
The trek to Song-Kol lake was four days. I’d been presented with a multitude of options: a shorter (but not necessarily easier) three-day trek, going by horseback all or only some of the way, or even just a drive in to the lake by car over the dirt road. But horses and I are not the best of friends, and the car option just seemed too…easy. It felt like this lake was a treasure, a reward that I only deserved to see if I put the work in.
So when Zhibek at the CBT office in Kochkor said she had another girl who wanted to do a four-day trek, I said let’s go. The four-day trek went in a direction away from the busiest and most touristy yurt camps, and that extra day was simply a three hour walk along relatively flat land next to the lake. I was sold.
Nadine and I were met in the morning by Myrzaiym, our guide for the four days. Our little group of women was rounded out by two ‘trainee’ guides, Nurai and Anisa, who were along for the first time to learn the way.
We started with a drive, an hour out into the countryside along a potholed road that got worse and worse until eventually the driver turned off it and just drove into the grasslands. He stopped and we got out, Myrzaiym announcing that this spot in the middle of nowhere was where we would begin the trek to Song-Kol lake.
The trek involved hiking over a mountain pass on all but one day, the first a small one of 2600* metres, the next two around 3400 metres each. We went slowly (or at least I did…) up the steep paths, step by step.
We wound around hillsides and up and down valleys; steep narrow ones with rushing rivers and flat wide ones filled with wildflowers.
We walked through marshy areas, trying to find a way through without getting our feet soaked, not always successfully.
We skated across a hillside in orange mud that just would not quit, the kind that sticks to your shoes in huge clumps until they have zero grip left and your feet feel as if you’ve put on 5kg ankle weights.
We layered on raincoats and warm hats against mist, rain, and hail, and ran for a yurt more than once when the dark clouds and thunder in the distance got close enough to drench us.
We basked in the sunshine amongst the wildflowers next to the lake.
We ate and slept in yurts along the way, with families who have found a way to benefit from the influx of tourists to their grassy summer homes. From June to August, when town is hot, dusty and boring, these people live here as they always have, in the fresh cool air of the mountains, tending herds of cows, sheep, or horses. In September when it gets too cold they go back to their homes in the town.
There were numerous highlights of the trek to Song-Kol lake.
Getting to the top of that pass before the lake was an accomplishment but the stunning view from it and the ensuing walk down through a valley carpeted in wildflowers was even better.
Having a group of only women allowed our first evening to include a long discussion about bride kidnapping, a common practice in Kyrgyzstan. While the girls said it now happens only in more distant and rural regions in the Southwest of the country, it also came to light that of the four Kyrgyz ladies present, three of their mothers had been stolen. And when we asked if their parents’ marriages were happy, the answer was ‘Yes, of course!’
The scenery. All of it.
The fresh bread and jam for every snack and meal. Seriously, the Kyrgyz people make jam as good as my Grandma’s, and that’s really saying something.
Relaxing near the lake before dinner on our second evening, chatting to our guides and other travellers. It was just so beautiful and so peaceful.
And on the ‘short’ walking day we had extra time at the yurt camp. The constantly changing weather there meant that the afternoon and evening was filled with rain and hail storms, sunlight and rainbows, making for not just incredible light and shadows for photographs but also time to relax in the sunshine among the wildflowers.
Yes, the trek was difficult at times, but I wasn’t the only one struggling. Anisa was not used to hiking so much, particularly uphill, and at one point on a steep slope I turned to her and asked if she was still sure she wanted to be a guide.
No. Not sure at all.
But just like me, she made it to the end, saying that she hadn’t even known you could hike to Song-Kul. She’d been before, but by car. I promised her that if she was doing the trek to Song-Kol lake regularly, she’d be as fast and agile as Myrzaiym, who just about ran up the steep hills.
A chorus of laughter burst out behind me as I held my phone up to the open window of the car, snapping a quick photo of the passing mountains.
“She never stops!” the girls squealed, and I grinned as I realized that their laughter was at me.
I’d spent the last four days photographing incessantly, and that wasn’t about to stop now just because I was in a moving car. The scenery on this trek to Song-Kol lake was gorgeous, and I couldn’t stop capturing it. Now I need to get myself back to Kyrgyzstan to see more!
*Note that there was some discrepancy between elevations that the guide told us, what Nadine’s app on her phone said, and what the map in the CBT office in Kochkor said. We may have been as high as 2664 metres to start, and that first pass may have been as high as 3039 metres. I’m just not sure.
Have you done a trek like this? Would you like to go to Kyrgyzstan? Tell me about it in the comments!
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“huff. puff. one foot in front of the other.” … Just like me hiking Roy’s Peak in NZ hahah 😉
Hahaha Sarah I never even made it up Roy’s Peak, more because of a bad knee than anything though. I think the elevation gain on the day I was writing about was only about half of what Roy’s Peak is….but starting at higher altitude so difficult in other ways. So good on ya for making it to the top! 🙂
Love the photos in this. The air looks so clear, the mountains in the distance don’t look hazy at all! Also: v. excited by the double rainbow. ??? Did they mention what sort of volume of tourists they’ve been getting? I’ve been seeing more and more about Kyrgyzstan and wonder what their tourism numbers look like.
Thanks Mel! The air was wonderfully clear and fresh up there. I was SO excited by the double rainbow. It appeared as we were just sitting down to eat dinner and I happened to be sitting facing the door and saw it, jumped up and got my camera and took photos while my soup got cold. 😉 I just couldn’t resist.
I think Kyrgyzstan’s tourism is starting to grow pretty fast, and I happen to know that this summer they’ve invited a whole bunch of bloggers to come check it out and promote it, so you’ll be seeing a lot more about it in the near future!
Wow, that is some fabulous scenery. Thanks for taking me there. I would have wanted to see the insides of the yurts. But the wildflowers are so pretty and the horses so graced the land!
Thanks Carol! I actually didn’t take many photos of the insides of the yurts, mainly because there wasn’t much inside them! And I think the wildflowers and lake distracted me. 😉 Maybe next time! 🙂
wow your story is amazing! You really made me put Kyrgyzstan on my bucket list!! Amazing post and amazing photos! well done!
Thank you Wendy! I’m glad I could convince you to go to Kyrgyzstan. It’s a beautiful country!
Utterly breathtaking photos of what must have been even more breathtaking views to enjoy in real life! I am not fit enough to do this kind of hike, though I can see how wonderful and worthwhile it would be. Those flower-filled grasslands are just so gorgeous.
Thanks Kavey, it was really spectacular! You probably are fit enough. I’m not terribly fit, and like I said, a bit of acclimatisation would have helped, but I warned my guide and fellow traveller beforehand that I’d be slow and just took plenty of stops for air and photos and I made it. My guide said a 65 year old made it up that steep hill, (and in half an hour LESS than I did!) so if he can do it, you can! It’s totally worth it.
Oh my goodness, I’ve just found a new item for my bucket list! How did you organise the hike? It’s simply incredible! I’ve pinned this post also so I don’t lose it. Your photos are simply stunning.
Thank you so much Beth! It was very simple to organize…I just went to the CBT (Community Based Tourism) office in Kochkor and they sorted everything out! The four days cost 11,600 soms (about $170 USD). I think you could get it cheaper by organizing it yourself but it’d be tricky sorting out the transportation unless you can speak Kyrgyz or Russian. Plus you can’t book the yurts, you’d just have to show up and hope there’s a space for you, or get the CBT office to just organize that part, but then you have to find the right yurt. I was happy enough to pay and have them take care of everything and have a guide to show me where to go!
OH. MY. GOD. Your photos are amazing! I’m speechless. You have great skills 🙂
Thank you Crystal! I’ve been working hard on improving my photography skills lately. I’m glad to hear my efforts are paying off!
I would have been huffing and puffing just as much as you attempting this! But boy, are those photos stunning and worth every effort to reach! Such incredible scenery. Although, I would have preferred a horse trek!
Thanks Juliette! The scenery was definitely worth the effort. Doing it by horse would definitely be easier, but on foot it was easier to stop and snap off a good shot. 😉 Besides the fact that I’m not a big fan of riding horses. It’s scary!
What a great adventure!!! I’ve always been afraid of this kind of hikes because as you said the lack of acclimatization can really make things difficult and having asthma… I never wanted to risk it 🙁
Yeah Dany, if your asthma is really bad you might not want to attempt it. I was breathing pretty hard. However, if you had time to acclimatize more and could take it really slowly, you might be ok! And did you know that you can actually drive to this lake? The girl I was hiking with had actually just spent a week there with her husband, driving around it and camping. So you don’t actually have to hike at all!
This lake is really ethereal. The pictures are really stunning. What a heavenly trek, indeed the lake looks like a slice of paradise fallen on earth. Kyrgztan must surely rank as one of the most pristine and beautiful places on earth. It looks so pure and untouched. You are indeed blessed to experience this beauty of nature.
Thanks Sandy N Vyjay! I do feel really lucky to have gone there. You’re right, it’s not very touristy (yet…) and most of the area is very natural. So gorgeous!
I’m convinced, I have to do a trek. Maybe this one! Song-Kol lake is absolutely stunning!
Do it Nina! It’s really gorgeous! Of course there are about a zillion other treks in Kyrgyzstan that you could also consider, which I’m sure are just as pretty!
I have to start off saying your pictures are absolutely stunning! I’ve never heard of this trek but it seems like something I want to do now because of your pictures. Seems it was all so worth it.
Thank you Edith! It was definitely worth the effort and I absolutely recommend it!
This place looks absolutely stunning! I will have to add this to my list, great post
Thanks Sam, I definitely recommend it!
I just want to let you know that I really like your blog. I have included you in my list top list of travel bloggers, and nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award here: https://wandertoes.com/2017/07/26/travel-bloggers-you-should-read/ Thanks for feeding my wanderlust.
Wow, thank you Megan, that’s awesome! I’m so glad you like my blog so much. It’s inspiring me to keep working hard on it! Thank you for including me on your list!
Amazing photos Jenny! I’d like to know in which month you went on this trek, coz the greenery looks fabulous. i too would like to go at a similar time.
Hi Pratyush, I was there at the end of June this year. And you’re right, it was wonderfully green, and I also really loved the wildflowers in the grasslands, which I’m sure aren’t there at all times of the summer!
This looks fantastic and exactly what I want to do my on my trip in July! Can I ask, on which side of the lake did you end up? North perhaps? I hear that’s less crowded with tourists than South/East? And what was the yurt like on the lake? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Bella, you should definitely do it! I was on the North side of the lake, and there weren’t too many tourists around on the part we went to. There’s a big yurt camp that’s more easily accessible by car on the Northeast side, so I guess there are a lot more people there. But after we trekked over the pass we went West instead of towards there and back a different way, so we avoided all the people who just go by car. I’d say over the four days we met maybe 10 -12 other tourists, usually just coming across the same people again and again because we were all going the same way (some partly on horseback). I have no idea about accessing the lake from the South. If you want more info, try contacting the CBT office in Kochkor, which is where I organized this trek. +996777265559 cbtinfokochkor@gmail.com.
The yurts varied a bit. All had lots of blankets for us, but only some had a stove inside to make it warm. The last one we stayed in had no stove and because there was a storm that day and not much sun I was FREEZING, despite wearing every warm thing I had and crawling under a blanket. Once the sun came out it was warmer outside than in. I slept each night in a thermal shirt and down jacket, but then I do get cold very easily, especially at night. Definitely take a warm hat and scarf and plenty of warm things for nighttime.
In one yurt we sat at tables to eat (a separate yurt from our sleeping one) but in others we sat on the floor at a low table. Otherwise the yurts were pretty basic, not much inside them and the bathroom was an outhouse a couple hundred metres away. Don’t plan on bathing, unless you’re brave enough to swim in the cold lake.
I hope that helps! Any other questions, just ask! 🙂
That more than answers my question, it’s very very helpful! Thank you!!
Hi 🙂
can you write your full itinerary day by day ?:)
Hi Sandra, click on this link for the itinerary I did (at least I think everything is the same). If you have more detailed questions about it, go ahead and ask!
HI,
Amazing photos!
What was the cost of the trek? Thanks!
Hi Aga, I think I paid USD$180 for the entire four days, including transportation, accommodation in the yurts, food, and guide. You could probably do it cheaper by trying to organize the parts separately yourself, but I’m not sure the difficulty of doing that would be worth the money you’d save!
Hello I definitely would bd recommend Destination Kochkor company. They arranged for us Transport. Horses, English speaking guide and etc. The company prices was cheaper compare others
Thanks for the recommendation Carlos!