Horse Back Tour to Song Kol Lake
Explore the high-altitude alpine lake Song Kol with numerous shepherds’ yurts scattered all around the lake. Experience authentic nomadic culture while riding your horses from jailoo to jailoo and staying with shepherd families in remote meadows far off the beaten path. Enjoy homemade jam, fresh cream, bread still warm from the oven, and the best kymyz (fermented mare’s milk) around.
Highlights from the 3-days Horse Trek To Song Kol Lake include:
- Beautiful mountain vistas crossing high passes filled with grazing animals, endless peaks
- Stunning views of Song Kol Lake
- Diverse landscapes, from high attitude alpine lakes and vast valleys to lush green forests
- Sleeping in a traditional yurt where you’ll have an opportunity to meet Kyrgyz shepherds, learn about traditional nomadic culture, and enjoy hearty home-cooked meals
- A commitment to community tourism so that your tour will benefit local communities and families in the region
- Small Group Travel join other fellow travelers to share the price and make it more adventures
Destination: Song Kol lake, Naryn region
Category: Horseback riding ( can be trekking )
Duration: 3 days, 2 nights
Physical Rating: Moderate (2 passes above 3300 m)
Service Level: Standard
Best season: June – September
Accommodation & meals: 2 nights in yurt camp, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts
Group size: from 1 to 7
Horse Trek Map
Brown line – transfer by car to start point from Kochkor village
Blue line – horse trek route
Day 1: Kochkor village – Kyzart pass – Chaar-Archa Pass -Kilemche yurt camp
Transfer from Kochkor to Kyzart pass. Arrival at Kyzart pass, meet your guides team and horses and start the tour. Within sight of the road, cross Kyzyl-Kiya jailoo, an enormous, relatively flat sea of grass. Continue over the Chaar-Archa Pass (3 061 m) into the Chaar-Archa Valley and eat a tasty lunch by the racing river, with views of holy 4400 m Baba-Ata Mountain. Ford the river and follow the trail over verdant hills to Kilemche Jailoo. The name means “like a carpet,” and this swathe of grass covers whole mountain ranges, with shadings as subtle as any shyrdak (shyrdak is a Kyrgyz felt carpet). Dine and sleep in a yurt. Riding time: 5 hours
Day 2: Kilemche yurt camp – Song Kol lake – Tuz Ashuu yurt camp
After breakfast at Kilemche, spend the morning climbing to Jalgyz Karagai pass (3400 m), over the Song-Kol Mountains, and into the lake’s basin. The rocky and spectacular climb affords wonderful views of Kilemche jailoo. From the pass, Song-Kol is still distant, but as you traipse down the slopes, it gets larger and larger; the mountains on the other side get higher and higher until finally, the lake fills most of your field of view and the southern mountains tower above it. Upon arrival meet your host family of Kyrgyz shepherds. Meals and overnight are in Shepherd’s yurt.
Riding time: 5 hours.
Day 3: Tuz Ashuu – Batai Aral – Kochkor village
Breakfast. Watching and/or participating in the everyday life of shepherds: milking mares; making national milk products like kymyz (a fermented mare’s milk) or airan (a sour dense milk product); tending cattle. After following the lakeshore east to the Batai Aral 2-3 hours riding. Arrive and eat a delicious lunch here. Afternoon transfer to Kochkor village, 3 hours.
Price of 3-days Horseback Tour to Song Kol Lake
Number of people | 1 | 2 | 3-5 | 6-7 | 8-9 |
Price per person in USD | 570 | 390 | 350 | 320 | 290 |
Included:
2-nights in yurt with breakfast and dinner
3-lunches
Transport from/to Kochkor city
English Speaking Horse Guide
Horses
Not included:
Hotel and meals in Kochkor city
Bottled water
Insurance
Tips
Horse riding gear as helmets
Join the following groups for summer 2025
(If the following dates do not suit your travel plans, please contact us, we will post a new tour with your dates and try to collect more people to join you)
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