§ Tour 03 · 3 days · June – September 41.85° N · 75.13° E · 3,016 m

The Milky Way
with the naked eye. Horse Trek to Son-Kul · 3 days in the saddle, 2 nights under Bortle 1.

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§ 01 — Overview

Short, intense, in the saddle.

From the village of Kyzart through the Kilemche valley over the Jalgyz-Karagai pass (3,400 m) to Son-Kul lake. One night with a herders' family, one right on the lakeshore. The return follows the same trails back to Kyzart and Kochkor.

Boz üi — a night in a traditional yurt

Alpine lakes, meadows, mighty mountains

Nomadic Kyrgyzstan from the saddle

Son-Kul lake · 3,016 m

§ 02 — Day by day

The route.

Kochkor — Kyzart — Kilemche Valley

Saddling up in the foothills.

Riding · 20 km · 4 – 5 hYurt

After breakfast, drive from Kochkor to the village of Kyzart. Lunch, meet your guide and the horses. Begin the ride toward the Kilemche valley — gentle hills, lush meadows, the calm of the valley. Late-afternoon arrival at camp. Dinner with your hosts, your first night in a yurt.

Kilemche — Jalgyz-Karagai Pass — Son-Kul

Over the pass to the lake.

Riding · 18 km · 5 – 6 hYurt

Ride over the Jalgyz-Karagai pass (3,400 m) with a panorama on both sides — Son-Kul and the Kilemche valley. Across grassy hills with herds of sheep, goats, horses and cattle. In the warm summer months nomadic families are at work — milking cows and mares.

Lunch at the yurt camp. Two more hours along the shore to the Tuz-Ashuu pasture, where a herders' family welcomes you with a bowl of kymys — fermented mare's milk. Spend the rest of the day in the rhythm of the herders; for those who want, a hike into the surrounding hills.

Son-Kul — Kyzart

Back across the heights.

Riding · 22 km · 4 – 5 h

Breakfast by the lake, then back into the saddle toward Kyzart. Crisp morning air, the wide landscape one more time. On arrival, lunch with your hosts — space for a few last impressions.

In the afternoon, drive back to Kochkor.