Kyrgyzstan’s top hiking trail has just gotten better.
Hang up the heavy pack and leave the tent and sleeping bag behind–one of Kyrgyzstan’s most impressive trekking routes has just gotten a whole lot lighter. Issyk Kol region’s Ak Suu Transverse trek is one of the top walks in a mountain-rich country, 68 miles from Jyrgalan to Jeti Oguz over seven high passes in eight days through some of the hiking highlights of Kyrgyzstan at Ala-Kol Lake, Altyn Arashan hot springs, and numerous smaller lakes and waterfalls along the way.
While the route has been popular among tourists since it was first marketed by local tourism authority Destination Karakol in 2017, this year marks the first time that a yurt-to-yurt hiking network has been established along the full route, or indeed anywhere in Central Asia, enabling trekkers to travel with just a daypack along the entire route. Grab your camera, stuff in a packed lunch, and head towards the next pass.
How to Book Kyrgyzstan’s First Yurt Hiking Network
Karakol-based Kyrgyz Life, run by longtime local trekking guide Daniyar Alymbekov, works directly with local shepherd families to maintain the camps and hires chefs and camp hosts from villages in the surrounding Ak Suu region to welcome visitors into the yurts each evening.
On most days, hikers are welcomed with a warm cup of tea and a traditional Kyrgyz table spread with homemade jams, local honey, and fresh cream from milk collected just up the pasture. On some days, camp hosts have time to sit and chat about their own ambitions–such as Jergez camp host Aman, who dreams of opening an alpine coffee kiosk near the popular hot springs at Altyn Arashan or inquisitive young Nurel at the Almaluu camp, who meets incoming trekkers with a disarming smile and enough questions about the rest of the world to keep a group busy till well past dinner.
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Visitors can arrange treks at the Kyrgyz Life office in Karakol. An unguided full-service walk with three meals and an overnight yurt costs 5,040 Kyrgyz som per person per day ($60), though it is also possible to book just a place to sleep (2,520 som, or $30) or any combination of individual meals.
Bookings reserved through the Karakol office are issued a printed voucher to show at individual camps, though in many camps, hosts will also welcome walk-in visitors on a space-available basis. This is great for stormy mountain afternoons when setting up a tent under pouring rain doesn’t feel appealing.
While the specific dates may change each season, the camps are expected to operate annually from June to mid-September until, like the shepherds that live in these valleys, they’re packed in for the summer and return on horseback to the villages below.
Extending the AK SUU Transverse – Dayhike and Sidetrips
While the one- to two-day route from Altyn Arashan to Karakol Valley via Ala Kol is one of Kyrgyzstan’s most popular treks, nearly the entire rest of the Ak Suu Transverse is devoid of hikers; you’re far more likely to meet local shepherds than any other hiking groups. Kyrgyz Life’s camp at Ala Kol Lake (here a tent camp, uniquely, due to the rugged terrain) is above the far western shore, just a few hundred meters from where the magnificent Takir Tor glacier feeds into the lake via a series of small glacial ponds atop the moraine.
Elsewhere along the route, hikers are few and day hikes abound. From trailhead village Jyrgalan (accessible by a thrice-daily minibus from Karakol), short walks to Kok Bel Waterfall and Turnaly Kol Lake make for easy warm-up hikes before starting the Ak Suu Transverse. Beyond the village and the first Kyrgyz Life camp, extend your trek by a few extra kilometers to climb the Bulak Ashuu pass and visit two tiny lakes backed by dramatic craggy peaks just above the pass. Above Boz Uchuk camp, three small lakes are dotted across two small plateaus several hundred meters higher than the yurts–it’s possible to visit all three on a looping descent from the Boz Uchuk pass or to spend a couple of hours the next morning before departing camp.
Leaving Jergez camp, continue several kilometers along the river to visit an impressive multi-stream waterfall and the small lake that feeds it before crossing the river to climb past the two small Ailanysh lakes and over the pass to Almaluu valley, perhaps detouring south along the first small side valley on the way down for better views of the wide glacier that flows from the slopes of 4463m Tashtambek Tor Bashi peak. Beyond Almaluu camp, another small waterfall falls from a side valley just a few kilometers above the yurts.
Further but longer day trips open up past the camps at Altyn Arashan (to the base of 15,255-foot peak Palatka) and Karakol Valley (to the base of 17,112-foot peak Karakol) for visitors who have spare time and want to schedule a rest day overnighting twice at the same camps.
What to Pack for the AK SUU Transverse
While you won’t need your tent, sleeping bag, or stove kit, there are still a few key pieces of trekking gear you’ll want to pack for the full hike. Livestock graze everywhere in these mountains, so first and foremost, you’ll need some kind of water treatment system—though you’ll never be more than a couple of hours from running water, so you won’t need to fill up much at once.
Alpine weather is notoriously mercurial, with rain and hail, and even occasional snow possible all season long, so you’ll also want to pack waterproof rain gear and make sure your daypack and spare clothes stay dry. The route is easily navigable in most valleys (though often little more than overlapping sheep trails headed in more or less the same direction), but it’s worth keeping a map on hand in physical and or digital format for safety. Finally, all of the Kyrgyz Yurt camps are equipped with solar panels, charging either USB or EU-style Type-C outlets, so pack any needed cables and chargers.