Itineraries
One Week in Kyrgyzstan: A Realistic 7-Day Route
What one week in Kyrgyzstan actually allows: an Issyk-Kul loop with hot springs, canyons and a yurt night — and the Song-Kul…
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Itineraries
10-Day Kyrgyzstan Itinerary: Song-Kul to Issyk-Kul
A field-tested 10-day Kyrgyzstan route: Bishkek, a Song-Kul yurt stay, the Ala-Kul trek and Issyk-Kul, from about $350 per person.
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Itineraries
Song-Kul From the West: The Kyzyl-Oi Trek Instead of the Kochkor Conveyor Belt
Seven days on foot from Kyzyl-Oi to Song-Kul, instead of the two-day jeep from Kochkor. The passes, the camps, and why walking…
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Itineraries
The Kegeti Pass: What It Actually Crosses, and the Route That Does Not Exist
The Kegeti pass crosses to Kochkor, not to Chong-Kemin, and the traverse between them does not exist. The real route, the real…
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Itineraries
Alternatives to the Ala-Kul Trek: What the Tourist Board Itself Points At Instead
The regional tourist board admits Ala-Kul is busy and publishes 17 alternatives. The route data, the one that is not an alternative…
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Itineraries
Jyrgalan in Winter: Ski Touring Above a Coal Mine Somebody Is Still Trying to Restart
No lifts, no patrol, and a flooded coal mine somebody is still trying to restart in the same valley. Ski touring at…
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Itineraries
Kyrgyzstan With Children: What Works and What Genuinely Doesn't
Children are a social asset here, which changes the whole trip. The altitude limits that rule out Song-Kul, and a two-week route…
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Itineraries
Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan? Where It Fits in Central Asia
Uzbekistan is architecture, Kyrgyzstan is mountains, Kazakhstan is space. An honest comparison of the five Central Asian countries and how to combine…
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