Odyssey Overland - Istanbul to Singapore 2015: Kyrgyzstan

After all the monuments, history and hotels of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan was all about getting back to nature and the great outdoors. It is a beautiful country full of spectacular scenery and perfect for getting off the beaten track and going bush-camping amongst lakes, rivers and mountains, which is what overlanding is all about.

We met our guide, Elmira, at the border, stopped in the town of Osh for a while and then drove on to find our first bush camp, on the shore of Andijan Reservoir.

Jonathan is thrilled with winning the border game

Our first Kyrgyz bush camp at Andijan Reservoir

Making new friends at our reservoir bush camp

Kyrgyzstan is also a country of friendly people and great hospitality and we experienced our first local homestay in the village of Arslanbob, nestled at the top of a scenic valley beneath snow-capped mountains and amongst what is apparently the world’s largest walnut forest.

We spent two nights here, giving people time to explore the local area, either by jeep, on foot, or on horse-back.

Juan and Kathie enjoying breakfast at our Arslanbob homestay - with walnuts of course!

Some of the group went on a jeep ride around Arslanbob

Others went horse riding

From Arslanbob we drove for two days, through scenic river valleys, past yurts and farms, around lakes and reservoirs and over high mountain passes, towards Bishkek. We bush-camped en route and some of us experienced more Kyrgyz hospitality, when the local farmer invited people back to his home for some fresh yoghurt and bread – Emma even got to ride on his tractor!

Karyn River valley enroute from Arslanbob

Toktogul Reservoir

Our bushcamp in the hills on the other side of the Toktogul Reservoir

Cook team preparing dinner

Sunset in the bushcamp

Typical Kyrgyz scenery

On top of Ala-Bel pass (3175m)

Manas statue and the Kyrgyzstan flag

There are yurts and animals everywhere

Kyrgyzstan’s capital and largest city, Bishkek, has a population of about 900,000 people. The wide streets and boulevards, the parks and trees, and a few interesting buildings and monuments make its central area a pleasant place to wander around. It is also (other than our brief stop in Osh) the only large city that we spend time in in Kyrgyzstan, so a good place to catch up on ‘luxuries’ such as shopping, banking, internet and fancy restaurants.

Bishkek

We also found time to have our own cocktail and pool party at the hotel, with drinks kept chilled with snow that we had collected at a mountain pass en route!……

Angela & Christine

Jonathan threatened to throw Ruth in the pool... then thought better of it!

Pool party at the Bishkek hotel

Mark & Juan enjoying the pool

Leaving Bishkek, we followed the Chu River valley along the border of Kazakhstan to its confluence with the Chong-Kemin River. We stopped close to here for some of the group to go on a brief rafting trip before continuing on to drive around the edge of Issyk Kul lake.

Some worried looks and concerned faces as they receive their rafting instructions

Ready to go

And they're off!

Issyk Kul means ‘warm lake’ as, due to its depth and slight salinity, it never freezes. It is also apparently the second largest alpine lake in the world and is home, legend has it, to a Loch Ness type monster! We didn’t spot any monsters but we did find a nice place to bush camp, right on the shore of the lake and with snow-capped mountains on both sides of us.

Our camp by Issyk Kul Lake

Jodie is happy it's fajita night!

Another scenic camp spot

Steven enjoys a quiet moment down by the lake

A short drive the next morning took us to the town of Karakol. We spent a while food shopping in the local market and then parked up Penelope at a nearby guesthouse. From here we loaded our kitchen equipment and ourselves into a pair of Russian ‘G.A.Z.’ trucks and set off out of town and up a nearby valley.

Our Russian "monster trucks"

Having turned off the tar road, we followed a dirt track up the valley, alongside the river and up towards the mountains. The track became smaller and rougher until we were clambering over boulders and ploughing thru deep mud and water, but the Russian trucks took it all in their stride and kept moving inexorably onwards. Then we climbed up over a ridge and down into a green valley surrounded by mountains to see the small collection of huts that was to be our home for the next two nights, Altyn Arashan.

The "road" to Altyn Arashan

The group enjoying the ride

Altyn Arashan

After cook team had rustled up burgers for dinner, the crew initiated a tasting session of Kyrgyz vodka, which then became something of a party. Much fun (and vodka!) was had by all and the next morning there were some sore heads and sketchy memories – though we do know from photo evidence that there was singing, dancing, air-guitar-ing , some suspect pretzel passing and apparently, at some point, a human pyramid!

Jodie & Paul introduce the vodka tasting night

Our 8 contenders

Cheers!

Before the carnage!

Angela & Paul aren't sure about Lindsay's new hair do!

Hot stuff! Luckily the boys stopped short of the Full Monty!

Photo evidence - yes, there was a human pyramid!

Fresh mountain air was the hangover cure of the day – some people went for a long hike up an adjacent valley, whilst others went on an adventurous horse ride that took them up above the snow line. We were also able to relax in the hot springs that Altyn Arashan is known and named for. That evening was a little quieter, but some of us helped out (or tried to at least) with the erection of a traditional Kyrgyz yurt – quite a process.

Hiking in the mountains is a good way to clear the head

Horse riding above the snow line

Kyrgyz horses

Building a yurt

Group photo with one of our Russian trucks

The next day we got back in the Russian trucks and headed back down the way we had come for a night in Karakol at the guesthouse where we had left Penelope.

Our next mountain valley adventure was on board our own truck, though -to be on the safe side- the group had to get off and walk for each of five crossings of small wooden bridges as we drove from Karakol up to the scenic Kok Jaiyk valley near Jeti Oguz.

Jeti Orguz or the "Seven Bulls" rock formation

Not all the wooden bridges are in as good condition as this one!

We found a beautiful spot to stop at the edge of the forest on a grassy area next to the river and set up camp for a three night stay. Three night’s bush-camping in such a scenic location was quite a luxury, but it also meant having to break out our large cook tent for the first time and figuring out how to put that up turned into quite a good team-building exercise!

Figuring out how to put up the cook tent

Angela relaxing by the river

Our time at Jeti Oguz was spent hiking, horse-riding, visiting waterfalls, playing games and relaxing around the camp and also, of course, eating! Time in one spot allowed us to prepare some great meals – pancakes and fry ups for breakfast, extravagant lunches (including the local delicacy of horse sausage), afternoon tea and popcorn, lasagne and barbecues in the fire pit that we built, and marshmallows over the campfire for s’mores – you don’t tend to lose weight on these trips!

Cook team preparing lasagne

Toasting marshmallows on the campfire

Our camp

Christine & Jodie make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast

Louise & Jonathan head off horseriding

Amanda & Elmira hiking to the waterfall

Ruth, Val & Elmira making dinner

BBQ time!

More marshmallows

More team work was required when Penelope slid off the very muddy track leaving the camp and got a bit stuck. Everyone pulled together (literally) and we were soon on our way, crossing back over the bridges and then heading around Issyk Kul lake again.

Everyone helped when we got a bit stuck

Penelope heading back over the bridges

After a quick stop for an eagle demonstration, we reached the small town of Kochkor to spend the night in a homestay. After a morning of lovely breakfast with homemade jams, the group watched (and participated in) a felt demonstration at a local women’s co-operative. There was plenty of souvenir shopping done whilst the crew had their own shopping to do – armloads of food for the next few nights of camping!

Local Kyrgyz eagle hunter

Paul & Jodie with a Golden Eagle

Christine & Angela try their hand at felt making in Kochkor

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

We left Kochkor and took a dirt road up over a high pass to reach Song Kul lake. As we got closer to the lake we had to leave the ‘road’ altogether and follow tyre tracks across the grassland and through river beds to reach the lake shore. After finding a scenic spot, we set up for another three nights of bush-camping in yet another stunning location with a lake view. Not a bad place for what would probably be our last few nights in our tents for this whole tour.

Driving up to Song Kul

Yaks

Heading up to the pass

Jodie & Paul at the 3,450m Kalmak Ashuu Pass

Our bush camp by Song Kul lake

Lindsay puts his engineering background to good use

Angela & Emma cooking dinner

Song Kul sunset

On our first full day by Song Kul, we were fortunate enough to be able to arrange for the locals to put on a game of ‘Kok-Boru’ for us to watch. Also known in some places as Buzkashi or, in English, as ‘Goat Polo’ this sport is extremely popular throughout Central Asia. It involves teams of men on horseback battling each other for a headless goat or sheep carcass and trying to drop it in a ‘goal’. Buzkashi is thought to have probably been played since the time of Genghis Khan and is not just a sport but also a display of horsemanship, strength and skill. In Kyrgyzstan, it is part of their nomadic culture and they say it was a means of herdsmen practising defending their animals against wolves (Kok Boru means ‘Grey Wolf’ in Kyrgyz).

In the afternoon, we had our Odyssey fancy dress punch party. There were some quite creative (and, in a couple of cases, quite disturbing) outfits and we made piña coladas and fruit punch as well as bringing out some more vodka (suitably called ‘Wolf’) to keep the party going!

Fancy dress punch party

Paul's new drink mixer

Jodie the cowgirl - yeehaw!

Juan & Mark

Amanda & Angela - flower power

Jonathan mans the wok and let's Dave handle the weiners

The large expanse of flat open land around the lake meant that group members who went horse riding the next day were able to get up some speed on their mounts. Others went for walks or simply relaxed. Later in the evening, another overland truck arrived, with some people that we knew, turned up to say ‘Hello’ and camped nearby, so there were a few more friendly faces around the campfire that night.

Kathie is ready for a day's horse riding

Setting off for a horse ride

Mark & Juan - born cowboys

New neighbours arrive

Christine & Steven prepare custard and "swish" roll for dessert

Which everyone enjoys

Campfire at sunset

We left Song Kul and drove on towards the Chinese border, but we weren’t leaving Kyrgyzstan just yet. First we headed up yet another picturesque river valley to stay in yurts opposite an old caravanserai called Tash Rabat. This is a stunning place and a great way to end our time in the incredible and beautiful country of Kyrgyzstan. Some went for short walks and some for a long hike with our local guide but we all enjoyed the last of our Kyrgyz food and hospitality. Then it was time for one last scenic drive, up to the 3750m Torugart Pass, and time for something completely different….China.