Kyrgyzstan is a country of mountains. More than 90 percent of its territory lies above 1,500 m, and the Tian Shan, the “celestial mountains”, run through it from the Chinese border in the east to the Fergana Valley in the west. For trekkers, the range that has drawn the most attention is the Terskey Ala-Too, the wall of peaks along the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. And within that range, no single objective is as popular as Ala Kul, a glacial lake at 3,560 m whose colour shifts between turquoise and deep blue depending on the light.
We walked to Ala Kul in late July as a three-day loop from the town of Karakol, and used it as an introduction to a trekking culture that is still young, mostly community-run and remarkably open.
Karakol, the base for the eastern Tian Shan
Karakol sits at about 1,700 m near the eastern end of Issyk-Kul, which at 1,607 m is one of the largest alpine lakes in the world and never freezes despite the winters. The town is a former Russian garrison settlement with wooden houses, a Dungan mosque built without nails and a bazaar where trekkers buy dried apricots, bread and cheese before heading into the valleys. Several valleys open directly from the town: the Karakol valley to the south, the Jeti-Oguz valley to the west with its red sandstone cliffs, and the Altyn Arashan valley to the east, known for its hot springs.
The Ala Kul loop links two of these valleys over a high pass. It is possible in either direction, but the clockwise route, going up the Karakol valley and coming down through Altyn Arashan, saves the hot springs for the end, which is how most people do it.
Day one: the Karakol valley
The trail begins at the entrance to the Karakol valley, part of a national park, where a small fee is paid at the gate. The first day follows the Karakol River upstream through spruce forest for about 15 km, gaining around 900 m. The valley is broad and pastoral, with horses grazing in the meadows and the occasional yurt belonging to families who spend the summer here with their animals. The usual camp is at a bridge and meadow at roughly 2,600 m, where the side valley leading to the lake branches off.
This is the day to notice the altitude. Karakol is low enough that arriving from Bishkek does not prepare the body for 3,500 m, and the next day involves a sharp climb. Walking slowly and drinking well on the approach makes a difference.
Day two: the climb to the lake and the pass
From the meadow camp the trail turns steeply up a side valley, climbing about 950 m in roughly 6 km to reach the lake. The path crosses a moraine wall below the outlet and then, quite suddenly, Ala Kul is there: a lake about 2.3 km long, held between grey scree slopes and the glaciers of the peaks above. The colour is the reason people come. In morning light it is a milky turquoise; by afternoon, with the sun higher, it turns a hard blue.
Many trekkers camp on the northern shore at about 3,560 m and cross the pass the next morning. Others push on the same day. The Ala Kul pass, at around 3,860 m, lies at the eastern end of the lake and is reached by a loose, steep trail up scree. It is short but tiring, and snow can cover the final section even in July. From the top the view opens east over the Keldike valley toward Altyn Arashan, with the summits of the Terskey Ala-Too filling the horizon.
The descent on the far side is the loosest ground of the trek, a slope of sand and stone that drops several hundred metres in a short distance. Poles help. Below it the trail follows a stream down into wide meadows, and camping is possible almost anywhere along the valley.
Day three: Altyn Arashan and the hot springs
The Keldike valley leads down to Altyn Arashan at about 2,500 m, a meadow with a few simple lodges, a river and hot springs that emerge at temperatures high enough to need mixing with cold water. After two days above the treeline, sitting in a stone pool while horses graze outside is a fitting end. The final stretch is a rough track of about 14 km down the Arashan gorge to the road, where jeeps and buses return to Karakol in less than an hour.
Season, weather and altitude
The trekking season around Karakol runs from late June to mid-September. Earlier than that, snow blocks the pass and the lake is often still partly frozen; later, the first autumn storms arrive and the nights drop well below freezing. July and August are the most reliable months, though afternoon showers and thunderstorms are common, and hail is not unusual at the lake. At 3,860 m the pass is high enough for altitude sickness, and headaches on the second day are frequent. The loop can be stretched to four days with a rest night at the lake, which helps.
The wider trekking scene
What makes Kyrgyzstan distinctive is how the trekking economy works. Most valleys are grazed by families who move up with their animals in June and down in September. Guesthouses, yurt stays, horse rental and guides are largely arranged through community associations rather than large operators, and the money stays in the villages. Trails are mostly unmarked, and a map, a GPS track and a willingness to ask directions are more useful than a guidebook.
Beyond Ala Kul, the same area offers longer routes: the Jeti-Oguz to Karakol traverse over the Teleti pass at about 3,800 m, multi-day treks toward the glaciated peaks near the Chinese border, and the Kel Suu lake far to the south near the Naryn region. Further east still lie Khan Tengri at 7,010 m and Peak Pobeda at 7,439 m, the highest point of the Tian Shan, both accessible only with expedition logistics and a border-zone permit.
Citizens of many countries can enter Kyrgyzstan without a visa for stays of up to 60 days, and only specific border zones require additional permits. For a trekker looking beyond the Himalaya, the Kyrgyz Tian Shan is not a substitute for Nepal but a different proposition: emptier, wilder, less structured and more dependent on the goodwill of the people who live in the valleys.