People in Kyrgyzstan have been nomadic for at least 3000-4000 years, so it’s only natural two nomads like us have felt inclined to experience their customs since we first learned about it years ago. All four countries we experienced in Central Asia to delivered in every way, but none packed a punch more than Kyrgyzstan with its stellar natural allure, extraordinary cultural experiences and bizarre new culinary adventures. And, after three weeks in Kyrgyzstan, we barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer.
That said, below is our personal list of highlights, stats, money saving tips, and personal upsides and downsides for the country.
If you’ve been to Kyrgyzstan, what would you add? And where else should we put consider for a return trip?
Our Top Five Highlights
- 3 day/2 night independent hike at Ala Kul and sleeping in yurts
- Sleeping in a yurt with a local family on Son-Kul (Lake) and horseback riding in the morning
- Islamic village of the dead…Semiz Bel Muslim Cemetery near Kochkor
- Eating new foods: especially Dungan Chinese Muslim varieties including Ashlyn-Fu, Lagman, Mala Tofu. Also, Kuurdak, walnut balls stuffed with apricot and honey, fermented drinks, and the best apricots, peaches and torpedo melon we’ve ever had
- Karakol Sunday Animal Market
Total Spent
- Time Spent: 23 nights
- Money Spent: $1537 or $66.82/day in USD/two people, which breaks down to:
- $818 (Accommodation)
- $278 (Groceries)
- $221 (Transport)
- $141 (Restaurants)
- $79 (General)
If you took out the $442 worth of private transport and yurt stays, we would have been well under budget, meaning cost of living is well within our $51/day budget range.
Best Budget Saving Tips
- Plan treks and yurt stays independently through CBT (Community Based Tourism) rather than booking tours
- Take marshrutkas, public transport where possible.
- Find people to share costs with private transportation
- Grocery shopping is inexpensive and with decent selection. The best supermarket is Globus.
Our Itinerary
- (1 night) Bishkek
- (14 nights) Karakol, including two nights at Ala Kul
- (3 nights) Kochkor
- (2 nights) Son-Kul
- (2 nights) Bishkek
- (3 nights) Osh
Would we return? Yes, and would visit Jalal Abad, Tash Rabat & Alai Valley.
Our favorite place: Karakol
Least favorite place: Osh
Our Upsides
- The natural beauty of this country is some of the most stunning we’ve ever seen
- It has a decent tourist and hiking infrastructure and plenty of guesthouse options
- There are plenty of other tourists, but it doesn’t feel overrun by any means
- The Community Based Tourism offices, run by the government, can help you with all your route planning and offer English speakers
- The windows are surprisingly sound-proof
- This is the land of stone fruits. Expect some of the best peaches, apricots, cherries and nectarines of your life!
- The people are welcoming and kind. Bonus points for friendly kids who want to take photos with you!
- They speak far better English in Kyrgyzstan than Kazakhstan
- The climate, at least in Karakol in August, was superb, while much of the country was baking.
- Staying in a yurt is a truly unique life experience
- There is an abundance of fermented foods to keep your gut in check
- Although we didn’t care a lot for the carnivorous Kyrgyz food, we really got into the Chinese Dungan (Chinese Muslim) food, especially while in Karakol
- The food overall is affordable at restaurants. Expect to spend $3-15 for two people.
- Most destinations are pleasantly walkable
- There is a lot to do in the country
- The taxis are inexpensive (i.e. $3 for a 30 minute ride), and so is the public transportation (~$1/hour)
- Credit cards were accepted more than we expected.
- Cheap and decent internet (unfortunately this is one country our free Gig Sky data did not work).
- The Globus supermarket sells fresh draft beer in the back! Ooo la la!
Our Downsides
- lt doesn’t matter if you order a giant slab of meat, do not expect to get a knife with a meal. You must accept your spoon and fork option with grace, and challenge.
- Private transport to many off-the-beaten-path tourist destinations is insanely overpriced. For example, we pay $183 for a four-hour round trip ride to Son-Kul Lake.
- This made many additional attractions simply cost prohibitive for us
- Similarly, yurt camps were quite overpriced, especially on the Ala Kul hike where they were going $50/person/night (including a meager breakfast and dinner)
- It was difficult to get apartments, though we managed to score the one in Karakol by booking 4 months in advance.
- The capital city of Bishkek was nothing special
- We only found peanut butter in the country once, at a Spar in Bishkek and it was the very sugary kind.
- Kyrgyz food choices. We tried multiple times to order pumpkin manti, for example, and they only ever had meat options.
