Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
changes magically from tropical turquoise
to brooding indigo in seconds as the sun
flashes or the storms scud by in a vast me-
teorological theatre. It's a sublime place to
watch the sun come up or to gaze into a cold,
crystal-clear night sky heavy with countless
stars. At 3016m it's too cold for permanent
habitation but between June and Septem-
ber, herders' yurts dot the shoreside mead-
ows every kilometre or so. Since many are
part of the community tourism schemes,
the area offers an unparalleled opportunity
for yurtstay visits or multi-yurt hikes and
horse treks which can generally be organ-
ised at very short notice (though things can
get busy mid-August).
Unpaved tracks, often little more than
tyre-tracks in the turf, loop around the lake
linking the main concentrations of summer
yurts. Each grouping is typically known by
the name of the valley/stream that runs
through it.
Beware that weather is highly unpre-
dictable. Snow can fall at any time so plan
accordingly and be aware that July to mid-
September is essentially the only season.
While diminishing, the area does have a
population of wolves, so if camping inde-
pendently you'd be wise to do so relatively
near to established yurt camps.
The lake is huge so before heading out,
consider which is the most appropriate
area for your needs. For travellers arriving
by car from Kochkor, the easiest drop-in
yurtstays to access are CBT Naryn's (p281)
south-coast¨yurts
or the 10 yurtstays at
Batai-Aral
. If trekking without a guide,
the
Kyzart-Tuz-Ashu
route is the easi-
est one-day option while the
Klemche-
Jamanechki-Batai-Aral
route makes a
good two-day alternative. With a guide,
starting from Kyzart or Jumgal then loop-
ing around via Tuz-Ashu and Uzbek-Ashu
makes a fine two-night out-and-back op-
tion. Horses can be rented for any of the
above hikes but aren't strictly needed if
you've left your main luggage in Kochkor
or Naryn and are travelling light between
yurtstays.
1
¨Sights¨&¨Activities
Getting to Song-Köl is a large part of the
experience, especially if hiking or riding in.
But even when driving, the unpaved road
between Sary-Bulak and Ak-Tal crosses a
spectacular pass on either side of the lake,
the southern road being marginally better
surfaced at present.
Once there, typical activities are hik-
ing and horse riding (per hour/day
200/700som, for guide/horse-guide
800/1400som per day) which is easiest
to arrange at the tourist-centred camps
at Batai-Aral and Jamanechki, though
possible at most yurts with negotiation if
you speak some Russian/Kyrgyz. Birdlife
includes vultures, numerous raptors and
waterfowl including the Indian mountain
goose. Tourist organisations arrange occa-
sional horse games at the lake.
4
¨Sleeping
A great part of the delight of visiting Song-
Köl and its environs is staying in a yurt.
Essentially there are three types of yurt
groupings:
Shepherd¨Yurts
When you see just a single yurt the chances
are that it doesn't generally accept tourist
stays, though if you say hello you might find
yourself invited for tea,
kymys
or sheep's
head snacks. Having presents to hand (choc-
olates, biscuits, sausage etc) is useful for
such occasions.
Yurtstays
Groups of yurts, often forming trios, are affil-
iated with the community tourism agencies
and offer a floor space with padded bed mat,
blankets and sheets for 500som (including
breakfast) and 250som extra for dinner and
tea. Such places are usually run by genuine
herders, but the guest yurt is often a little
fancier than a regular shepherd yurt and is
shared with other travellers, not the family.
Booking many such places is impossible due
to the lack of telephone signal, and typically
it's fine to simply turn up and request a bed.
When things get very busy in mid-August,
those arriving independently might lose out
to a guided group. Choosing where to sleep
is more often a matter of location, and is de-
termined by how you are travelling rather
than the price or quality, which tends to be
relatively uniform. Very few people speak
even a word of English so two useful phras-
es to learn in Kyrgyz are: '
*** bozi kaida?'
(where is *** yurt?) and '
men ushul dirge
jatsam bolobu?
' (may I stay here tonight?).
Tour¨Yurt¨Camps
A few special yurt camps are set up by tour-
ist companies specifically for pre-booked
