Song-Kul: a lake at 3,000 m and a night in a yurt

Song-Kul is a high mountain lake in central Kyrgyzstan at about 3,016 metres. In summer its shores become jailoo — pastures where herders bring their animals and pitch yurts. It is one of the few places where nomadic life is still the real thing.

When to go

Yurt camps run roughly from mid-June to mid-September. Earlier and later the lake is cold, snow is possible and the herders move down to the valleys. Even in summer, night temperatures drop close to freezing.

How to get there

Most trips go via Kochkor — by car over a pass, or on horseback over two to three days through the mountains. The horse route is the most beautiful: you reach the lake the way herders do and watch the landscape change around you.

Life in a yurt

A yurt is a felt home that goes up in a couple of hours. Inside: a stove, warm blankets and shyrdak felt rugs. Facilities are basic — an outdoor toilet, washing in the lake or at a basin. In return, the night sky above you is like nothing in the city.

• Kymyz — fermented mare’s milk, the drink of the summer jailoo
• Beshbarmak and boorsok — dishes for guests
• Horse games that are sometimes held in summer
• A star-filled sky with no light pollution

Do you need riding experience

No. Kyrgyz horses are calm and used to the trails, and horsemen ride alongside. Experience helps on multi-day routes, but even there the first day is usually easy so you can settle in.

In the morning the smell of fresh boorsok wakes you up, and the horses are already waiting at the hitching post.

Song-Kul tours have everything arranged: transfers, horses, horsemen and nights in yurts on the lakeshore.