Our Ala Kul Trek: 3-Day Experience in Kyrgyzstan
Now, we’d like to share our personal experience, which can help you to learn from our mistakes and avoid challenging situations.
We completed the trek in three days, starting in Karakol and finishing in Altyn Arashan, staying in yurts along the way without camping gear to keep our backpacks light. While we loved the experience, looking back, there are a few things we would have done differently. I hope this article helps you plan your trek more effectively because I know I would have appreciated reading something like this before we set out!
Planning your own trek? Check our full Ala Kul Lake guide where we explain everything step by step.
First day of Ala-Kul trek: From Karakol to Sirota Camp
The plan of the day
Our Elevation: 1024 m, highest 2900 m
Our Distance: 18,8 km (4 km hitchhiking)
Overnight: Sirota Yurt Camp
Our Route: you can check the whole day one from the start till the end:
In the morning we woke up in our Karakol Guesthouse and we can only recommend this place, it was quite far from the city center but it was clean, the owner was nice and we had the possibility of leaving our unnecessary things in lockers for free during our Ala Kul trip.
After packing our rucksacks, we headed into town to grab some food and stock up on essentials like snacks, meals, and water. We started hitchhiking, hoping to catch a ride with other travelers heading to Ala-Kul. Instead, a friendly local gave us a lift to the marshrutka station. I can’t recall the exact location of our station, but I believe most marshrutkas depart from the Big Bazaar, as shown here.
.Marshrutka costs 20 KGS/0,24 dollars per person and took us to the last station where our map starts and from where we started to hitchhiking, we immediately caught the truck and thanks to him we shortened our way about three kilometers.
After saying bye to the man driving the truck we started our way and from the start, and it was such a nice walk. We went to the official start which is called “the first bridge” and located 7 kilometers from the final marshrutka station. At first we didn’t recognize the start because there was no official entrance. The surroundings were quite nice, green meadows with cows, breathtaking mountain views and valleys with mountain rivers. One bad thing was that we started late and we were by the entrance around 2 pm so we didn’t have much time to admire the beauty that surrounded us. When we were going through the valley and then climbing up to the hills we felt like actors in some fantasy movie.
Once we reached the first Karakol Yurt Camp after a small uphill we saw “the second bridge” which leads up to the second Yurt Camp called Sirota and it was our final destination for the first day. We reached the Karakol Yurt Camp around 6 pm and the weather was in perfect condition but we hoped that it wouldn’t get dark until we got to Sirota and we had 2,5 kilometers before us which sounds good but it was also in high altitude from 2500 m to 2900 m.
We picked up the pace as we set off. The trail began in a forested area, gradually shifting to a rocky path, but the terrain was manageable. Just as we were nearing the camp, the weather took a turn, and it started to rain, which urged us to move a little faster. In those last few meters, it felt like we’d entered Mordor! 😀
Once we arrived at Sirota Camp it was getting dark and staff told us they didn’t have any space and we should go down to the previous camp. We were quite shocked but fortunately then some man from the camp found us a normal place in the yurt where we could sleep. If you’re planning your overnight stops, we explain all accommodation options along the trek in our Ala Kul guide. We shared the yurt with one couple from Bishkek and we had a nice time together.
However, I have to say that the stuff wasn’t very pleasant and the camp was quite expensive – 2000 KGS/23,60 USD per person for sleeping on the ground (sometimes yurts have beds for a better price), not having toilets or outhouse and not including meals it was a bit terrible but we didn’t have a choice. We were happy that we had at least a place to sleep.
Anyway, after we accommodated we were sitting with other guests and talking about traveling and had a nice time with them. They really made a great atmosphere there.
Second day of Ala-Kul trek: From Sirota Camp to Yurt Camp
The plan of the day
Our Elevation: 1000 m up, the highest 3900 m
Our Distance: 6 km
Overnight: Yurt Camp
Our Route: you can check the whole day one from the start till the end:
During the night it was a bit chilly, and the humidity in the yurt was actually higher than we expected. So, make sure you bring a good-quality sleeping bag which will definitely make for a more comfortable night.
Second day we woke up at Sirota Camp around 8 am on a warm morning. The weather was around 20 degrees up and during the day it increased to almost 25 which is 4000 m above sea level quite a lot and we enjoyed that.
We ate our own breakfast which contained nuts, fruit, bread and cheese, filled the water, put on sunscreen and left Sirota Camp behind us.
The hike up to Ala Kul turned out to be more challenging for us due to elevation and took us more time than we expected. We underestimated this part a bit — we talk more about the difficulty and elevation in our Ala Kul guide. However, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and took our time, especially since we’d planned to stay overnight in a yurt camp by the lake about which two Kyrgyzstani women told us on the way, so we thought that we had plenty of time. After only three kilometers, climbing 700 meters up over nearly five hours which is really a lot, we finally reached our point and it was amazing.
What wasn’t amazing was discovering that there aren’t any yurt camps around Ala Kul, despite 3 people telling us and some websites writing about that! We were confused especially because when we arrived at the supposed location where the yurts should have been there were only tents and some staff. When we asked about accommodation, they laughed at us, questioning why we didn’t bring our tent. I should mention that, aside from other travelers, most people we encountered in the mountains weren’t particularly friendly, so be prepared for a bit of a reality check here.
They reluctantly showed us some other yurt which wasn’t in our direction and told us that the yurt might have been closed.
So we had two options here. The first one was to try the unknown yurt but in case the yurt was closed we would have gone dark before Ala Kul pass which could be dangerous at night so we decided to go to Yurt Camp and reach the Ala Kul pass that day.
The situation was that we had almost 7 pm, 3 kilometers and bad terrain ahead of us. I must say these 3 kilometers were really nutritious. At first we walked uphill on big rocks which was a bit tricky and during the uphill we tried to hurry up due to sunset. When we got to the Ala Kul pass, the view was totally amazing but we didn’t have time to admire it for a long time because it started to get dark.
From the Ala Kul pass, we had to descend 300 meters over just 1,5 kilometers, a steep path to say the least. The descent was incredibly slippery, with loose rocks and sand, and by the time we made our way down, it had gotten completely dark. Navigating that tricky, slippery trail was challenging enough in daylight, so we moved extremely slowly in the dark. Luckily, the weather held up, and the evening stayed clear, which was a small but welcome relief.
When we finally got to the camp it was unbelievable almost 10 pm and it looked like everyone was already sleeping. But after a few minutes we saw the light so we went closer and it was luckily the owner of the yurt camp. There were two of them and he was from the second Yurt Camp, the one further back and we can totally recommend it.
As I wrote that we met only annoying people here, this guy was very nice. He told us that he saw us on the hill and hoped that nothing happened to us and waited for us until we came there. He also prepared some food, tea and we slept in his yurt (it was a great decision because he lit the fireplace.) We also talked with him because Filip can talk a bit in russian. Be careful because here in Kyrgyzstan people don’t talk in English much. After that we slept so happily that everything was ok. This could be a little reminder for you that when you travel everything might not go according to the plan and it is always good to keep calm.
Third day of Ala-Kul trek: From Yurt Camp to Altyn Arashan
Our Elevation: 1000 m, from 3600 m to 2500
Our Distance: 8,9 km
Overnight: Karakol Guest House
Our Route: you can check the whole day one from the start till the end:
When we woke up, we went out of the yurt and we could finally admire the beauty which surrounded the camp. After admiring we got breakfast, we had eggs, soup, rice porridge and other things which were Korean because as we realized later the camp had Korean owners. That’s why breakfast also included Kimchi and other Korean treats. For the night and food we paid a total 5000 SOM/60 USD and we felt much better than in Sirota Camp.
After breakfast we said goodbye to our Korean friend and started to walk to Altyn Arashan. We were a bit worried about the downhill but the terrain after Ala Kul pass was great. Only hard thing about the whole trek was the slippery road from the Ala Kul pass.
If you’re wondering how challenging this part is, we explain the difficulty in more detail in our Ala Kul guide.
The weather was, as usual for our trips, on our side, we seem to be very lucky that way! I have to say that we are very lucky. Once we reached the valley, it was only a few kilometers to Altyn Arashan. Upon arrival, we were eager to relax in the hot springs and take a walk to Ak Suu, where marshrutkas depart back to Karakol. However, as soon as we arrived, the rain began pouring down and looked like it wouldn’t let up. So, we opted to find a ride back to Karakol instead.
When we asked in Altyn Arashan for a taxi, the price was astronomical. If you compare it with other services it costs 7000 KGZ/83 USD so we wanted to hitchhike but there were no cars instead of these old ones which looked more like marshrutkas. But suddenly we found one Spanish couple who also wanted to go to Karakol so we shared the car together.
The way was tricky for an old car. We were going through the stones, sand and the whole journey took an hour and something.
In the end, the price for the ride back wasn’t too bad, especially considering the rough terrain. Once we reached Karakol, we couldn’t wait to take a shower, grab a meal at a nearby restaurant, and finally head to bed for some well-deserved rest.
Final thoughts on our Ala Kul trek
Despite everything that didn’t go according to plan, this trek was absolutely worth it. The views, the challenge, and the whole experience made it one of the most memorable adventures we’ve ever had.
Looking back, we would change a few things, mainly better planning and timing but honestly, even the mistakes made it part of the story.
And if you’re planning your own trek, make sure to check our full Ala Kul guide to avoid some of the mistakes we made.
