Horse trek to Ala-Kol Lake – Kyrgyzstan
From the town of Karakol – near the lake of Issyk-Kol – in Eastern Kyrgyzstan, I hired a local guide. With Chinggis and horses we set out into the nearby mountains, passing glaciers and winding into valleys to get to the hidden, high-attitude lake of Ala-Kol.
For an amateur rider like me (only on a horse some years ago in Colombia & Mongolia) these 4 days were to prove the most challenging ride yet. The terrain was steep. Very Steep. Sometimes the trail was lost in scree. My horse, a large and tall 7-year-old male, was a little naughty – always stopping to munch grass or scrub, and sometimes not so sure-footed in his fatigued-state during the late afternoon of each day. But mostly, he was reliable. And, I didn’t fall off …
The first day was an easy, hilly climb thru open pasture – avoiding crazed nomad dogs and their packs of roaming horses – and pine forest. We camped within a grassy valley ( far-right of image above ) and watched the sun set over the forested slopes high above distant Lake Karakol.
Continuing up this valley the path became steep scree and then the path was lost. The winter last year had destroyed the way. This pass was no longer passable. We dismounted again and lead the horses – sliding down some 200 metres or so of scree and large loose boulders to another valley and around-about on a high slope leading into another valley (image below) and down, way down again, to the river valley floor.
Camped that night in hot springs village (5 houses) of Altyn Arashan, to follow the swift river the next day til we rode for some hours, climbing thru forest and empty rocky valleys towards the hidden gem of Lake Ala-Kol.
The horses were left below (middle of pic; brown area) as it was impossible to take then any further as we scrambled up a nasty slope of loose scree on all fours – dog-like – over the Ala-Kol Pass (3860m) to see this snowy peaks and stunning lake vista. Upon this wonderous, scenic saddle, I cracked open a bottle of vodka, ate bread, salami and cheese, as freezing winds rushed around us …
Travel Advice and Tips for horse-trekking trips in Kyrgyzstan:
Often best to get guides thru the local-community-based home-stay office network across the country; they are very helpful and only take a small percentage as most goes to the local guides:
COSTS: You pay his fee @$20 / day including his horse; your horse @ $10-15 / day; food for both of you @ $10+; maybe also hire a tent, sleeping mat and bag – these cost a few bucks per day, too; and maybe park fees (in some cases) You may want to tip him upon the completion of an excellent wee trip.
Basically, $US 30+ / day total: should include everything (but it may differ depending your location and a plan BUT it will still be way less than a pre-organized trip from home.
Take all necessary food and cooking kit with you (guide with have the kit and usually buy agreed food items at market (at local prices); you bring extras like: extra cheese, snacks, salami, chocolate, vodka, etc.
CLOTHING & GEAR: obvious mountains mean even in summer carry warm-rain-proof gear like a fleece jacket, gore-tex, , warm hat, gloves, thermals, sun- hat & block; everything is within saddle bags so have day pouch or pack for stand-by stuff: camera, waterbottle, sunglasses, jacket, etc.
Drinking water is often available on route via clean mountain rivers BUT check beforehand and always carry a few liters.
Some great images there mate. Love the wide angle shots. What gear are you carrying on this trip?
I’m seriously going to get there one day.
Thanks Jason. In a reverse of what pros would curse at I am mostly using the (new – 2011) Sony HX100 – on High Resolution Panorama Sweep for the wide angles, this camera is much lighter and versatile – HD video, 3D, etc – than my current DSLR system (bought in 2006): Nikon D80 w/18-200 VR + 10-20 lenses (that now just sit in my backpack, redundant …).
Awesome crazy views there… I was in Altyn Arashan 16 months ago and dying to go back with more time on my hands since. I wanted to cross the mountain ridge in the south-north direction, on foot, but was told that it was impossible without some serious climbing gear… too bad! Amazing hiking though, even though I was criminally under-equiped (shorts in the snow!)
Thanks Felix. Greetings from Yerevan – Armenia. Some tough trails there … Definitely some stunning landscapes in the area; in fact the whole of Kyrgyzstan is mind-blowingly beautiful when it comes to mountains and lakes. And the people are great, too.
Indeed. Cheap as hell too, and I have to say that Bishkek is an underrated capital, with its large parks and mixture of nearly everything European and Asian. In my top two of countries for sure, I HAVE to go back.
Oh and just a little thing: in the first paragraph you say Western Kyrgyzstan, but it should be Eastern
Thanks. Done.
Hey Michael! Just want to say “happy new year”. Hope 2012 proves to be your most adventurous year yet (I guess you’ll not be dropping in on the London Olympics
) Your a one in a billion guy – the photos, the stories, the adventures all continue to awe, inspire and enthrall 
Hi Stuart ! Greetings from Tbilisi – Georgia. And a Happy New Year to you and family. I reckon 2012 will be tame for me (as I’ve just booked a flight back to Asia, and may return to China to work – might have to source you as a reference – and focus hard on my art (and maybe rev-up this blog a notch – as so far, it is a poor representative of my travels). Anyway, maybe catch up in Shanghai or …?
Regards – Michael
Stunning photos Michael, just stunning.
Wish you’d turn your full RSS, I seem to have missed a lot of this!!
Just goes to show you don’t need a Nikon Mark 40023423D worth $234233433 to take fantastic photos!
Cheers Dave. Yeah, any camera these days can produce a pretty decent image it’s simply up to the photographer; so I find it laughable when I see tourists with huge DSLRs & lenses and yet when it come to shooting something in say a museum showcase they can’t even manage to turn the flash off – and yet wonder why their pics are washed out when the flash hits the glass (I’ve watched this scene a few times over the years). The poser value of DSLR I suppose it’s like that of a Rolex or a big diamond ring; some people have just got to flaunt their wealth.
As for the RSS – Feedburner: I’m having problems with it as it won’t accept changes made; maybe best to resubscribe?
When I was in Sabah photographing the Orangutans I met several guys who made sure to point their giant telephoto lens out at me. I couldn’t help but think they were the typical males making up for something else.
What annoys me is when they think just because they have a bigger, better, badder camera is that they should get center stage for good photographs. My answer is “With expensive camera/len like that your should be okay stepping to the back!”
RSS. Yea, I mean the excerpts. It seems to be set to show excerpts only. I think there’s a place in WP setting that lets you choose. I was only getting about 1 line so it was hard to make out what the post was about.
I saw a change you made the other day, something about Content Summary and to see the main post go to the site.
Wish Google would upgrade the back-end of Feedburner … it’s so clumsy. Gets me in tangles.
Maybe the biggest joke (among many) in mass tourism today is the big-camera-syndrome and the accompanying talent-less-git swagger – like it’s the passport to being a NatGeo photographer.
The pictures are amazing..
Thanks … but honestly. This place is so f**kin’ amazing that it’s hard to take a bad photo.
Hi Michael, great images. Currently looking into horse trekking in Kyrgyzstan this summer and just wondered what sort of price you paid for your guide and trek? Trying to avoid overinflated prices of travel companies, would rather money goes directly to local guides and avoid paying over the odds in the process. Thanks, Chris
Hi Chris
Greetings from Cambodia.
Best to get guides thru the local-community-based home-stay office network across the country; they are very helpful and only take a small percentage as most goes to the local guides: you pay his fee @$20 / day including his horse; your horse @ $10-15 / day; food for both of you @ $10+; maybe also hire a tent, sleeping mat and bag – these cost a few bucks per day, too; and maybe park fees (in some cases) … and you’ll want to bring along some extras like: snacks,salami, chocolate, vodka, etc. You may also want to tip him.
Basically, $US 30-40 / day, should include everything (but it may differ depending your location and a plan BUT it will still be way less than a pre-organized trip from home.
PS: Thanks for prompting me – I was eventually going write some advice-info, if someone wanted it … and have added a small section within the post now. Cheers.