Gretchen Stuppy Carlson
If you’ve looked at pictures or read travel accounts about Kyrgystan, you’ve likely seens photos of Song Kul Lake. Kyrgystan has no shortage of epic mountains and lakes, but Song Kul Lake is an incredible and different lake destination with expansive views of the lake and mountain complete with roaming horses and yurt camps. It’s truly one of those places that live up to the hype.
We spent a few nights in a Yurt at Song Kul and below you can see exactly what you need to know to plan your own trip.
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Quick Overview of Song Kul Lake
One of the highest alpine lakes in Central Asia, sitting around 3,000m up in the Tian Shan mountains. The lake is large and the roads are only rough dirt.
In summer, nomadic families move up with their herds and live in yurts along the shore. An increasing number of yurt camps are available for people to stay in.
The lake is cool even in the summer, so pack warm clothes and be ready for peace and quiet.
How to Visit Song Kul Lake
There are many different ways to visit the lake, part of a multi-day tour, on a 2 day driving tour, horses or on your own. In general most people visiting by either arriving by horse on a multi-day trek or by driving. Below you can see the options for each.
Horseback Riding Treks
This is one of the most popular ways to visit Song Kul Lake. Most companies offer a 3 day trek (although there are some 2 and 4 day options. The trek takes you over the mountains and down to the lake and you stay at yurts along the way. When we planning our trip to the area, this was on the top of the list, but after trying to fit everything into the schedule, AND the fact that a few people in the family didn’t want to ride horses quite that long.
This is the tour we were planning to do and it gets great reviews.
Driving to the Lake
The other option is to drive to the lake. You can do this as part of a tour, or drive yourself which is what we did. We had heard all kinds of stories about driving conditions getting up to and around the lake. Luckily we visited in a dry spell as rain can easily wash out the roads. Overall the roads were fine getting up to the lake from Kochkor except that our car overheated and we had to stop multiple times and ultimately Freja and I hitched a ride up to the summit to take some weight out of the car. There are a few roads getting up to the lake and all of them are steep and winding.
Once you reach the mountain ridge, you drop down into the expansive lake valley of Song Kul. The road is a single dirt road and you then have to leave this road onto even more basic roads to get around the lake and to your yurt camp.
You absolutely need a 4×4 on these roads to get around easily. If you are driving another car, you can usually leave a car in Kochkor and get a taxi up to Song Kul Lake.
What We did at Song Kul Lake
After deciding not to do a horseback riding trek, we decided to self drive up to the lake. This was a great choice except we had car trouble on the way up – ultimately we got to our camp without issues and were happy not to drive the car for the next few days.
We spent 2 nights staying at Yurt Camp Rima and had a fantastic time (we highly recommend this camp). We had a single yurt that slept all of us, and enjoyed sitting outside, watching the horses and the lake, and the delicious food. The stay includes breakfast and dinner but they will also prepare lunch for you.
Song Kul is really an incredible place and is perfect for slowing down. During our visit, we mostly enjoyed our time at the camp, walking along the shore and reading books. On the full day we organized a morning horseback ride through our yurt camp (we did 2 hours of riding for 5 people for about $80) and took a hike up into the mountains.
Meals were delicious: eggs and pancakes for breakfast, soups, and noodles and rice with meat for dinner.
Where to Stay at Song Kul Lake
One of the hardest things to determine during our visit was where to stay at Song Kul Lake. We are used to being able to book places to stay in advance, but only a few of the yurt camps can be booked online, and the ones that can are a bit more commercial. You can also book the yurt camp when you arrive although some of the camps get booked up during July and August.
Many of the yurt camps can be contacted through whats app or on social media. Even since our visit, more yurt camps can be booked online through booking.com. When you are booking a yurt camp, there are a few things to consider:
What part of the lake is the yurt camp? Many yurt camps are located near the main roads coming into the lake. The benefit is that is doesn’t take long to get to the camps, but you also won’t have a quiet and remote experience. On the other hand, the roads around the camp (especially on the Southern part of the lake) can be slow moving and take a long time, so the more remote camps can sometime be an hour drive.
Is it a small Family Camp? You will want to decide whether you want a large company owned yurt camp or a family run yurt camp – both have benefits.
Yurt Camp Rima this is where we stay and had a great stay. It’s not too far from the main road, but feel more private that some of the other camps.
Other yurt camps we considered and have good reviews:
What to do at Song Kul Lake
Here are some of the best things to do at Song Kul Lake:
Horseback riding: it’s become the most popular activity in the country, with horse treks running daily from nearby Kyzart village to the lake and back over three days. Even a few hours along the shoreline is enough for beginners (this is what we did and enjoyed!)
Hiking above the lake: it takes just an afternoon to hike into the hills above Song Kul for a full panoramic view, with longer, more demanding trekking routes also possible in the surrounding valleys. There generally aren’t specific hiking trail in most areas. You simply look up into the hills and start hiking. We did a 2 hour hike up into the hills – be aware that the air is a bit thin up here.
Stargazing: the altitude and total absence of light pollution make this one of the best night sky spots in the country; the lake has even been used to photograph the Milky Way reflecting off the water. We ended up with cloudy nights so didn’t see many stars.
Cultural immersion with shepherd families: you can hang out with local families, help milk a mare, and try kumys (fermented horse milk). Although if you haven’t had fermented horse milk – drink with caution!
Birdwatching: Song Kul is a recognized Important Bird Area, with over 70 breeding species and around 190 total species recorded, including Bar-headed Goose, Ruddy Shelduck, and Demoiselle Crane.
Watching (or joining) traditional horse games: games like At-Chabysh and Kok-Boru are played here. Some yurt camps have this as part of their activities.
Swimming: you can take a dip in the cold waters of the lake if you don’t mind the temperature at 3,000+ meters.
Sunset and sunrise watching: the sunsets here are incredible, though temperatures drop fast once the sun goes down, worth bundling up for.
Just wandering: without a horse, simply wandering around is one of the best things to do: almost anywhere you walk is beautiful, and going a bit higher into the hills gets you a spectacular view over the lake.
Things to Know about Visiting Song Kul Lake
Cell Service
We expected no cell service but had some cell service and our yurt camp had wifi.
No Electricity (Mostly)
Most yurt camps run on solar power or a generator at best. Don’t count on charging devices reliably all day – sometimes they will turn on power for just a few hours. Bring a power bank if you need one.
Altitude
You’re jumping from Bishkek’s ~700m to over 3,000m fairly quickly. Some people feel it: headaches, shortness of breath on the hike. Take it easy the first day if you can.
Toilets and Showers
Facilities vary a lot by camp: some have basic showers, many just have pit latrines. Ask when booking if this matters to you. Our yurt camp had a bathroom with running water.
Weather Changes Fast
Even in summer, it can be sunny one hour and raining or snowing the next. Layers are non-negotiable, and nights get cold no matter how warm the day was. We were happy to have hats and coats in late June.
Bring Cash
There’s nowhere to pull out money once you’re at the lake: bring enough Kyrgyzstani som for horse rides, extra food/drinks, and tips. You can get money from and ATM in Kochkor. Most places only accept cash.
Book (or Confirm) Before You Arrive
Since cell service disappears at the lake, sort out your yurt camp ahead of time if you can sh:owing up and hoping for a spot works, but it’s a gamble in peak July/August. One night we were there is late June the camp was full and the next night we were the only people.
Season Matters
The lake and surrounding camps are only open roughly June through September: the road is snowed in and impassable the rest of the year.
