All activities / Horse Riding / Equestrian / Song Kul
Horse Riding / Equestrian in Song Kul
A high alpine lake at around 3,000 metres in the central Tien Shan, ringed by open summer pasture. For centuries herders have driven their flocks up to the Song Kul jailoo for the warm months, living in yurts on the shore, and the lake has become the country's emblematic place to ride and sleep among working nomads.
Why here
Song Kul is where the horse-trekking idea of Kyrgyzstan becomes real. The lake sits on a treeless plateau at about 3,000 metres that is empty and snowbound most of the year, then fills each summer with herders who bring their horses, sheep and yaks up to the jailoo and live in yurts on the grass. You reach it the old way, on horseback over a pass from the valley villages, riding with a local guide and staying in family yurt camps where dinner is whatever the household is cooking. The riding is on sure-footed Kyrgyz horses with thick wool-padded saddles, the days are long and open, and the nights are some of the darkest skies in Central Asia. It is a working pasture, not a show, which is the whole point.
Best months
The season is tied to the herders. From June to September the passes are open, the yurt camps are up and the weather is mild by day, with July and August the warmest. Even then nights at 3,000 metres are cold and the weather turns fast, with rain, wind and the odd summer snow flurry, so warm and waterproof layers are essential. By October the families come down and the plateau closes for winter.
Getting there & around
Most trips start in Kochkor, a small town about three to four hours from Bishkek, where the community-tourism office arranges guides, horses and yurt-camp stays. From the trailhead village of Kyzart or Bel-Tam it is a day's ride up to the lake, with one or two nights in yurts before riding out. Bring cash, a warm sleeping bag and a head torch, since there is no electricity, no shops and no mobile signal on the jailoo.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
CBT Kyrgyzstan
OutfitterCBT Kyrgyzstan is the national Community Based Tourism association, set up in the early 2000s with Swiss development support to spread tourism income to rural families through a network of local offices around the country. Its Kochkor branch is the established way to arrange a Song Kul horse trek, booking vetted guide families, horses and shoreline yurt camps directly. The network runs trekking, horseback, off-road, bike and cultural trips region by region rather than as a single agency.
Shepherd's Way Trekking
GuideShepherd's Way Trekking is a Kyrgyz family operator founded in 1994 in the village of Barskoon on the south shore of Issyk-Kul, run by the Obolbekov family, who describe themselves as descendants of traditional shepherds. It has organised more than 700 horse treks and offers over twenty itineraries across the country, including rides up to the Song Kul jailoo, using experienced horses and thickly wool-padded Kyrgyz saddles. Trips are guided and hosted directly by the family.