After the relaxing hike up to Ak Tor Pass, my friend Cyril and I looked for a more challenging hike. Making our way to Karakol in the eastern part of Kyrgyzstan, we immediately knew that we had come to the right place. Karakol is the gateway to the Tien Shan Mountains and to loads and loads of different hiking trails. We gave ourselves three days again and the only thing we knew in advance was, that we wanted to include a popular alpine lake called Ala Kul. Hitting the tourist information, we had a long discussion on what we could do and after some help of a French lady who had walked almost all of the trails in the area, settled for a two days fixed itinerary with a couple different options left for day three. In the tourist office we also met Cody from the US and teaming up with him, we agreed to set out the next morning at 6 am.
Day 1: The Glacier Right on time like a Swiss watch, the driver picked us up at 6 o'clock at our hotel and after we fetched Cody from his hostel, made our way towards the Karakol valley. To get as deep into the mountains as possible, we had agreed to use a car for the first 7 kilometers and that was definitely the right decision. It would have been a rather boring walk on a not so nice dirt road in a not really spectacular valley. The car took us as far as the first bridge across the river and leaving us there, we decided to have a little breakfast before we started walking. Once we got going, we spent the first hour up the valley with chatting about our travels and our lives, rather than with paying attention to our surroundings. That had its reason though. We were walking on another dirt road in the woods and the trees around us were not only blocking out the sun, but also the views towards the higher mountains in the distance. Only when we reached a pretty big plateau, the views opened up and the sun made its first appearance today. Passing the plateau, the next slope got a bit steeper and soon we had a lovely lookout over the valley we had been walking along before.
As we kept a steady pace, we had made good way and after about three hours reached the yurt camp where we would be staying overnight. Checking in, we took a second breakfast and emptied our backpacks to leave behind what we didn't need for the rest of today's hike. We were aiming to reach the foot of a glacier about 10 kilometers further along the valley we were in and therefore were soon back on the track. Once again the first hour was along a mostly flat dirt road, but this time the views were much better. Trees lined the mountainsides around us, cows were grazing on the fields and the sun lightened up the glacier river we had to follow. Simply beautiful!
The trail narrowed after a while and passing a wild camping spot, the path vanished into the trees for the next couple kilometers. At the same time the ascending slopes got steeper and our walking slower. :) As we had seen many tourists in Karakol already, it was no surprise that we met quite a few other hikers along the way. Pretty much all of them walked into the other direction though, so we had the trail basically to ourselves. Leaving the forest behind us, we tried to keep a constant walking pace, but every now and then also took our time to appreciate the lovely surroundings we were in. The trail still led mostly upwards and after another rather steep slope, we were eventually able to see our goal of today. At the end of the valley, a huge and stunning mountain was looming, with the glacier clearly visible at the foot of it. The whole scenery quite took our breath away, as there also was a nice glacier lake just in front of us and so we stopped for a while to enjoy this wonderful panorama.
Now that we could see what laid ahead of us, we had a discussion about how much further we wanted to go. It was lunchtime already and clouds had started to move in. Nevertheless, we decided to keep on walking along the valley as far as possible to get a better view of the glacier and the mountain. Surprisingly there still was a good path visible most of the way and as all ascending slopes were behind us now, it made the walk towards the glacier a breeze.
About three quarters into the valley, a huge landslide barred the way and we had to go around it. It was the roughest part so far with the trail barely visible and even a little scrambling was needed to get over all the boulders in the way. What greeted us after this part was a little grassy shore at the river with a superb view of the mountain and it was obvious that we had walked far enough. Unfortunately the clouds in the sky had intensified a lot and they not only obscured the peak of the mountain, but they also were a clear sign that rain was coming in. So our lunch break was not only eating and marveling at the scenery, it was also preparing our rain gear for the time when the rain would come.
Lucky us, we made it through lunch without getting wet, but the downpour came not much later after we started to retrace our steps. As we were prepared, this was no problem at all and we just kept on walking along the valley back to where we came from. That the weather in the mountains can change fast is well known and sometimes it's even for the good. :) When we reached the glacier lake again, the sun was shining once more and the clouds had started to disappear. Perfect timing for another break and a last view of the fabulous landscape. That the sun had reappeared was also good for the walk back to the yurt camp, as the scenery of the valleys were much nicer to behold than when it would have been raining. As we now knew that we had more than enough time, we slowed the pace down and walked back with more leisure than on our hike upwards. As Cody was not that used to hiking like Cyril and me, the effort of today had shown its marks on him and we took many little breaks to help him regain his strength and breath.
Once back in the trees, we met an elder German guy and started to talk with him. We had not seen any sign of life for quite a while, but he asked us if we had seen a yurt camp or a French guy from where we came from. Weird questions we thought and told him that we had seen neither. As he wanted to go up the closeby Telety pass within today, we said goodbye a little later and resumed our walk. The whole thing seemed a bit strange though, as there also was no other trail up ahead that he could take. So we quickly checked our position and learned that he was walking into the wrong direction. :) Cyril went after him and we brought him to the correct junction which luckily wasn't far away. There we said goodbye once more and told ourselves, that our good task for today was done. :) Having left the steeper slopes and the trees behind us, it was a gentle stroll from now on for all of us. The flat walk along the riverbed was nice and we were chatting away about today's events, tomorrows expectations and our hiking gear. Arriving back at the yurt camp, we sat down for a break and then said goodbye to Cody. He was staying in a different camp and had another walk of about an hour ahead of him. With already 30 kilometers hiking in our legs, we didn't envy him at all. Passing our time with chatting and playing cards, dinner was served after a while. It was a really good one and probably the best about the whole yurt camp. The incredible hospitality that we had experienced before, was not really lived in this camp. "Can we have breakfast at 6 o'clock tomorrow?" - "No! Breakfast is at 7." - "Do you have some bread to sell us for lunch tomorrow?" - "No!" Okay, okay. We were just asking. :) A discussion was pointless and so we knew that there was no breakfast for us in the morning and we also had to do with the food that we had brought along. No worries though and after a long day, sleeping time came early at about 9 o'clock.
Day 2: Ala Kul Funnily enough we were already that used to getting up early, that we both were awake before the alarm clock rang at a quarter to 6 in the morning. :) As there was no breakfast today, we were on the trail at 6.30 and made our way to the main junction we had passed the other day. Turning towards Lake Ala Kul, we calculated with about an hour to reach the yurt camp in which Cody had slept last night. It soon turned out though, that the trail was way more challenging than we had expected. First the path wove through a forest that felt more like a jungle than anything else. Then the slope became really steep and still being surrounded by trees, only the occasional turn around gave us some little views of the mountains opposite of us. Once we made it out of the slope, a boulder field came up next and scrambling over the large rocks, we eventually could see the smoke rising from the yurt camp ahead of us. Arriving there, it had taken us exactly an hour and we both pitied Cody, as he had to do this tough ascent yesterday after a full day of hiking. Apropos Cody: he was outside of his yurt when we arrived, getting ready for today's hike. While we took a break, he waved hello and goodbye at the same time, as he set off with two other people he had met in his yurt yesterday. No problem for us, as we had agreed the day before already that we would each walk our own pace. We had another thing left to do anyway and peeking into the family yurt, we could see some bread lying on their table. "Do you have any bread for us to sell?", we asked the family. "No!" Haha, I was sure that the bread on the table was mocking us at that very moment. :) Well, nevermind, so we just carried on without any additional bread. The point of leaving early was not only to have the best weather, but also to escape the crowd of hikers that attempted the hike up to Ala Kul on the same day. That partly worked out, as we passed many of them just after the yurt camp. Reaching the first steeper slope we overtook Cody and apparently he had recovered pretty well from yesterdays effort. Coming onto a tiny plateau afterwards, we could see pretty far ahead now and all there was to be seen, were some more steep slopes and many colorful dots moving upwards along them. There was no point for us to rest, as we wanted to keep a steady pace and so we started with the long ascent. The path was mainly composed of gravel with the occasional mud in between, when the water of the river next to us mixed with the trail. It was not the easiest walking, but we made good way. Coming to the middle of the ascent, many people took a break there, as the slope leveled out for a little bit. We made a stop there as well, partly because the first part had been strenuous, but also because the view down the valley was pretty nice.
Not pausing there too long, we soon resumed our walk towards the lake. In advance, many people had told us that the part before the lake would be very steep and difficult. Well, steep it was definitely! It went upwards relentlessly and together with the first half of the ascent, I had to say that this was the longest steepest slope I ever had been in. As for the difficulty, it was a bit different. Sure there were parts where we had to scramble a little bit and quite a few times it was hard to find a good foothold in the loose scree, but it was for sure not the most difficult trail ever. Anyway, the whole effort was once again totally worth it. Overcoming the last part of the ascent, sunshine finally greeted us together with a super stunning view of the incredible blueish greenish Lake Ala Kul. What a sight to behold! What we didn't expected were the many people that already were there. As many hikers had camped at the lake, our good plan with starting early and overtaking as many people as possible had basically been in vain. :) Well, nevermind and we enjoyed a longer break at the edge of the lake, taking in the beautiful scenery.
The weather was still very good so far and as we wanted to take advantage of it, we carried on rather sooner than later. Our next goal was Ala Kul Pass and first another ascending slope led towards a ridge above the lake. The higher we got, the better were the views and once over the little ridge we had a superb outlook of almost the whole lake. The path led along a mountainside now and when we rounded another bend, the end of the lake came into view as well. Together with all the surrounding peaks, a glacier joined the scenery and once more we had to stop to marvel at the beautiful landscape around us.
From there it didn't take us long anymore and we reached the bottom of the final ascent up to the pass. We could see all the way to the top now and it was obvious that the steepness of the slope was about the same as the one before the lake. Used to it by now, we picked up our steady pace again. For once not only the steepness gave us a hard time though, but also the high altitude and the quite intense traffic on the trail. Reaching the pass about half an hour later, that last ascent had actually been better than expected. The foothold had been very good most of the time and there was no scrambling needed to get to the top. Thanking our steady pace and the early start, we arrived when the sun was still shining and the pass was not too crowded yet. Standing there enjoying the view, it was one of the most magnificent I had seen in Kyrgyzstan and it was evident why so many hikers were on this trail.
Ala Kul to our feet, we could see a mountain panorama around it with loads of snowcapped peaks. This was the place for lunch of course and we savored our food together with the mandatory summit beer. :)
About 45 minutes later we took a last look and said goodbye to Ala Kul. We could have stayed even longer, but many people were pouring onto the pass now, the clouds were intensifying again and we still had quite a long walk ahead of us. So we left and started our descent on the other side in a slope that was as steep as the one we had been coming up. While in the beginning the going was slow and difficult due to the loose scree on the trail, there was enough gravel to slide and run down the slope before long. :) Like this, we lost height very fast and stood at the bottom of the first descent within a couple minutes. Continuing a bit further, we soon had to take another break, as my shoes were full of stones from the fast descent in the gravel. :) The path had leveled out already at that point and we now walked down the valley on a gentle and steady slope.
Chatting away, we didn't pay attention to our surroundings that much, until we suddenly heard a thunder roll closeby. Looking around, Ala Kul Pass was already far behind and some other mountains surrounded our valley now. Over one was a big dark cloud and it was evident from where the storm was coming from. We had planned to take another break during our descent, but this plan was thrown over board now. We tried to get as far as possible before the rain was coming down and to a steady rolling thunder, we kept on descending until the downfall started. Luckily for us, we were in a forest by that time and had shelter to get out our rain gear. It poured down pretty heavily and the ground below our feet soon turned from dirt into mud. Walking along some narrow trails in the forest, it was not the nicest part of the day, as we repeatedly slipped on the wet mud. Eventually reaching the bottom of the valley, we followed another river and after a while, were able to see the mountain village of Altyn Arashan. We were a bit surprised about the size of the village, but as we knew that it could be reached by car, there was a good explanation for it. There were a couple guesthouses, there were shops with all a hiker needed after a long day on the trail, there were several yurt camps, there was even Wifi in some places and best of all, there were some hot springs. :) Our early start had paid off once more, as we first had some tea and snacks and then could go to the hot springs before all the other hikers made it to Altyn Arashan.
The bath in the springs was super nice and feeling refreshed afterwards, we sat down in our yurt camp for a beer and discussed how we should continue our hike tomorrow. About three hours after our arrival, Cody finally made it to our camp. He had a long day with over 10 hours of walking and even got into hail just below the pass, but still arrived at the yurt with a smile on his face. We offered him a beer, as we thought no one else had deserved it more. Dinner was served not much later and as for once we were not the only tourists, we chatted with our fellow hikers for quite a while. One question was left before we went to bed and asking our host: "What time can we get breakfast tomorrow?", he replied: "8 o'clock, 9 o'clock or even 9.30. No problem for us." Somehow it must be very uncommon in Kyrgyzstan to start hiking early, as first they said no to our request for breakfast at 7 o'clock. :) After some discussing though, the time was set and back in our yurt we fell into our beds for a good nights sleep.
Day 3: Kok Jar Pass Breakfast was ready at 7 as promised and we left for our last day about half an hour later. Already yesterday we had agreed to go over the Kok Jar Pass today. It was an obvious decision as the other two possible routes were either too short or too long. Following a dirt road out of Altyn Arashan, we saw a couple of 4WD coming along and marveled at their driving skills on the steep, muddy and bumpy track. The first couple kilometers descended gently until we were even with the river next to us. Coming upon a bridge, we were not sure if this was the one we had to go over, as on the map were two different bridges. Checking the GPS, it said we had to go further down to the second one. When 300 meters later no other bridge had appeared, we realized that the map was out of date and we had to use the bridge we had seen before. Heading back, we crossed over and started with the ascent towards Kok Jar Pass straightaway. A couple 100 meters later, we came upon another bridge and it seemed that there were paths going upwards on either side of the little stream. As there were no signs at all and as the way on the map led more to the left side, we opted to the path on our left. Following a muddy, narrow trail into the woods, we soon weren't sure if this was the right decision. A quick check on the GPS told us that we were not on the trail, but that it was somewhere closeby to our right. Even so we were determined to carry on a little bit further along the path we were on, to see where it was going. It soon led upwards and then a bit to the right, but the farther we got the less it was a trail. Randomly following some tracks that were almost not visible anymore, we knew that we were completely wrong now and decided to head over to the proper trail. Well, the fun factor was pretty low walking across country in the woods, as the slopes we were in were really steep. We had to climb over fallen trees, had to be careful not to slip on the wet ground and more than once struggled to find a good foothold. It was always a relief when some moss or stone gave us a break from the endless search where to plant our feet. Coming to a little clearing, we realized that we were on the wrong side of the little stream and from our point of view there was only one way to go.
Making our way to the stream, we took off our shoes and waded through the ice cold water. A super steep slope was looming over us on the other side, but as there was no choice left anyway, we started to scramble upwards as soon as we had our shoes back on. For sure this was one of the most intense climbs I ever did. The whole way up I wasn't sure if the ground beneath me would hold my weight, as it was that steep and all I stood upon was some grass or tiny mounds of earth. Reaching out to hold onto something was not really better, as everything around me was frail and loose. A couple times a stone or a little branch gave some short relief, but the rest was a pure struggle and I was glad when both of us had reached the top without any incident. A super nice path greeted us there and I cursed myself for not following the GPS from the very beginning. Taking a break we examined our arms and legs, as all of them had suffered some real treatment from stinging nettles and thorny bushes on the way up. There was nothing too bad though and we soon resumed our walk towards the pass. Coming along a shepherds yurt a little bit later, we saw a shepherd herding some sheep up the mountain and he was friendly enough to accompany us for a while and point us into the right direction. The walking was quite enjoyable now, as clouds mixed with the sunshine, cows and horses lined the trail, the ascent was gentle and the mountains around us looked very lovely.
The farther we walked, the more the trail petered out and soon we were walking across country once more. At least we already had figured out where the pass was, so now it was just the question of finding the best way to get up there. Reaching the bottom of the final ascent we took a break, ate a snack and studied the slopes in front of us. Suddenly Cyril said: "Look, another tourist." Surprised I turned around and as a matter of fact another hiker was approaching us. He introduced himself as Daniel and we hoped that he knew the best way to get up to the pass. As he had the same hopes of us, we all together agreed to follow the GPS more or less and go up where it didn't looked too steep. Well, that turned out harder than expected. :) In the beginning we thought it possible to go up walking straight ahead, but that plan was abandoned soon. The slopes were that steep that we all had to go up in serpentines, each of us basically making their own way. When there was enough breath left to talk, we learned that Daniel was German but lived in Switzerland for a long time already, so we were soon speaking Swiss German again. :) As the way on the map was mostly to our left, we kept on walking in that direction, but we never made it on the trail itself. Whenever someone checked our position the answer to: "How far to the trail is it?" was: "200 meters". :) The ascent seemed endless and the steepness never decreased. It actually was worse than the slope yesterday up to Ala Kul and after a while superseded it as the longest steepest slope ever.
Surprisingly my legs kept up with it, even after the long hikes of the days before and when we could see a ridge above us, we knew the end was near. Coming upon the ridge, we had a double surprise. :) First, the view. It was way better than what we had expected of this random pass and ahead of us some craggy peaks with a nice glacier greeted our eye. Looking back to where we came from, we now could see over the mountains around us and were able to get a view of the snowcapped higher ones far at the horizon. And second, we had missed the official pass for quite a bit. :) It was may be a hundred meters below and because we didn't really follow the trail on the map, we had made more height than actually was necessary. :)
Well, nevermind now as we sat down where we were, eating our lunch and enjoying the scenery around us. Even the weather was holding and the sun peeked through the clouds every now and then.
Starting our descent after lunch, we soon met another gravel field and once again were running down a slope. :) Down at the bottom we emptied our shoes of the gravel and started to walk along another valley. It was an entertaining descent and made the time fly. Cows, sheep and horses were grazing on the fields, the views to all sides remained superb and as Daniel was an outdoorer without a job, we had a lot to talk about. :)
Further down the valley we met some herders again and followed them until we reached a junction. They turned right, but as we were not sure where they were going, we turned left following another dirt road. We knew that there was a ski resort closeby, but nevertheless it was quite a funny sight to behold when suddenly a chair lift greeted our eye. :)
We would have liked to take a ride, but that was unfortunately not possible. Walking along the chair lift, we came upon a very modern hotel and the centre of the ski resort. Hoping that there would be either a cafe for a beer or a taxi to take us to Karakol, we learned that there was neither and so we kept on descending until we came upon a guesthouse where a young local greeted us. We asked him if there would be any taxi to Karakol and he was so nice to order us one with the little English he spoke. Instead of waiting there, we decided to walk towards the taxi, in order to move our legs a little bit more. The taxi found us on the road about 20 minutes later, taking us to Karakol and to a well deserved second lunch. :) We said goodbye to Daniel afterwards and headed with some great memories of the last three days towards Cholpon Ata for a longer rest at the beach of Lake Issyk Kul. :)
Highlights of the hike: the whole part around Ala Kul and Ala Kul Pass, the random slopes we went up on the last day and the fellow hikers we met along the way
This hike is for you if: - you're in a good shape - you're looking for panoramic views of the Tien Shan Mountains - you don't have a tent with you
- you're looking for diversity (glaciers, passes, alpine lakes, yurt camps, valleys) - you want to soak your weary bones in some hot springs after a long day of hiking :)
This hike is not for you if: - you want to escape the crowds - you mind rain, hail or thunderstorms - you mind getting up early :)
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