As we move on and continue to experience and see a lot of things on our way through central asia, it's sometimes hard to take time to write down everything we are living during this trip.
We still taught there's a few amazing places in Kirgistan that were missing an article. So here's a little recap of our highlights going from north to south of Kirgistan:
Köl Ukök & Köl Tor
When we met Amadeus's working colleagues at Yssik köl, i asked them if there was a place they would recommend. They told us that Köl ukök (2970 meters) was very beautiful and that we could surely drive up with our car.
We did managed to drive up to that lake but it was definitely not good for our car or tires. The way up that lake was basically 20km hiking trail, very steep with sharp rocks and a river to cross.
After a fun, scary and challenging drive up with a lot of swearing we finally arrived at the top but realised we were kind of blocked by the yurt camp settled there at the shore.
We then asked the lady in charge, if it would be possible to spend the night here, literally parked in the middle of her camp and she accepted with no problem. We could even enjoy a good, very big meal at her yurt.
The views up there were stunning and the area so quiet and peaceful.
On the map we spotted another lake a bit higher, at a reachable distance and decided that it will be our hike of the next day.
It wasn't a hard hike, about 13 km and 500 m altitude but at this hight every effort seems exhausting with the lack of oxygen. Especially when you just drove up 1000 m altitude the day before and didn't have so much time to acclimate.
But the hike was amazing and the views on the lake and the glacier on top of it was absolutely worth the heavy breathing!
Son Köl
Yes Kirgistan is the land of lakes ! And Son köl is one of it's most famous. It's the second biggest, at an altitude of 3016 meters above see level.
Even though it got more touristic over the years, the only infrastructure there for tourists are yurt camps which doesn't take much of its enchanting feeling away! The lake is also so big that you don't need to drive long to be all alone.
Photos cannot really describe the atmosphere that you experience up there. It's really a magical place. We stayed 3 days but could have spent a week without getting bored of staring into the landscape.
Middle to South
On our way down from Son köl we took the road through Kazerman which is one of the most scenic 4WD road of Kirgistan. The landscapes were incredible, with a very misty feeling due to the sand and dust blown by the wind.
We then did a short stop in Osh, mostly because our car needed some welding, new tires (we had 2 flat tires, 2 days apart) and a car check before hitting the Pamir Highway.
On our way down to Sary Tash we did a small detour in a side valley that had incredible views.
We're more and more tuning in for the high peaks of the Pamir Highway!
Peak Lenin
Arriving in the small city of Sary Tash it is a strange feeling to know you're on 3170 meter above see level because it just seems so flat! It's a huge desertic plateau, in it's background you are mesmerized by the huge wall of snowy peeks looming above you. Some of them are above 7000 meters (!)
We will spend a night at the foot of one of them: Peak Lenin (7134m).
The day we arrive, some clouds are covering it's peak - it's still looking very impressive!
Out in this endless region surrounded by high peaks, we randomly meet again with the french family "LesVosgpatt" and decide to settle up a camp together at a lake called Tulpar:
The next day Nico and the girls are not feeling so well but Sabine is motivated for a hike with us, so we go up to have a better view on this snow giant.
(Picture by Nico, LesVosgpatt)
We were very lucky with the weather because all the clouds of the previous day were gone and we could admire the scenery. A lot of yacks were in the surroundings and they were very interested in Nino (which was totally panicked!).
It's actually one of the most accessible peak over 7000m. We only went up to 3650m, and breathing was already big effort.
Amadeus and I hope that we can come back one day with better gear and try to achieve this challenge!
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