Join me and my local friends for this epic adventurous tour in Kyrgyzstan! This tour has it all: Amazing mountains, lakes, valleys, canyons and sleeping in yurts. The real Kyrgyz experience! Kyrgyzstan, situated in Central Asia is an amazing country that I visited lots of times the last few years. It’s not only a great place for photography, but the whole atmosphere and hospitality is something you will never forget.
Please note : This is a Photography Tour. You'll see the most beautiful places during the best light. We spend a good amount of time at every place so everyone can take the best photos. Next to that there will be instructions in the field and when time allows: lectures in the hotel. We want to make sure you come home with the most beautiful photos!
A lot of places in this tour have been explored by me and the team and we made them famous personally. We even gave them names! By Google maps scouting and visiting sights we found some hidden gems almost never explored by anyone. In 2019 CNN Travel joined us for a mini documentary and article, that can be seen here: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/kyrgyzstan-albert-dros-photographer/index.html . Now, these places are hot spots for local tourism. But don’t worry, we already explored lots of new exclusive places where we’ll take you :)
For enquiries & joining: Please mail to albert.dros@gmail.com
In this tour me and my team will bring you around some amazing areas that this country has to offer.
DATES: June 22-30
SPOTS: FULL! (feel free to email waiting list)
PRICE: 4200 EURO
Single supplement: 300 EURO
INCLUDED:
All accommodations
All transfers
All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Snacks
Guidance by a professional team (Albert Dros + locals)
Permits needed to access some areas
NOT INCLUDED
Potential Visa fee (most countries don’t need visa for Kyrgyzstan, for details check: https://caravanistan.com/visa/kyrgyzstan/)
Flights to and from Kyrgyzstan
Alcoholic drinks.
Some Kyrgyzstan Impressions:
COMFORT & SHAPE:
In this tour we will be sometimes sleeping in tents and yurts. Kyrgyzstan does not have luxury hotels in many places, especially in the mountains but that’s really part of the nomad experience. When we’re staying in the villages we’re staying in the best hotels, but in the mountains, we live the real Kyrgyz lifestyle :) There is also the possibility to do horse riding. Even if you never rode a horse, it will be no problem if you’re up for it :)
Regarding hiking, we will occasionally walk but it will never be long hikes. Most of the walking will be max 1-2 hours, so you don’t need to be extremely fit, but if you have issues with basic hiking this tour might not be for you.
DAY 1: Bishkek (arrival day)
You may arrive in Bishkek any time of day. Our welcome dinner starts at 7 PM. You’ll meet me (Albert) and our team that will be guiding you for the rest of the tour. We’ll discuss itinerary and have a nice local meal. If you need any help with transfers from the airport, feel free to let us know.
Accommodation: Hotel
DAY 2: Canyon Day!
Today we will mainly be travelling to the east side of the country; The Karakol region. After breakfast we’ll be on our way. Today we’ll explore a bunch of Canyons on the way. Some of these we explored (and named) ourselves. We’ll shoot sunset at one of the canyons and have a late dinner at Karakol where we’ll be staying for the night.
Accommodation: Hotel
DAY 3: Karakol’s surroundings
We’ll give you a good rest and a good breakfast to get you started on a day of local exploring around the city of Karakol. In the afternoon we head to valleys and mountains nearby in our 4x4 cars. These cars will take you anywhere during out tour and you’ll immediately experience the ‘Kyrgyz way’ of exploring. Driving on roads you can hardly call roads and crossing rivers but most importantly: beautiful scenery. You’ll see the typical Kyrgyz wild scenery with horses, shepherds, rivers and mountains. We’ll bring you to some ‘secret’ spots that only we know, have a picnic and so a sunset shooting session. And when the weather allows we shoot the super clear night sky!
Accommodation: Hotel
DAY 4: Peak Eltcin
After everyone is rested from the previous day we’ll have a daily excursion to the Jety Oguz valley along with peak Eltcin. This day will be packed with epic mountains and canyons. First we visit the famous ‘red rocks’ and after that we’ll be heading into the spectacular valley where we can see peak Eltcin. Another 5000m+ mountain and a valley that are absolutely stunning.
After another bumpy 4x4 we eventually have to walk. It’s an easy hike which is through a valley that is flat but surrounded by epic mountains. You’ll have a view of Peak Eltcin all the way. We’ll have a picnic in the valley, say hi to the local shepherds and you’ll also have the chance to photograph them on their horses with the mountains as a backdrop. We’ll stay here until the end of the afternoon, shoot sunset and make our way back to our hotel to have a late dinner and get some rest.
Accommodation: Hotel
DAY 5: Sary-Jaz
If you think the previous days were wild, the real adventures start now. We’ll be visiting the Sary-Jaz area which is an area close to the border of China. This area is unique. You’ll see absolutely no one here except maybe a shepherd that is completely on its own far from civilisation. This area requires a special permit (we’ll take care of it for you) to access. The atmosphere here is something you have never experienced before. We’ll be crossing the Chon-Ashu pass (over 3800m) and Echkilitash gorge.
We’ll be driving a lot today and our end destination are the Adyr-Tor mountains. This area also has a lot of wild eagles and if we’re lucky we may photograph some in their natural environment. We’ll spend the night here in camps so we can experience the true serenity of this place. We’ll see the sun go down and rise behind these giant peaks. Followed by the clearest night skies. An experience you won’t forget.
Accommodation: Tents
DAY 6: Sary-Jaz
You may rise from your tent to shoot the sunrise and see the first light hit the mountains. It’s very possible that it was freezing this night! As this area is well above 3000m it can get very cold tonight. When the sun rises and hits the frozen grass, it will soon start to warm up. Mornings hare can be magical. We’ll take it easy in the morning and depart as soon as we’re ready. We’ll take a different route back to Karakol so we can explore some different valleys.
We’ll be back late afternoon, have dinner at our hotel and rest for our new adventure the next day.
Accommodation: Hotel
Day 7: Karakol - Son-Kol lake
Today we’ll drive to Son-Kul lake, the last but definitely not the least adventure of our tour. This area will amaze you. Son Kul is a huge lake located at around 3000m with mountains surrounding it. It’s a location that will take your breath away as its completely flat and has its own climate. Weather conditions can change rapidly here and there’s a big chance it will freeze during the night.
To make the experience complete you’ll stay in yurts (which is the only option, there are no hotels in this place). The yurts themselves are great photogenic objects. You'll experience the local lifestyle here and see the family’s life in the summer months. If the winds calm down you can see the mountains reflecting in the lake. We’ll stay here for sunset, night and the sunrise the next day. You’ll enjoy the super clean fresh air and this area will really make you feel at peace.
Accommodation: Yurt
DAY 8: Son-Kol lake - Bishkek
We shoot sunrise near our camp. After breakfast we take our time to head back to Bishkek. On our way we might do a stop at Konorchek Canyon.
We will have our goodbye dinner in Bishkek after which you can get some well deserved rest and a nice hot shower (you’ll need it ;) ) in your hotel.
Accommodation: Hotel
DAY 9: Departure
We hope your hard drives are full of amazing photos and that you had an epic experience! You may plan your departure any moment during this day.
Please note:
The schedule can always be changed on the spot because of certain (weather) conditions. Me and my team will make sure we'll always be at the most beautiful photography spots and sometimes we have to make adjustments to make that happen.
For enquiries & joining: Please mail to albert.dros@gmail.com