Overview
This Kyrgyzstan nomad tour is built around the traditions of the high pastures. Many Kyrgyz families still spend every summer in yurts with their herds, and this week lets you share that life: watch riders play kok-boru, learn how felt carpets are made, sleep three nights in yurts on the shore of Song-Kul lake and ride out with herders.
Kok-boru, the horseback game
Kok-boru is a fast and rough team game in which riders fight for a goat carcass and try to throw it into the opponents’ goal. It is played at village festivals and on weekends across the country. We arrange a game with riders from a village near Kochkor, so you see it up close and can talk to the players afterwards.
Felt and shyrdak making
In Kochkor you spend a morning with women who make shyrdaks, the bright felt carpets found in every yurt. You see the whole process, from washing and beating the wool to cutting and sewing the patterns, and you can make a small piece yourself. The craft is on UNESCO’s list of intangible heritage in need of urgent safeguarding, and buying directly from the makers helps keep it alive.
Three nights at Song-Kul
The lake sits at 3,016 m. You stay with one herding family in their yurt camp, help with the evening milking if you like, try kymyz (fermented mare’s milk) and spend a full day riding with the herders. No riding experience is needed; there is also a free day to walk, rest and watch the light change over the water.
Is this nomad tour for you?
We grade it Moderate because of the altitude and the basic conditions at the lake: shared yurts, outdoor toilets and no showers for three days. Driving days are long but scenic. If you would rather spend more time in the saddle, see our Song-Kul horse trek; for a gentler cultural week, see the Issyk-Kul tour.
Season
The tour runs from mid-June to early September, when the yurt camps stand at Song-Kul. July and August have the most families on the pastures and the best chance of a kok-boru game at a local festival. More background: Song-Köl on Wikipedia.
Booking the Kyrgyzstan nomad tour
There are three ways to join this Kyrgyzstan nomad tour: pick an open date on this page, propose your own dates and let other travelers join you, or book this Kyrgyzstan nomad tour privately for your own group. On a shared date the price per person drops as the group grows. Nothing is paid on this website: a manager confirms the dates, the price and every detail of this Kyrgyzstan nomad tour with you first. See all open group departures.
