Bespoke travel agency in Kyrgyzstan

High season stretches from mid-June to mid-September, when high mountain passes are clear and the jaïloos — those vast summer pastures — welcome herding families and their livestock. It's the ideal time for a trek around Lake Song-Köl, horseback riding in the central Tian Shan, or an approach to Lenin Peak. July and August offer the warmest nights under the yurt, while September, drier, attracts hikers with its golden light. May and early June remain reserved for lower valleys, still in bloom. Winter, meanwhile, speaks to backcountry skiers around Karakol and to those curious to see Lake Issyk-Köl frozen in silence.

Kyrgyzstan remains one of the most accessible destinations in Central Asia. For a two-week itinerary including an English-speaking guide, driver, nights in yurts and homestays, expect between €1,800 and €2,500 per person, excluding international flights. Costs vary mainly depending on transport options — a private 4x4 on the Pamir highlands tracks costs more than a marshrutka ride — and on the proportion of camping or stays with herders. A guided horseback trek with horses and accompanying staff represents the most significant expense item, but remains very reasonable considering the experience gained. Flights from Paris to Bishkek are generally found between €600 and €900 depending on the season.

Kyrgyzstan is hard to plan from a Paris office. Trails shift from summer to summer, some passes stay snow-covered late into the season, and the best stops don't appear in any guidebook: they're family yurts, a herder who lends his horses, a cook you met last year at the foot of Khan Tengri. At Kyrgyz'What?, based in Bishkek since 2011, Alina and her team — Talaï, Barkit, Nazira — know personally the herders who will welcome you. This proximity changes everything: an itinerary adjusted to your hiking level, horses selected with care, an English-speaking guide who truly conveys nomadic culture. And through the Nomadays collective, booking is done in euros, secured from France.

We often start in Bishkek to acclimatize, then head south toward Song-Köl lake, at 3,000 meters, where yurts dot a plateau roamed by herds. The central Tian Shan region — Jyrgalan valley, Jeti-Ögüz gorges, Altyn Arashan — concentrates the finest treks, between spruce forests and glaciers. Further on, the vast Issyk-Köl lake borders little-visited valleys, while to the south, Osh, its sacred mountain and the road to the Pamir open another Kirghizistan, more Uzbek, more mineral. Horse-riding enthusiasts will find their place in the jaïloos of Suusamyr or Kochkor, at the slow pace of transhumance. A true adventure, without crowds, still very free.