Song Kul: a Lake Close to Heaven (or fat your herds and get away)

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bicycle touring kyrgyzstan song kul
Yurts at Song Kul

Silk Road travel, bicycle touring up to Song Kul, a big alpine lake 3.000msl in Kyrgyzstan, a road trip. Here the nomads set their yurt camp (jailoo) in summer.

Bicycle touring Kyrgyzstan has been magnificent so far, the round trip of the Issyk Kul was stunning and the World Nomad Games have been a great experience. Now it’s time for something a bit tougher, we’re going to climb to the highest point of our bicycle trip so far.

Song Kul is an alpine lake situated at 3000msl, in the province of Naryn. It’s used, probably for millennia, as a summer jailoo, a yurt camp where nomads bring their herds to fat. To get there we must ride our bikes over a 3,400 meters pass. Let’s see how it goes. After more than two weeks of bicycle touring around it, today we leave our beloved Issyk Kul.

We cross Balykchy, a “pleasant” little town, once a tourist destination for the Soviet proletariat, now left to itself. Truly an ugly place but somehow fascinating, at least if you like the genre. We note that there are a lot of drunk people, and it’s just 2 PM. Living here must be pretty bleak. We wander in search of an ATM who likes our card (Maestro) but no one likes it. We move towards Kochkor, theoretically the largest town in the area where we hope ATMs are more friendly.

Passed Balykchy, a dashing wind starts to blow, obviously against us, we cycle to a maximum speed of 10km/h and I occasionally come rattling here and there. I began to think that having a trailer like the Extrawheel is better than the front bags. We ride again along our dear Chui river and stop to camp in a nice small field on its shore, under a large olive tree. Too bad there’s the usual garbage left over by some asshole. 

Tomorrow we’ll start the climb to Song Kul Lake, we hope the wind will change direction, it will be the first time in five months.

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bicycle touring kyrgyzstan song kul
The road to Song Kul

We leave the creek behind and move towards the mountains, the road is beautiful, both scenically and from an asphalt point of view.

We arrive in Kochkor, the last “urban” place before heading to the lake. After visiting all the ATMs in the city, we can say those are friendly neither, they have more feeling with the Visa electron circuit, a levy costs of “only” 5 euros more. A bargain.

Brief point about the risk of overstaying in the Jailoo

We enter into one of the many tourist offices to ask if there are still yurts up at the lake. Given the altitude (3000msl) evening will be cold and you better have a B plan in case the tent is not enough (our tent is not a proper winter one).

We are told that the yurts, in the Kyrgyz language Boz Uy, which means gray house (from the color of the felt that covers them), are still there, even though the season is almost over. Most of the Kyrgyz nomad shepherds are indeed semi-nomads, living in the yurts only during summer, when they go graze their herds up in the high mountain pastures, where the grass is nourishing.

The sheep are brought on trucks while the horses go abreast, transhumance could take days, and if on the way back something goes wrong, for example, a snowstorm, they can lose the work of the entire season, the animals can lose the fat or even die. So to come down at the right time is a must.

Even so, some shepherds dare to risk that, staying longer in the Jailoo (the yurt camp), hoping to make some extra bucks from the tourists coming there. It’s a big gamble, but those can be good money for a Kyrgyz nomad family. An example of how complex sustainable tourism can be.


Eagles, Chinese, and places to camp

We keep on following the wonderful “Made in China” road, the landscape is very mountainous, with large vertical walls on all sides. But still quite barren. We’re back near the river. We spot some majestic eagles and some Chinese workers who greet us with big smiles. They seem much friendlier than Kyrgyz highlanders.

The only problem is that there aren’t many places to camp, there is little space and when there is it’s stony. We arrive at 2200 meters and find a spot for the tent, not the best but until now we haven’t seen anything else. With courage we wash in the river two sweatshirts we found on the street, our hands are frozen, literally. It’s like putting them on the ice. But at least we have some clean clothes now.


The road to Song Kul

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Steep up and downhill on the washboard

Keep going, always uphill, but never too steep. We arrive at the village of Sary Bulak, turn right, and within a few kilometers, we reach the fork for the lake and also the last village where to make supplies. With our extreme displeasure, not to use other more vulgar expressions, we have to leave the Chinese road and take the Kirghiz one.

The sign says Song Kul 50 kilometers. Asphalt nietu. The beginning is vertical and we must necessarily push the bikes. Besides, the road soon becomes a washboard. It is a dirty stony road composed of many small waves, it’s like driving a jackhammer. The bikes are suffering, and we are as well.

We spend more time pushing the bike than trying to pedal, even when the road is flat. The consolation comes when looking at the scenery, but not for long. The brain is in a shaker, wonder what kind of cocktail would come out.

song kul
The stunning landscape on the road to Son Kol

We arrive at 2500 meters and a downhill begins, not even time to say “fortunately” and we realize that this is hell. Keeping our bikes straight is very difficult, much worse than the climb, as you go faster. At the end of the descent, there’s a paved road leading to the village. Hooray, let’s hope for the best.

There are three magazin but practically they do not sell anything. Candy and cigarettes. We buy bread and water, yesterday we bought some cheese in Kochkor and a few cans of corn.

The asphalt ends just past the village and we’re in hell again. I want to say that the chick at the tourist office had told us that this was a “VERY GOOD ROAD”. We would like to thank them for the call. To our left is the river that runs through the valley, with no lack of camping spots at least. There are houses of shepherds, who live here all year long. Houses made of mud and stray.

Keep going, pushing 80%, and cycling 20%. We want to go call some Chinese workers, in the space of a week there would certainly be a beautiful road here too. On a full day, we were able to do only 20 km on this road. We stopped to sleep along the river, at 2700 meters, and tomorrow we hope to reach the lake.

Struggling and cheating the last leg of the road to Song Kul

song kul
The dusty and rocky road to the lake

The night went quiet, we thought we could feel cold but it went well. Outside was around 0°C but our tent behaved well. When we wake up there’s a nice sunny day. At least in this, we are lucky. But the road, if possible, gets worse.

The climb becomes more vertical and is an expanse of stones. We are at 3000 meters, the pass before descending to the lake it’s 3400 and we think we won’t make it in one day.

While we are amid yet another shove, up a never-ending series of switchbacks, there pass a van, the guy rolls down the window and jokingly asks if I want to load the bike. But I take it seriously and with the cry pajalsta (please), he stops and we load!

Song Kul jailoo: finding a yurt to spend the night

song kul
A yurt, or Boz Uy, along the shore of the lake

And so the last 3km are done by van. Even for it, the road is not easy, it doesn’t go much faster than us. They are going to the south of the lake, probably their yurt is there.

They ask us if we want to go with them but we do leave at the junction to the road that leads to the lake, where there is a Jailoo (camp of yurts). From here we wish to take the road along the north side of the Song Kul lake.

Our idea is to go around the lake and then down from the south road. The road that leads to the Song Kul shore is again a dirt road, but a way better one, with no big stones, and no washboard. We see the first yurts. And the lake. The scenery is idyllic, worth the effort, and the blasphemies.

We arrive at the camp after 8 beautiful km, it seems it’s going to rain, so we’ll stop sleeping here. We go to a random yurt just before us. To sleep there they ask us 500 som per person with breakfast. In total about 13 euros.

To get a yurt with heating and some warm food I would say it’s okay. Dinner is 200 som per head. Our yurt is nice, with many colorful shirdak, there is a sort of heater powered by cow dung, just like in Kinaliq (Azerbaijan).

I would say that after two days on that terrible road, we deserve a little relaxation. Let’s take a walk along the lake, there is a lot of wind. On the shore, there’s a boat that looks abandoned but maybe is not.

How to build a yurt in Kyrgyzstan: anatomy of a Boz Uy

song kul
Those wavy waters are not very easy to row probably

There are few tourists, probably this is the best time to visit the lake, especially if you are lucky with the weather. A little further on, we see that they are dismantling a yurt and go browse. It is a “game” for Russian tourists who will sleep there. They need to disassemble and reassemble the yurt. There are about a dozen people, but in practice, the two Kyrgyz do all the job.

The assembly of a yurt starts from the small wheel-shaped roof (the one that is depicted in the flag of Kyrgyzstan) in which several long, curved wooden sticks are caught. All around the yurt, there is a “fence” on the ground, always in wood, where those sticks are tied. This is the wall of the yurt, also made of wood, with no nails of any sort, the thing is kept together by strings made of bowels. It can be folded and carried away. Then obviously there is the door. And then you put the felt to cover it all.

No metal, only wood, rope, and cloth. Inside the floor and walls are decorated and kept warm by colorful shirdaks. With Russian tourists, there is also an Italian hitchhiker. Even backpacking here is not easy, taxis are expensive and, in fact, given the road, we understand why. They invited us for vodka, just perfect given the chilly weather. The lady of the house is preparing dinner, there is a big pot on the fire, the recipe is typical, a whole boiled sheep… very nouvelle cuisine.

A nomad dinner and sleeping in a Yurt

song kul
assembling a Yurt

Let’s go back to our yurt, the lady of ours has been playing with Daniele’s Ukulele for a while and is now going to prepare dinner. For us, vegetable soup, potatoes, and various creams. Poorer but more refined. And a ton of tea.

After dinner we go happy in our yurt, we prepare the mattress and the bed, the covers are heavy and luckily the heater warms up. And it is certainly environmentally friendly. It seems to me a method that everyone should adopt. Because, no less important, the dried dung, does not stink.

We fall asleep happy, while it’s raining outside, we feel the strong wind. Today, a Russian chick told me that there is going to be a snowstorm the day after tomorrow. We hope to cross the lake tomorrow before the storm comes.

A sudden snowstorm spoils our plans

song kul
The snowstorm is gathering

Breakfast is eggs, jams, bread, and tea. When we get out of the yurt we see dark clouds gathering above us, it seems that the storm is coming one day in advance. It is very cold, at least 15 degrees less than yesterday. Moreover, we start feeling dizzy, maybe a fever.

We tell ourselves that, not sure how the road is, maybe is better not to venture. If we get surprised by the storm might not be fun. In addition, the dirt road in the rain, or worse, in the snow would become a muddy mess.

We have to find a ride to get down from here. The Russians are already gone. Behind our yurt, however, is parked a truck, which was turned into a bus and brought some tourists here. We try to ask. The drivers are a boy and a girl from England and will give us a ride! Hooray!

They invited us into their yurt for lunch, which unfortunately was cooked by them. I have to say that, generally speaking, the British have no hope when it comes to food (sorry guys, there could be exceptions of course). There is a cold pasta, frozen, with whole tomatoes inside, and cucumbers, parsley, and a lot of other things I don’t want to remember.

Hitchhiking a Dragoman truck

song kul
The Dragoman truck in the jailoo

Around noon we go. The above truck is called Dragoman, in practice, you can book online and the truck takes you around the world. It’s a thing sold as adventurous which is not adventurous at all. You go in already booked hotels, have fixed schedules, and eat at the appointed time.

In short, the only thing different is that it is a truck, and is cheap. The rest is a simple all-inclusive trip with everything organized. That said, it still is probably the easier and cheaper way to travel in those off-the-beaten-path destinations.

But what’s important to us, is that we can load the bike and go back with them to Kochkor. Even for the truck, the road is not easy. And there comes the snowstorm, there are about 0 degrees, yesterday there were 30… the face of temperature variation.

We arrived in Kochkor around 4 PM, we felt we caught a cold and fever. So we stopped to sleep in the guest house where the dragomani are. The most expensive of our trip to Kyrgyzstan I would say, 800 som per person with breakfast, more than 11 euro.

But tomorrow they will give us a ride to Bishkek so we do not have many alternatives, else than ride the same way back. Let’s take a hot shower and go to sleep.

Note: the name of the lake is written in many different names because there are many ways of transliterating it from Cyrillic.

bicycle touring song kul
Happy moments when reaching the Song Kol jailoo
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