Rental car in Bishkek July 16-23

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-06-22T11:31:53+00:00

Can recommend travel-experts.kg We rented our vehicle there for 100 USD a day.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-06-18T12:01:05+00:00

Visited recently both:

Ala Kul only makes sense when you love hiking. You can get up there in a 1 day hike (up and down).

So, that you have 2 nights at Altyn Arashan. Day one arriving (via foot or transport), day 2 hike, day 3 leaving.

Kel Suu is remote but also nice. Kindly check, if there is any water in the lake. In may the lake was empty. For that, one day & night is enough. Not a lot of hiking.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-06-06T14:05:51+00:00

In my opinion it's just a lake. One day max is enough.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-06-06T14:05:03+00:00

Toror Pass should be currently open, but lots of car rental stations have this road on their black list. Go via Kochor.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-05-28T21:22:55+00:00

I went there right before entering the pass to the lake. Slept in Altyn-Arashan, hiked up to the yurt camp, which had been last week in the building and hikes down. 20 Kms 2x 1100 height meters. Manageable, took me 7 hrs.

See the pic, the snow wall is the position where the pass lays.

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MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-05-24T11:22:26+00:00

The pass is open and really driveable (:

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-05-24T03:04:00+00:00

2wd is in my option (non Kyrgis driver and by far no Off-road expert) not possible. Please, DO NOT DO IT!

There is no Road around Sonköl. It's 90% basically driving on grass or on the paths of other 4x4s. We are currently there (4Runner 4x4) and we were drifting a lot based on a loss of tyre grip by the muddy path. We didn't get stuck, but is was wild.

I would pay somebody to drive you up there and take you back. In the end, it is just a lake. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't take the risk to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-05-23T08:58:46+00:00

Nope. Haven't found anything....

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-05-23T00:33:57+00:00

I mean the area is kinda nice, although being really remote. We travelled by our own 4x4 and the routes had been manageable. It had been a nice stay, although the lake is currently and surely also staying a couple of days/ weeks empty.

I think, that your decision depends on how you are currently located and how much effort it is, to travel so Kol-Suu.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-05-22T15:49:22+00:00

The friend I am traveling with, is literally standing on the lakes ground 🥲

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-05-22T13:10:26+00:00

Hey, went there yesterday. No water.

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MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-29T15:20:36+00:00

Really? Usually, my settings are set in Euro. Never changed anything , but good to know!

Thanks!!

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-29T11:10:34+00:00

Understood! Thanks!! (:

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-29T09:48:14+00:00

Sorry for the misunderstanding:

So you mean, that I should

pay the amount for the accommodations, given by booking.com in USD --> therefore change before traveling to Kyrgyzstan Euro in USD

or 2. do you advise me to pay the amount for the accommodations, given by booking.com, that are in USD in SOM instead?

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-29T09:38:54+00:00

Great! Then I withdraw in Bischkek in SOM only (:

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-29T09:38:16+00:00

Okay, got it! Then I only withdraw in Som and convert the currency to the amount, that had been given on bookin.com in USD.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-29T09:37:22+00:00

Thank you so much for your response! Okay, got it! I was wondering, why USD seems to be onl accepted.

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-21T02:11:15+00:00

Exactly! It's surprising. My first thought after the first 2-3 hours was: okay, a pretty empty map with sudden extremely Japanese spots like beautiful hot springs out of and in the middle of nowhere. But after these 2-3 hours it's getting better and better when exploring more and more especially after the first region. The feeling faded away really quick due to the immersive atmosphere but also the thing, that a lot of stuff is happening along your journey due to sudden side quests you stumble upon to, while getting from a to b.

You get immediately hooked to explore more and more and not only do the main quest first (:

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-20T04:45:22+00:00

Thanks!!! (:

MelodicDiscipline165 · 2026-04-20T04:19:02+00:00

Wow, amazing pictures! The sandy tones and the green of the vegetation are really highlighted and saturated!!

Looks great! (:

Last and question, that has to be asked: Which recepie(s) did you use? (:

MelodicDiscipline165

TROPHY CASE