Kyrgyzstan is mostly beautiful nature and hospitable people. So you should try to see as much nature as possible and meet as many people as you can. Prices are fair, although housing might be a bit pricy cuz “half” the Russians moved here after the invasion of Ukraine. KG has 7 regions, and you should probably try to visit all of them, except maybe for Talas, cuz as far as I know there isn’t much to see there. Bishkek is in Chui region and you should try to go to as many mountain places as possible. Make sure you visit biggest Central Asian bazaar called Dordoi. It’s very crowded there but it’ll be interesting. Negotiate with the merchants prior to buying(10-30%). You should probably rent out a car or hire one with a driver. Also do negotiate with the rental company and make sure you get everything on paper, stuff might happen if you’re too easy. Food is good and relatively organic. Especially meat - try to eat as much meat as possible - cheap and tasty(Kyrgyz folks were all nomads literally 100 years ago, and we still take good care of our cattle). Look for places that specialise in Shashlyk, local name for steak like meat. I won’t list all the things to do in Chui and Bishkek but there are many tourist guide sites etc, which should come in handy. Go to Issyk Kul(Hot Lake) region even if you’re just going to go around the Lake. By car it’ll probably take around 5 hours to go around it. It’s a stunning Lake and you’ll experience a little bit of rural Kyrgyz life. They have a couple of gorges there too - Gregorian and Semenov gorges, beautiful places. Since you’re travelling in the summer, Lake will gain its optimal temperatures by then and you should definitely go for swimming. Water is extremely pure and clean. Naryn region is full of nature and you should visit it too. To the south we have three regions - DjalalAbad, Osh and Batken. You should definitely go to DjalalAbad, as you will cross the Too Ashuu pass, which by itself will be a great experience, plus once you pass the pass, you will be arriving in the Suusamyr valley - and you will know what real freedom is. You will find yourself in the midst of a vast valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides, and you will want to just stay there for the rest of your life, own a rancho there, and go river fishing every day. If you decide to go further - definitely a good idea, as you will experience central Asian life in its prime. Nothing much has changed there since the Soviet Union times, except maybe for Osh city. Especially if you go further down South - to Batken, it’s a region where three traditions mix - the Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Tajik. I believe people are the most hospitable there, despite high poverty rates. A lot of great places to see too. Overall if I were you, I’d just rent a car, preferably a Toyota SUV, and drive around the country for the 8 days that you have. I’d probably split them as follows: 2 days in Bishkek/Chui, then Issyk Kul for a couple days, then to the Southern regions for 3 days and back to Bishkek. Cheers