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The Magic of Arashan, Kyrgyzstan

January 10, 2015 by Dave4 Comments

arashan-kyrgyzstan (8)Arashan is a trek that gets under your skin; it is a four to five hour hike up a rutted and rough dirt road alongside a raging river. From Karokal you can take mini bus number 350 – it is about 30 minutes to the drop off point. Or you can take a taxi for about 350 som.

You can certainly hike this yourself in the summer – allow 4-5 hours along a very rocky rough dirt road that follows a quickly flowing river for much of the way until the road rises high above the river and then increases in steepness before eventually cresting a pass and dropping down into a beautiful river valley.

Or you can arrange jeep transportation, horse transportation or a guide through a number of guesthouses in the Karakol or through the Community Based Tourism Office (CBT), located a short drive from the main bus station in Karokal. One guesthouse we recommend that is clean, comfortable (has Wifi, albeit a bit slow) and the helpful owner speaks very good English is Teskey Guesthouse.

A note regarding the town of Karakol – it is very rough around the edges, many streets are dirt, in some state of construction, often front yards are torn up for whatever reason, lots of rubble, rusted vehicles sitting around randomly, a number of buildings are in bad shape etc. But because of its location, logistically Karokal is the closest town to Arashan and other mountain trekking.

In late summer, look for apricot trees growing wild near the start of the hike. Also fill up your water bottles from several of the flowing side streams – some are connected by a pipe that juts out of the side of the hill. These side streams are located randomly throughout the hike and we were told by locals that the water is perfectly safe to drink untreated.

Small house in shadow of the large mountains
Looking down at Arashan after cresting the pass
Flowing river near lodging
The best hot spring in the area!

Unlike the terrain around Song Kul Lake which is arid and fairly barren (no trees), this part of Kyrgyzstan is the opposite – there is plenty of water here and vegetation along the entire hike. Eventually you reach a fertile green valley with several massive mountains covered in glaciers in the distance.

Several lodging options are located here including a backpacker type dorm building (the first building you reach as you enter the valley) – with several small beds per room – food is available and a cook lives here in the summer. You can order breakfast, lunch or dinner. At night, the sound of the raging river in the distance will gently put you to sleep.

There are plenty of day hikes above Arashan and to several small lakes as well as the much further yet very impressive Altyn Arashan Lake – or one can rent horses from one of several “horse farms” in the area. Typically you will be sent out with a horse and no guide – prior horse riding experience is probably helpful in this situation, but we found the horses we rented to be fairly obedient and easy going.

But one of the highlights (especially after hiking 4-5 hours) are the hot springs. These will rejuvenate most aches and pains from the rigors of hiking with a backpack right away. One is free of charge and isn’t particularly hot – the other requires a key to enter a flimsy wooden building and the water is just the perfect temperature. It is easy to lose track of time as you enter a blissful state upon entering these soothing waters.

And another highlight of a stay here is meeting travelers from around the world and sharing stories. This is Kyrgyzstan, not Italy for example and by the time travelers visit this country – they tend to be very well heeled. Most of these meetings are fleeting yet some of the relationships last much longer based on mutually shared stories, personal interests and of course personalities that for whatever reason mesh well.

Vladin – our cook during our stay
Riding a horse high above Alanarsha
Gabor, Hungary’s longest running backpacker
Cascading water on the hike to Alanarsha

Related posts:

No Rest for the Weary – Trekking in Ala Archa, Kyrgyzstan The Realities of Adventure Travel Sometimes Jamaica Works her Magic! Writing from a Yurt at 3000 Meters in Kyrgyzstan Trekking in the Tian Shan Mountains above Song Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan

Filed Under: Asia · Tagged: Animal Rescue, Art, Bus Travel, Drinking, Food and Wine, Hiking, Hot springs, Italy, Mountain Climbing, Taxi, Trekking

Comments

  1. Corinne says

    January 10, 2015 at 5:55 pm

    I have wanted to do the “Stans” for some time now. This just makes me want to go more and more!

  2. Dave says

    January 14, 2015 at 2:06 pm

    Corinne – yes, it is still a relatively undiscovered part of the world 🙂

  3. Michele says

    March 1, 2015 at 10:35 pm

    A horse trek in Kyrgyzstan is on my must do list but there are some scare stories on the internet including those suggesting that females should not travel without male family members due to the possibility of bride kidnapping! In your experience, is this a true reflection of how things are there now in 2015?

  4. Dave says

    March 1, 2015 at 11:02 pm

    Michele – I met a number of solo women travelers – many of whom were on established treks and or went with tour companies. They didn’t seem concerned about this.

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