Kyrgyzstan offers the tourist a great variety of stunning scenery and a very warm welcome. It is probably the most tourist friendly of the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia, having done the most to cut red tape and develop a infrastructure aimed at the budget traveller. All in all we can thoroughly recommend Kyrgyzstan.
Community Based Tourism
One of Kyrgyzstan's great attractions is the Community Based Tourism programme. Under this initiatiave villages are helped to establish their own tourist offices, set up homestay accomodation and develop activity programmes for tourists. As a tourist, this means you can turn up in CBT village, go to the CBT office and the staff there will fix you up with a homestay with a local family and help you with anything else you may require such as a car and driver, or horse for a day, or a 5-day horse trek up into the mountains staying in yurts. The staff are very welcoming and many of them are learning english. The standards of the homestays are monitored which means they are all very clean and comfortable, and the families are aware of the needs of tourists.
There are CBT offices in the following locations: Bishkek, Arslanbob, Jalalabad, Karakol, Kara-Suu, Kazarman, Naryn, Osh, Talas and Tamchy.
In addition, Sheperd's Life, which offers similar services, has offices at At-Bashy, Caek, Doskulu, Kochkor, Kurta and Naryn.
Indicative prices for CBT services are as follows:
Dollars
B & B per person
$7-8
Lunch/dinner
$2
Horse hire (per day)
$9
Guide with horse (per day)
$10-16
Car with driver (per 100km)
$40
A big attraction of scheme is that you can be confident 95% of the money goes direct to the local people (the other 5% goes to running the offices).
Kyrgyzstan is one of the few Central Asian republics to make a genuine effort to reduce the red tape for tourists. Tourists no longer need Letters of Introduction to get a Visa and visas are issued very quickly by most embassies. There is even talk of being able to get visas on arrival at the airport. Neither do most nationalities have to register with OVIR on arrival - there are one or two exceptions to this, so check with your embassy or one of the travel agents.
Security
Apart from the odd revolution, security in Kyrgyzstan has improved significantly in the last decade. In particular, reports of dodgy policemen shaking down tourists, have all but dried up. Nothing happened to us on either of our trips, but we certainly felt safer on our most recent visit.
In terms of precautions, it is still a good idea not to go out in Bishkek after dark and to look after your wallet in the bazaars. Given recent events, it would be unwise to visit the country anytime near an election.
Money
It is possible to cash travellers cheques and get cash advances on Visa and Mastercard at banks in most of the larger towns and cities, including Bishkek, Osh, Karakul and Naryn. Dollars can be changed for Som almost anywhere. At the time of our last visit, Aug 2006 the rate was 39 Som to the Dollar.
Accommodation
Places we have stayed in and can recommend are:
Bishkek
Novinomad has a one bedroom appartment for rent in a very central location. It's well furnished and very comfortable. At $25 per night, it's well worth it if you are staying two or more nights in the city.
Most travellers on a tight budget end up at Sabyrbek's B&B (Razakov 21, near the German embassy) for around $7-10 per person. We spoke to a few people who had stayed there and they had no complaints.
Osh
We stayed at Hotel Taj Mahal (Zaina Betinova, opposite the Mosque) for $25 for a double room. It was clean and comfortable, but there was no breakfast.
All the budget travellers, and particularly cyclists on their way to Tibet, stay at the nearby Osh Guesthouse for $5 per person.
Arslanbob
We stayed at the wonderful "Homestay No.12". I am sure all the homestays here are good, but this one is just wonderful. I can't remember exactly how much it was, but it wasn't expensive. Just go there!
Naryn
On our first trip, in 1999, we stayed in the Celestial Mountains Guesthouse. It offers an oasis of comfortable rooms, good plumbing and great food. At around $35-40 for a double it's not cheap, but it's worth it.
Suusamyr
We stayed with at the B&B run by Kubabchbek Amankulov and his wife Mormira. The are a charming elderly couple and it's a really nice little cottage. It was about $9 per person
per night, including all meals.
Maps
You can buy good maps of the country at Geoid, 3rd floor, 107 Kiev (near DHL office) in Bishkek.
Cycling In Kyrgyzstan
Cycle touring is a great way of seeing Kyrgyzstan. What makes it so good is:
there's not much traffic;
wild camping is safe and easy;
the scenery is fantastic;
there is cheap B&B accommodation through the CBT network;.
cycling is a great way of meeting the locals, who are very friendly.
The standard of roads varies greatly. The main Bishkek to Osh road (650 km) has been upgraded recently and is up to Western European standards - very smooth. The other main roads are not in very good condition, but are OK for cycling. Secondary roads are almost all gravel tracks. Some of these can be quite strenuous.
To make the most of a tour in Kyrgyzstan you need a mountain bike or a robust tourer that can cope with the gravel tracks. Racks take a hammering so fit the strongest you can find. Bring all the spares you need from home as there are no decent bike shops.
Crossing the Torugart Pass
Getting across the Torugart Pass into China and down to Kashgar is not a simple affair. This is because the pass is not recognised as regular entry point for tourists by the Chinese
To cross you need to:
have a valid Chinese visa
obtain a permit from the Chinese authorities in Urumqi
arrange for a jeep to come from Kashgar, pick you up at the top of the pass and take you to Kashgar (it is not permitted to cycle or hitch this road). NB. the Krgyz guards won't let you through until they have radio confirmation that your transport has arrived.
Another complication is that there is 15km of no mans land between the Kyrgz and Chinese borders, where only authorised vehicles are permitted. We were lucky and no one stopped us cycling across, other cyclists have not been allowed to do this and have had to persuade a truck to take them. If you are travelling by car, check your driver is authorised to drive through this section.
There are several agencies in Bishkek that can arrange a Torugart crossing (Celestial Mountains, Novinomad, Edelweiss), but it isn't cheap. Prices for the 2-day trip from Bishkek vary from around $100 to $260 per person, in a jeep of 3-4 people.
Even with the best of preparations, getting across the Torugart is not guaranteed. Bad weather, holidays in China or Kyrgyzstan, guards not turning up, can all close the pass and completely mess up your arrangements.
The alternative route into China is over the Irkeshtam Pass, via Osh and Sary Tash. This is much more straightforward, with no restrictions and no special permits required.
Travel Agencies
In 1999, to arrange our Torugart Pass cossing (by bike) we used The Celestial Mountains Tour Company www.celestial.com.kg. They were very efficient and helpful, and the boss, Ian Claytor, is a pleasure to deal with.
In 2006, we used Novinomad www.novinomad.com for accommodation and an airport drop off. They were nice people to deal with and seemed effecient and reliable.
