Kyrgyzstan Tours

Tours in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a place where the wind whispers of ancient ancestors, family ties and the immense skill of people able to survive in such an extreme environment. It was once part of the historic Silk Road trading route, which brought huge wealth and cultural interaction across the continents and resulted in a melting pot of ethnicities and customs. Off-limits to foreigners during the Soviet era, today you don’t even need a visa to the landlocked country.

Expert opinion: Kyrgyzstan trips

“Kyrgyzstan’s big draw is the natural beauty and rural lifestyle. There are still nomads here, their yurts and horses scatted along the landscape. As I journeyed through the Tien Shan, the Mountains of Heaven, I visited a Women’s Association for a homemade lunch and bought traditional felt rugs, which the Kyrgyz decorate their yurts with. I visited the home of a traditional eagle hunter and hiked through the beautiful Djety-Oguz valley. Arriving at the resort town of Karakol on the end of Issyk-Kul Lake, the diversity of this small nation became clear as I visited a Russian Orthodox Church and a Dungan Mosque, with its distinctive Buddhist iconography. The Dugan are a small minority who are descendants from Chinese women and Arab traders and fled China for Central Asia. I even got to sample a home-cooked dinner in the home of a local Dugan family.”

Exodus Expert Tom Harari. Read more from our experts here.