Beneath the Stars at Son-Kul Lake

Arrival in Bishkek early in the morning. Transfer to the hotel. Rest till noon. Short city tour in the center of Bishkek with visiting the central square, Osh bazaar (oriental market). Transfer to Kochkor village (260 km). Lunch on the way. Optionally visit felt carpet workshop, where you can not only buy souvenirs but make them yourself. Dinner.

Early breakfast transfer to Jumgal valley to starting point of the horse ride below the Kyzart pass. Meeting with the guide and horsemen. Within sight of the road, cross Kyzyl-Kiya jailoo, an enormous, relatively flat sea of grass. Continue over the Chaar-Archa Pass (3 061 m) into the Chaar-Archa Valley and eat a tasty lunch at Kilemche jailoo, with views of holy 4400 m Baba-Ata Mountain. The name means “like a carpet,” and this swathe of grass covers whole mountain ranges, with shadings as subtle as any shyrdak (shyrdak is a Kyrgyz felt carpet). After lunch riding to Jalgyz Karagai pass (3400 m), over the Song-Kol Mountains and into the lake’s basin. The afternoon ride affords wonderful views of Kilemche jailoo, and the pass itself is rocky and exciting. From the pass, Song-Kol is still distant, but as you ride down the slopes, it gets larger and larger; the mountains on the other side get higher and higher, until the lake fills most of your field of view with the southern mountains tower above it. Riding time about 5-6 hours. Dinner and accommodation in the NoviNomad Yurt camp.

Breakfast. Horse riding about 4-6 hours along the lake. Local people live and graze their livestock on the meadows (jailoo) around the lake, from June till September. You will taste the wilderness and freedom of nomadic life here. It will be possible to taste the Kyrgyz traditional drink kymyz (fermented mare’s milk) Riding time about 4-6 hours

Breakfast. Horse riding about 4-6 hours. Stone circles on the southern shore of Son-Kul lake. "Tash-Tulga" or "Tulga-Tash" means hearth, built of stones (trivet). In the archaeological literature they are called "eight-stone memorial fences". These eight-stone memorials date to I century BC, which have analogies on the territories of Altai, Tuva and western Mongolia. In the Central Tien-Shan, they are rare and "not in all cemeteries of the Saks era", which means that it must be assumed that the custom of construction of memorials from eight stones was not typical to the whole population of the Saks in Tien-Shan time. Tash-Tulga consists of altars - eight-stone ones, and is not tied to the mounds, which in turn distinguishes them from the same Altai monuments. Each altar presents a laid out eight stones, arranged in a circle, with an average diameter of 1-1.3 meters. Nine such eight-stone memorials are lined up in a single line facing north-south for 200 m. Thus, Tash-Tulga has a planned structure with a numerical symbolism. Tash-Tulga, according to many researchers, from ancient times served as a ritual centre and a gathering place for the nomadic herdsmen. North of the stone circles, closer to the lake, is where the burials are located on top of which broken up rubble is spread Riding time about 4-6 hours

After breakfast Transfer to Bishkek (350 km). On the way a visit to visit Burana Tower, a place on the Great Silk Road, the remaining of ancient town Balasagun (11 century). Arrival in Bishkek.

Transfer to Airport early in the morning. Flight home.