The Best time to travel to Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan is the land of endless adventures of all seasons. One can visit anytime, always find something unusual, and witness beauty. However, a certain period of the year is the best time to travel to Kyrgyzstan. It all depends on what you are interested in the most: hiking, the culture of nomads, traditions, horseback riding, or winter tours.
The best time for hiking
Yet the highlight of Kyrgyzstan are the mountains. It is the land of mountains, and one should definitely explore them. If you visited Kyrgyzstan and never went for a hike around the closest mountain valley, then you have never been to Kyrgyzstan. The best time for a hike or walks in the mountains are July and August. Winters in Kyrgyzstan are very cold and snowy. In the mountains of 3000 m the snow almost does not melt and stays until end of June. Snow completely melts in mountain lakes, in passes and gorges. In these areas, the weather gets perfect for a hike as temperature gets warmer with fewer rains.
Therefore, the best time to explore mountains is between July and August. You can even hike in September and October. However, one should be prepared that hiking during earlier autumn can be cold, rainy and even snowy. A proper tent and sleeping bags should be prepared accordingly such as sleeping bags of 0’C Comfort as well as waterproof tents. Here we prepared list of Top 10 best hiking tours in Kyrgyzstan.
Culture of nomads
When you hike up in the pastures and valleys, you can meet local shepherds/nomads. It is a great opportunity to have a small talk with them, observe their daily routine and even be lucky to taste the local food and drinks. Most of the local shepherds keep the nomadic lifestyle due to a lack of infrastructures such as electricity, roads, or anything related to modern life.
Therefore, meeting a shepherd and staying over at his/her lodging for some time over a cup of horse milk, fresh bread with natural butter, tea and a conversation is a unique cultural experience. The best time to meet shepherds is between June and end of August as they pasture their livestock in rich flora. In August, they come down to their villages and spend winter in their homes.
Events and celebrations
If one is interested in the traditional life of local Kyrgyz then it is the best time to visit in summer and autumn. Most of the traditional celebrations such as weddings, celebrating the child’s birth, and other holidays happen in autumn and summer. This is the income period for local people as they get rewarded for their hard work from harvesting and land, and are able to celebrate their big family events. Big events like World Nomadic Games are really best time to travel to Kyrgyzstan. You can subscribe our Instagram to know planning events.
Horseback riding
Horse riding tours are the best alternatives to hiking tours. If one cannot walk for a long or short distance in the mountains, there is always a horse riding tours that allows exploring the mountains and its beautiful valleys. The best time for horse-riding tours are also the summer period due to favorable weather conditions. The only minus of horse riding tours in other periods of the year for example in autumn is that one does not move much, therefore, one can get cold faster. Therefore, it is important to plan horse-riding tours in warm weather periods. However short one-day tours are also possible in winter.
Winter tours
A hope to visit Kyrgyzstan in winter also exists due to skiing and winter sports. Kyrgyzstan is known for its cheap winter tourism. There are ski bases around Bishkek and one in Karakol. Kyrgyzstan in winter is the heaven for anyone who loves ski touring, free riding, or simply winter landscapes and photographing. The best time to enjoy winter tourism in Kyrgyzstan is January and February. At this period the weather is comparatively dry and a lot of snowing. Lots of snow ensures the best conditions to enjoy ski touring, free riding and photographing. Despite its beauty in winter, the weather can get cold accordingly.
In winter, almost all roads are open for those who love riding in the mountains however not everywhere and not always.
We hope you will choose the best time to travel to Kyrgyzstan. We are here to help you, provide our guidance and support.
