Kyrgyzstan: Song Kol Lake from Kyzart Pass
Кыргызстан: Озеро Соң Көл с перевала Кызарт
Ascending a mountain pass on foot or horseback and seeing Song Kol Lake for the first time spread out in all its glory is one of the most memorable experience that trekking in Kyrgyzstan has to offer. This route, starting at the Kyzart Pass, extends the experience with an overnight yurt camp stay in Kilemche jailoo along the way.
Total Km: 34km
Total Days: 2
Elevation Gain/Loss: 1621m+ / 1214m-
Start Point: Kyzart Pass
End Point: Bataai Aral Yurt Camps
GPS Files
Song Kol Lake is a classic destination for horse trekking in Kyrgyzstan, and one of the most popular travel destinations overall for international tourists. The Kyzart Pass route is the most popular multi-day horse trekking trailhead, offering an insight into rural life in the mountains and then reaching Son Kul by a panoramic pass with incredible mountain views in both directions. The route can just as easily be done on foot as on horseback – though without a local guide you may get less out of the yurt stay experience in Kilemche Jailoo if you’re ill-equipped linguistically to interact with your host family there.
Briefly though, a note about names. This lake is called Соң Көл in the Kyrgyz language, which was transliterated into Russian as Сон Кул, and tends to wind up in English as some version of Son Kol, Son Köl, Song Kol, Son Kul, Song Köl, or Song Kul. None of these really accurately reflect the nasality of ң or the diphthong of ө, so it’s hard to really call any of them more accurate than the others when compared to the original Kyrgyz. As such, we’ve used these names interchangeably throughout this article.
Song Kol Lake from Kyzart Pass: Stage 1
Kyzart Pass to Kilemche Jailoo
Total Km: 14.5km
Walking time: 3h
Total time: 3h
Elevation Gain/Loss: 898m+ / 877m-
The trail starts at 2664m Kyzart Pass, right on the main road between Kochkor and the Jumgal region. There are a few tiny cafes here that are usually open in the daytime, if you didn’t have lunch before starting out, though if you’re packing food you’ll have a much nicer time to just make a picnic in nature further along the route. From the road, the trail dips southwest into the valley alongside the road and across the small stream there, then immediately begins climbing the opposite hillside. The trail climbs gently at first, then reaches the real slopes of the mountains and climbing steeply before it begins to switchback to the top of the 3061m Chaar Archa Pass, the first climb of the hike at 478m of vertical elevation.
From the top of the pass are nice views back towards Kyzart, but looking forward the trail drops briefly into a narrow valley before climbing again to the next small rise – the Kyzyl Bel Pass at around 3014m.
Only beyond here does the scenery really start to unfold, with brilliant views down into the Chaar Archa valley and the layered small ridges beyond, eventually to the last large ridge between the Jumgal valley and Son Kol Lake. From this point onwards a variety of criss-crossing horse and livestock trails wind around across the hillsides, so you’ll want to pay active attention to the route so as not to end up on the wrong side of a mountain!
Drop immediately into the valley on the far side of the pass and follow the river to an old bridge – horse trekkers can typically cross anywhere along the way where the river widens, but hikers on foot will appreciate the bridge here.
Crossing to the southern bank of the river, follow the horse trails around a small curve of the next hillside to the southwest and then slowly up the hill beyond, angling towards the ridge on the still quite defined horse trails that climb gently up. From the top of the small rise, these horse paths continue onwards into a dusty gully that curves downwards towards a pair of shepherds’ ranch houses below, crossing the stream to the southwest of the second ranch and then turning sharply southeast to follow along the southern bank of the stream there.
There are several yurt camps in the Kilemche Jailoo area here, all of which appear to work with CBT Kochkor and the other community-based tourism organizations there (Jailoo Tourism, Plus Eco, and Shepherds’ Life among perhaps others). If you’d prefer to wild camp, head a little higher above the yurt camps, and regardless be certain to filter all water in these areas where livestock is ever present.
Song Kol Lake from Kyzart Pass: Stage 2
Kilemche Jailoo to Son Kul Lake
Total Km: 19.5km
Walking time: 6h
Total time: 5h
Elevation Gain/Loss: 723m+ / 337m-
Directly from Kilemche Jailoo, the climb begins towards 3325m Zhalguz Karagai Pass. There’s very little fooling about with switchbacks here – it’s just a 700m plod towards along a well-beaten trail up one long arm of the ridge that runs all the way down into Kilemche. It’s not strenuous, though perhaps surprisingly tiring for only 4km of walking, but soon enough the path reaches the pass and unbelievable views of Song Köl, not to mention the dramatic folds of mountains back to the north.
Though we’ve not included it in the GPS track here, it’s worth spending a little time wandering along the ridge and watching the views changes after a distinct turn of the slope or as the clouds break and the sunlight hits the wide lake from a new angle. Locals and tourists alike note the changing weather as one of the major draws of Son Kol – it’s possible to see sunshine and snowfall on the same day, sometimes within just a few hours of one another, and the lake takes on a different mood as the weather changes throughout the day.
One never really gets enough of the views from the pass, but at some point you’ll have to continue on anyways. Angle from the pass to the southeast, over the small arm of the mountain that descends from the pass and into the Zaman Echki Valley. Shortly after reaching the valley floor you’ll start to encounter yurt camps, and in principle you could stop at any of these for the night – feel free to pick whichever combination of location and appearance suits your fancy. However, presuming you’ll carry onwards towards the largest concentration of tourist yurt camps at Son Kol, continue down the valley until you encounter the single road the rings the lake.
Right where the road crosses the center of the Zhaman Echki Valley, you’ll no doubt notice the only item of historical significance on Son Kol’s northern shore: Andash Gumbaz. Though not a mandatory stop, this tower marks the 1847 grave of the warrior Andash Olzhobolot Uluu, who lead the fight against Kazakh tribes attacking the region.
From here turn to the east, and continue onwards roughly parallel to the lake’s shore. It’s an easy 5km over level ground to the Bataai Aral yurt camps, one of the busiest stretches of Song Kul’s shore but also one of the most beautiful. Drop off your bags at a yurt camp, stop in for a cup of tea, and then pull up a patch of grass by the lake’s shore to relax until the sun sets and the incredible night sky reveals itself reflected in the calm waters of Son Kol.
Alternate Options for Son Kul
There are a number of other passes to reach Son Kol from the north, and further options to the other shores as well. We’ve noted two other Son Kol North Shore passes on the GPS file linked from this post – the Tuz Ashuu pass is along an old jeep road (still navigable, with the right vehicle) and a popular one-day trip from Kyzart village (different from the pass!) to the north shore. Ozbek Ashuu is considerably more difficult, but if you visit during the high season and don’t want to see other tourists, you have a good chance here of it just being you and the shepherds.
Also noted is the Kalmak Ashuu pass, the main access from Kochkor by vehicle and drivable on pretty much any vehicle when conditions are good. Conditions are not always good, however.
Good To Know
There are no entrance fees to Song Köl, but you’ll inevitably incur some costs getting back from the lake to settled areas (though, you could always hike back out over a different pass!). The road access to the lake is limited to the warmer months, something like May to November, but a few hardy (and illegal) fishermen spend much of the winter at the lake and it’s still possible to access on foot or horseback across the Tuz Ashuu – and a remarkable travel experience to do so, provided you’re able to keep warm.
In any season, the weather at Son Kol changes remarkably quickly – from sunshine to hail to snowfall to sunshine all within just a few hours, at times. As such, make sure to pack the standard mountain raingear and dry clothes, even if this seems like a particularly easy hike.
Getting to the Song Kol Lake from Kyzart Pass Trek
Getting to the Kyzart Pass trailhead is quite easy – any public transport from Kochkor to Chaek will pass through there, and it’s a common enough disembarkation point for foreign tourists that your driver may even proactively stop and tell you when to get out.
Transportation down from Son Kol lake is a different story. There is no public transportation, and the minivans and jeeps that come up are often private rentals for tourists and tour groups – you may have luck convincing one of these drivers to take you for a small fee, or you may come across a local car headed down that will take you for cheap as well. It can sometimes take a couple of days to find a ride going your way, even in the high season, or at a push most of the community based tourism affiliated yurt camps can arrange a transfer for a hefty 3000som or so.
Where to Stay and Eat
Son Kul Lake’s Yurt Camps are one of the major draws of visiting for most international tourists, who largely book through CBT and similar organizations in Kochkor, but as long as there’s space they’re typically happy to host walk-in visitors as well. Expect to pay around 800som for a mattress and breakfast, plus an additional 300som for lunch or dinner. Other areas of the lake also have a fair few actual shepherds’ camps, which offer a more basic but arguably ‘more authentic’ experience – you’ll need to negotiate terms on the spot. It’s also possible to wild camp basically anywhere along the route, in which case you may want to cut the trek short before arriving to Bataai Aral and the largest concentration of tourist yurts.
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