Last updated on 04 January, 2019 at 11:14 am
How to travel to Kyrgyzstan? What to do in Kyrgyzstan? What to eat in Kyrgyzstan? Here are all the practical tips you need to know for traveling in Kyrgyzstan.
Located on the Silk Road, between the West and the East, Kyrgyzstan mixes the different cultures brought by merchants from all corners of the world for centuries as well as during the Mongol occupation. The physique of the inhabitants is thus a mixture of Mongolian, Chinese and Turkish influences with Mongolian predominance, especially in the countryside. Former republic of the USSR, the older generation is fluent in Russian and the Cyrillic alphabet is used. There are also many remains from that era, such as Lada cars and impressive Lenin statues.
Our journey in Kyrgyzstan
Here is the itinerary that we made at the end of August 2018 in 8 days as well as all our practical advices to visit the country.
Kyrgyzstan was the first country in our world tour.
Bishkek
The first city visited for us was the capital, Bishkek. We stayed there for three days during which we visited the city.
Horse trek at Son-Kul lake
We then took a marshrutka for Kyzart (to know everything about the marshrutka, read the chapter on transport in Kyrgyzstan, further down in this article).
From there, we left for three days of horse trekking at Son-Kul Lake which rises to 3000 meters high.
Osh
After going through Bishkek, we went south to Osh from where we left for a road trip on the Pamir Highway through Tajikistan.
Visa
For Swiss, French, Belgian and Canadian, there is no need for a visa to visit Kyrgyzstan.
How to travel in Kyrgyzstan? Transportation
First and foremost make sure that, before entering in a vehicle, the driver is, one, aware and two, agree with the negotiated price. Once the price is negotiated, people usually stick to it. If this should not be the case, do not bend and stick to it, it is not impossible that they will try to ask you more once the trip is over.
Shared taxis
Shared taxis can be easily found, whether it is at the airport exit, the bazaar or other taxi locations. Don’t be intimidated by the number of guys standing around and remain self confident. That way you will be able to negotiate a great price for a long journey without being trapped in the back of a car with 3-4 locals next to you – well skilled when it comes to creating room for themselves in an overloaded vehicle. Here are some tips to travel the most comfortably in shared taxi:
- Find out in advance what the price should be so you can negotiate better and avoid uninformed tourist profiteers.
- If they want you to get into a three seat back seat and there are already 3 people sitting down, refuse! Find a vehicle with a seat in the front or rear without being completely crushed for hours.
- Keep your bags on you until you decide for a vehicle and put them in (or attach them to the roof). There are always people around who want to “help carry” and try to load your bags to their vehicle as to force you to go with them.
Other mean of transportation
There are several other means of transportation:
- The long-distance marshrutkas: from the Western Bus Station in Bishkek, to travel between the cities.
- Yandex.Taxi: an app acting as a local Uber, working exactly in the same way. You can pay in cash after the ride or by credit card beforehand.
It is possible to connect Bishkek to Osh by plane with the company Manas. Warning: note that this company is on the blacklist of airlines. That is to say, it is forbidden to fly in Europe.
What to eat in Kyrgyzstan?
I must admit that gastronomy is not the strength of the Kyrgyz people.
The dishes are good but relatively simple. Rice and a little meat are found in most dishes served.
Try the Manty, a kind of ravioli with mutton lamb.
On the tables, you will often see a dish with fruit in sweet juice (strawberries most often). You can soak the biscuits to give more flavor and a little juice.
In addition, I bought a liter of raspberry coulis at Osh Bazar in Bishkek, excellent (keep it for yourself but I drank it like a syrup).
In terms of drinks, you drink a lot of tea, especially in yurts.
Since the menus were only in Cyrillic, it is difficult for us to give you names of dishes. And as a picture is worth more than a thousand words, here are two pictures of our meals, one in Bishkek, the other in a yurt during our horse trek.
Money
There are several ATMs in the airport terminal as well as many downtown, accepting most credit cards as well as the Maestro. From our experience, for debit cards, the distributor took a commission of 150 soms (2.10 CHF or 1.80 €) in addition to our bank fees, while no commission was taken when withdrawing by card credit. Withdrawal from debit card was limited to about 15,000 soms (210 CHF, 180 € or 210 $) at a time while withdrawals with the credit card do not seem to be limited. Please note: bank charges on credit card withdrawals may be higher than with a debit card.
Note that unlike Uzbekistan, locals work in Kyrgyz soms and accept only a few dollars. It is also impossible to pay by card almost everywhere.
How much does it cost in Kyrgyzstan?
In a street shop, a bottle of water costs 20 soms (0.28 $, 0.28 CHF or 0.25 €). A coke costs 33 soms (0.46 $, 0.46 CHF or 0.41 €).
A modest meal costs between 300 and 500 soms per person (between 4.30 and 7 CHF or $ or between 3.77 € and 6.26 €).
We paid for one night in a private room in a Guesthouse for two person between 1000 and 1500 soms (14 and 21 CHF or $ or 12.50 and 18.90 €). Note that two beds in a dormitory cost about the same price.
Communication
Most hostels and a large number of cafes have free wifi with variable speed but usable.
For the most connected, it is possible to get a local sim card for free, it can even be directly distributed to the airport. At O! for 95 soms (1.30 CHF, 1.20 € or 1.30 $), you can surf in 4G (LTE) and the package includes 10 GB of data, unlimited local SMS and five minutes of conversation on the same network for a week. There is also a package with unlimited internet and 30 minutes of conversation at 195 soms. Beeline is another Kyrgyz operator offering similar packages. We advise you to go to an official point of sale to buy your package and have it activated directly there (passport required), thus avoiding some problems that other tourists may have encountered.