Song-Kol is a vast alpine lake at 3,016 m in the Naryn region, surrounded by summer pastures where herding families live in yurts from June to September — the heart…
About Naryn (Song-Kol)
Song-Kol is a vast alpine lake at 3,016 m in the Naryn region, surrounded by summer pastures where herding families live in yurts from June to September — the heart of nomadic Kyrgyzstan.
The lake is about 29 km long, lies in a wide basin between grassy ridges and is frozen for more than half the year. In summer the shores fill with yurts, horses, sheep and yaks. There are no villages and no roads around the lake, only pastures, wildflowers and an enormous sky — at night the stars are spectacular.
You can reach Song-Kol by car from Kochkor over the Kalmak-Ashuu pass, or — the best way — on a horse trek of 2–3 days over the passes, sleeping in herders’ yurts. The town of Naryn, on the road to Tash-Rabat and China, is the capital of the region.
- Distance: about 6–7 hours from Bishkek
- Altitude: 3,016 m
- Best time: mid-June to early September
- Bring: warm clothes — nights can be near freezing even in July
Read also: The Kyrgyz yurt and Kyrgyz food.
Tours
