The Heart of the Steppe: Kyrgyzstan Tour, World Nomad Games Route

Tour details

EXAMPLE HOTELS;

Bishkek

4* Hotel Plaza etc.

Con Kemin

Kemin Guest House etc.

Tepke

Reina Kench etc.

Kajı Sai

Nomad Camp Hotel etc.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT

This tour is arranged with a minimum participation requirement of 20 people. If sufficient participation is not achieved, the final cancellation notice date is 20 days before the tour start date. The tour canceled due to insufficient participation will be notified to you through your agency.

VISA

Kyrgyzstan does not require visas for citizens of the Republic of Turkey. 

Ordinary Passport - No visa required                

Green Passport - No visa required

Service Passport - No visa required 

You must have a passport valid for 6 months from the end date of travel and not older than 10 years.

HEALTH

Those who regularly use medication are advised to bring more medication than they need. Because not all kinds of medicine are available in the country. In addition, if you have a serious health problem (heart, blood pressure, diabetes, etc.), it would be useful to carry a signed document from your doctor. Also, we recommend that you do not drink tap water and instead drink bottled water that you open yourself for the first time.

FLIGHT DURATIONS

Istanbul - Bishkek          05 hrs 05 min

Bishkek- Istanbul                  05 hrs 50 min

OPTIONAL TOURS & ACTIVITIES

Optional tours and activities are organized by the local agency we work with, with a minimum participation requirement of 20 people, and participation is not mandatory. If the required number is not reached, the trips cannot be carried out, or the prices, content, and vehicle used for optional tours / activities may vary according to the number of participants. In addition, the days and times of optional tours / activities may be changed by the guide depending on the opening/closing status of museums, ruins, or venues in the places to be visited and the weather conditions.

ACCOMMODATION

During periods such as fairs, congresses, concerts, events, sports tournaments, etc., hotels may be used at distances greater than the specified km. 

3-person rooms may be provided depending on hotel availability, and the bed offered to the 3rd person in such rooms may be smaller than standard beds. 3-person rooms consist of 1 large bed and 1 extra bed. Since extra beds are folding beds and coach beds, participants are deemed to have declared that they accept the possible cramped conditions in the rooms and the bed type in 3rd person and/or child reservations. 

Child discounts are valid for only one (1) child staying with 2 adults and matching the age group specified in the pricing section. 

Breakfasts provided at the hotel among the services included in the tour program are offered in accordance with the breakfast culture of the country visited and generally as a limited menu called continental breakfast, consisting of butter, jam, bread, tea, or coffee, and may be served in a separate hall allocated to the group for groups.

CURRENCY

The currency of Kyrgyzstan is the Kyrgyzstani (KGS) som,

Dollars and Euros can be exchanged easily. Although credit card use is not very common, caution should be exercised against credit card fraud.

TIME ZONE

Kyrgyzstan +3, when it is 12:00 in Turkey, it is 14:00 in Kyrgyzstan.

PHONE USE

All mobile phone operators can be used if your phone has international roaming enabled. However, there may be no network in some parts of the country.

CLOTHING AND ESSENTIAL ITEMS

We recommend bringing T-shirts that you can easily put on and take off, short- and long-sleeved shirts, shorts and cotton trousers, comfortable walking shoes, and a light jacket for the evenings. In addition, you may also bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, earplugs against possible noise, a camera, a video camera, and their chargers and spare memory cards.

CUISINE

Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Kazakh cuisine is close to our taste. Since we will have our meals at our hotel and the best restaurants, you will not encounter any problems; also, we will have the opportunity to obtain bottled water in every place we visit. We should never consume food sold openly or water flowing from the tap. Since the hotels we will stay in are high-level facilities in terms of health information, these risks are minimal.

ELECTRICITY

Generally, 200-220 V is used.. In many types of sockets, the two-pin plugs we use fit. In places where sockets do not fit, universal plug adapters sold in electronics stores can be obtained to avoid problems.

SHOPPING

In Tashkent, Pushkin Street is one of the city’s important shopping points. The best way to find items specific to Uzbekistan is the neighborhood markets. The most famous among the many neighborhood markets is Chorsu Bazaar.

OSH bazaar, located in the west of the city center, is one of the city's most popular shopping centers.

Gogol, the most popular shopping street in Almaty, is located north of the city center. Zhibek Zholy is where neighborhood markets and local bazaars are set up.

IMPORTANT NOTES

Having a valid passport and/or having obtained a visa (for destinations/passports requiring a visa) does not mean that entry into the country is guaranteed. Passport control has the authority to deny you entry into the country. The agency is not responsible for this situation; responsibility lies with the passenger.  
The agency is an intermediary institution between the airline and the passenger and is subject to the 28.09.1955 Hague Protocol. There may be a risk of delays on scheduled and special flights, or the times may change before the current trip and flight. The agency is obliged to notify these changes as soon as possible. Our passengers have purchased the tour knowing and accepting that flight details may change. Children aged 0-2 do not pay airport tax and airport service fees. 
The panoramic city tours included in the tour package are tours of up to 2-3 hours organized for the general introduction of the cities and carried out panoramically from inside the vehicle with guide narration, without museum or archaeological site entries. For panoramic tours, including the other tours specified in the program, if on the day and time corresponding to the tour, the tour cannot be carried out because local authorities do not allow visits or entry, or because of closed roads due to any event, and also when weather conditions make the tour impossible, the agency is not responsible for the inability to carry out the aforementioned tours. Some tours may be carried out by public transportation or on foot where possible at closed roads or points where vehicle entry is not permitted.

What's included
  • Istanbul - Bishkek outbound / Bishkek - Istanbul return economy class airline ticket and airport taxes on Turkish Airlines scheduled flights
  • 4 nights accommodation with bed and breakfast at the specified locations
  • All tours specified in the program
  • All tours specified in the program and museum/monument entrance fees
  • 1 lunch and 2 dinners specified in the program
  • Panoramic Bishkek City Tour
  • Burana Tower visit
  • Boat tour in Cholpon Ata
  • Felt-making and eagle hunting show in Bokonbaev village
  • Participation in the world-famous “World Nomad Games” event
  • Transfers between Airport – Hotel – Airport
  • Turkish local guiding services (Meet and Greet at the Arrival Airport)
  • Hotel and tourist city taxes
  • TURSAB mandatory professional liability insurance
Not included
  • Passport, fees such as taxes and visa fees
  • Overseas departure tax fee
  • Lunch and Dinner
  • All kinds of personal expenses and hotel extras
  • Optional tours/activities
  • All services not explicitly stated in the included services
  • Driver tips and gratuities are excluded
Tour Program
Istanbul – Bishkek - Con Kemin
We meet at Istanbul Airport International Departures Terminal. After ticketing, baggage, and passport procedures, we depart for Bishkek on a Turkish Airlines flight. Upon arrival, after completing passport and entry procedures, we meet our private vehicle and guide waiting for us at the airport. After finishing our airport formalities, we head դեպի Chon-Kemin Valley, one of Kyrgyzstan’s most impressive natural regions. Stretching along the Kazakhstan border, this protected natural park area showcases the country’s breathtaking scenery with its lush alpine meadows, glacier-fed streams, deep valleys, and snow-capped mountains rising on the horizon. After approximately a 150-kilometer journey, we arrive in Chon Kemin and have lunch. After the meal, we check into our rooms and enjoy free time to rest. Guests who wish may recover from the fatigue of the long flight, while those interested may join an optional horseback excursion in the region, subject to availability. We have dinner in the area. Overnight in Chon Kemin. ** The horseback excursion fee is not included in the tour price and must be paid locally in cash at the time of participation.
Kon Kemin – Cholpon Ata – Kychyn Canyon – Tepke
After breakfast with the boxed meal prepared at our hotel, we depart and head to Cholpon-Ata, located on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. Upon arrival at Issyk-Kul, one of the world’s largest high-altitude lakes and known as the “Pearl of the Tien Shan,” we enjoy a pleasant boat trip accompanied by the lake’s turquoise waters and the magnificent mountain scenery surrounding it. After our boat tour, we attend the World Nomad Games events held on the shores of Issyk-Kul from September 1–6, 2026. Depending on the day’s program, we will have the opportunity to watch traditional equestrian sports, competitions reflecting nomadic culture, and various cultural performances at Cholpon-Ata Hippodrome and the surrounding event grounds. Afterwards, we head to the Kырчын Valley, located approximately 30 kilometers from Cholpon-Ata. At the colorful ethno-village created for the World Nomad Games by bringing together more than 300 traditional yurts, we will see activities reflecting Kyrgyz nomadic life culture, such as felt making, handicrafts, traditional music, local cuisine, and more. We will have free time in the area amid the cultural shows continuing throughout the day and the lively festival atmosphere. We then travel to Tepke, located on the eastern shore of Issyk-Kul. Upon arrival, we transfer to our hotel and check into our rooms. Overnight in Tepke.
Tepke – Karakol – Jety Oguz - Skazka Canyon – Kajy Sai
After breakfast tomorrow, we head to Karakol, known as Kyrgyzstan’s fourth-largest city and a center for outdoor sports. Upon arrival in Karakol, which was founded in 1869 as a Russian military garrison town, we begin our city tour with our guide. During the tour, we visit the Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, built in 1895 from wood in the traditional Russian architectural style and notable for its elegant decorations and distinctive onion domes, as well as the Dungan Mosque, constructed in 1910 by the local Dungan community without using a single metal nail. The mosque, which combines Islamic prayer arrangements with colorful and unique architectural details reminiscent of Chinese pagodas, is one of the most striking structures reflecting Karakol’s multicultural past. After the tour, free time. At the end of our free time, we depart for the Jety-Oguz region, known for its red sandstone cliffs and impressive natural formations. Along the way, we stop at Skazka Canyon, one of the most photogenic natural areas on Lake Issyk-Kul, where wind, rain, and sun have shaped the red sandstone over centuries into extraordinary rock formations resembling towers, pointed ridges, and animal silhouettes. We then continue to Jeti-Oguz, whose name means “Seven Bulls” in Kyrgyz, famous for its side-by-side red rock formations. We see the Seven Bulls cliffs, the region’s symbol, and the rock formation known as “Broken Heart” due to the prominent cleft in the middle, and take a photo break. After the excursion, we transfer to the Modern Yurt Camp and have free time for the rest of the day. Overnight at the Modern Yurt Camp.
Kaji Sai – Bokonbaevo – Burana – Bishkek
After breakfast at our hotel, we head toward Bishkek along the southern shore of Issyk Kul. During our journey, we first stop at Bokonbaevo Village, where the traditional culture of eagle hunting is kept alive in the region. Here, we watch a special eagle hunting demonstration performed by a local berkutchi and a trained golden eagle, giving us the opportunity to closely experience one of the most deeply rooted traditions of Kyrgyz nomadic life. After the show, we take part in a yurt-building workshop, where we learn how traditional Kyrgyz yurts are constructed. From preparing the wooden framework to placing the felt coverings, we see step by step how the parts of a yurt come together and gain information about the structure of these traditional dwellings, one of the most important symbols of nomadic culture. Afterwards, we have free time. At the time determined by our guide, we meet again and continue our journey toward Bishkek. Along our route, we see the Burana Tower, the most significant surviving structure from the ancient city of Balasagun, which served as the capital of the Karakhanid Empire between the 9th and 12th centuries. Built as a minaret in the 11th century and believed to have originally reached about twice its current height of approximately 24.6 meters, the tower was severely damaged as a result of an earthquake in the 15th century. Around the tower, we view stone sculptures called balbals, which date back to the 6th century and were used as grave markers, as well as petroglyphs dating to the 2nd century BCE. After our visit, we continue toward Bishkek and arrive in the city in the late afternoon. Upon arrival, we transfer to our hotel and check into our rooms. Overnight at the hotel.
Bishkek – City Tour – Bishkek – Istanbul
After breakfast at our hotel, we will begin the Panoramic Bishkek City Tour. Our first stop will be Ala-Too Square, located at the center of the city’s administrative and social life. We visit the square, one of Bishkek’s most important symbolic landmarks, with its giant flagpole approximately 100 meters high, the honor guard changing ceremony held at certain times, and its vast ceremonial area. Continuing our tour, we see the Manas Monument, depicting Manas—the legendary founder and national hero of the Kyrgyz people—on horseback, and the Peace and Friendship Monument, which symbolizes unity and solidarity among peoples. We then take a walk in Oak Park, one of the city’s favorite places to relax, with its open-air art gallery-like sculptures, large green spaces, and peaceful atmosphere. After that, we continue our tour along Erkindik Boulevard, known for its tree-lined walking paths, parks, and lively atmosphere where locals spend time at all hours of the day. We will then have dinner at a local restaurant, and in the final part of our tour, we will proceed to Osh Bazaar, one of the largest and most vibrant markets in Central Asia. We will have free time at the market to shop and pick up your last souvenirs among its colorful stalls selling dried fruits, spices, textiles, traditional felt handicrafts, and various local products. After the free time, we will transfer to the airport for our scheduled Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
Istanbul
Our flight starts in the early hours of the day. We arrive in Istanbul in the morning, and our tour comes to an end.