Horse Riding Holiday in Kyrgyzstan for Family

In this journey, you have a great opportunity to spend time with your family, enjoy exciting horse riding with experienced guides, walk a lot, see the waterfalls and one of the largest mountain lakes in the world, and many more amazing sites are waiting for you. While adults enjoy the beauty and pacification of pristine mountain landscapes, children will learn about the world around them.

Key information

Rider weight limit: 100 kilograms / 220 pounds, but if there is a person of a bigger weight or a very tall person, just let Hotel Asia Mountains know in advance so they could find the right horse for them.
Horse height range: 140 centimeters
Tack type: the organizer has two types of horse saddles that are handmade. The first is a saddle with a multipartite compound tree and the second is a saddle with a compound tree and a figured pommel
Horse breed: typical Kyrgyz horses - well-trained, tough, and foot sure, they are small (140 cm) but muscular, strong and have a flat back. Kyrgyz horse has four basic gaits: walking, ambling, trotting, and galloping. It moves at great ease on harsh terrain and at high altitudes.

Highlights

4 days with horse riding
Visit mountain gorges, see waterfalls, swim in Issyk-Kul Lake
Children activities: horse riding, collecting berries, traditional games
Opportunity to see mountain goats, marmots, predator birds, rodents, yaks, hares
Take a glimpse of nomad life with their yurts, herds
9 nights accommodation
Airport transfers

Skill level

Beginner

Styles

4 days with instruction

Group size: Minimum of 4 participants

Airport transfer included: Manas International Airport

Program

This is a tour in which you can experience simple everyday things that are practically not used in modern life: riding a chaise, archery with a hand-made bow, you can see how to make a bow, play national games and see the life of nomads.

For children, this tour will be especially interesting, because they will see a completely different side of life, where children play football, play alchiki (national children's fun), catch up instead of playing games on a smartphone, catch fish, go for mushrooms, collect berries, spend the whole day outside and they will feel happy!

Let your children get in touch with nature and gain the most valuable experience of intercultural relations.

This family tour is suitable for holidays with children from six years old. If your child does not have riding skills, then an experienced guide will certainly accompany them.

You will visit a real farm where racehorses are bred, see distant Kyrgyz villages with many children playing outside, visit mountain gorges, see waterfalls, swim in Issyk-Kul Lake, and live in yurts on the shores of beautiful Son-Kul Lake. Horse rides will give you and your children an unforgettable experience. On the tour, you will be able to have contact with pets, fish, play with other children and try national cuisine, and much more!

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Bishkek

Meeting at the Manas airport, transfer to hotel for check-in. After lunch, you will have a city tour. On the city tour, you will see the colorful Osh bazaar where you may buy fresh and dry fruits, berries, and nuts. You will visit the main Ala-Too square with the change of guards, the old square with the Lenin statue, Manas complex with Philharmonic hall, and Victory square with the central mall - ZUM.

Day 2: Bishkek – Cholpon-Ata – Reina-Kench (350 kilometers / 4.5 hours)

Transfer to the Boom Gorge. On the way, you will visit the historical-architectural complex of Burana Tower. Burana tower (minaret) is located on the territory of an ancient settlement 90 kilometers away from Bishkek. The historians and archeologists proved that the settlement was once the capital of Karakhanid Khanate and was called Balasagun, which was founded in the 10th century AC. Burana tower is the central monument of this complex.

Then you will go further to Cholpon-Ata town where you will visit the ancient petroglyphs (stone inscriptions) and cultural complex of Rukh-Ordo. Finally, you will get to the farm Reina-Kench where they breed racehorses, have dinner, and overnight in a guest house.

Day 3: Reina Kench Farm - Jyrgalan (50 kilometers / 1 hour)

This will be the morning on the farm. The farm has everything: hospitable and hard-working masters; thoroughbred horses; cows and turkeys: a young garden is laid: vegetables are grown; magnificent scenery; a place where you can sit and enjoy all of this.

On this day, guests will be offered entertainment and masterclasses. You can personally build a national yurt, prepare the most delicious Asian pilaf. On the farm are also possible: walks on the bricks with shooting from the national bow and fishing on the river Zhyrgyz.

After lunch, you will drive to Jyrgalan valley. Dinner and accommodation in the guest house.

Day 4: Valley of Jyrgalan (50 kilometers / 1 hour)

This morning you will go further to the yurt camp of Eki Chat: a picturesque place near the village of Jyrgalan, where you can chat with local shepherds and enjoy the tranquility of this alpine landscape. Here you will sit on the horses and go to the Kok-Bel waterfall. The waterfall has a height of 2600 m and flows into the Kok-Bel river. Kok-Bel river is vitally important as a source of water for various herds in the valley of Jyrgalan.

On the way to the waterfall, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the valley of Jyrgalan and the village as a whole. In the evening return to the village.

Day 5: Jyrgalan Valley

Jyrgalan has a very friendly and home-like atmosphere. There are many children on the streets and they are happy to play football, catch-up, and other games with other kids. On this day if you wish you can go on horseback to the observation point, from where the whole valley is visible, or you can just sit, drink hot tea with herbs and allow yourself to rest.

Day 6: The valley of Jyrgalan - Djety-Oguz - Tamga (150 kilometers / 2.5 hours)

On this day you will also be able to walk on horseback in the surroundings if wanted and then we will drive to Djety-Oguz gorge. The gorge is located 60 kilometers to the west of Karakol on the northern slopes of Terskey-Ala-Too.

This is one of the most beautiful places in Kyrgyzstan. For 25 kilometers on both sides of the gorge, the fir trees are growing at first merging into small groups and then turning into a huge forest mass. The gorge finally becomes a wide Kok-Djayik valley which is totally covered by fir forests up to the very top of the ridge. Over the forest zone (about 3000 meters) in the wide valley of about 15 kilometers, there are amazing subalpine and alpine meadows called Djailoo.

During the spring and the summer, Djeti-Oguz gorge turns into a kind of flower holiday, among which you may see the silver stars of Edelweiss flowers, alpine daisies and asters, and nard (golden root). In the Autumn the gorge is being a colorful canvas as it’s covered not only by coniferous forests but also by the leaf trees. In the gorge, you will have a horse riding to the waterfall and see the enormous stone constructions “7 bulls” and “Broken heart”. Here you may have a horse ride or a hike to the beautiful waterfall.

Later you will go to the village of Tamga - the place of your overnight stay. Accommodation in the guest house.

Day 7: Tamga village

Today you will have a whole day to take a walk around the village, swim in the blue waters of Issyk-Kul, and just relax. If you wish, you can take a horse or walk to the sacred stone Tamga-Tash. This place attracts the huge attention of Buddhist pilgrims. This historical monument is called literally "The Stone with the Mark."

One of the most famous Buddhist mantras, Om Mani Padme Hum, is carved on the stone itself. It has many interpretations, but in the most well-known interpretation, it says that God or the Universal Mind burns in our hearts like a lotus flower. People come to this place in order to recharge themselves with positive energy and enjoy the silence of this amazing place. Accommodation in the guest house.

Day 8: Tamga - Son-Kul (220 kilometers / 4 hours)

Today you will continue your journey through Kyrgyzstan. Your path runs along the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. You will see a striking difference between the northern shore of the Issyk-Kul lake and the southern shore. The southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul is more diverse in landscape and less populated.

You will visit the Fairy Tale gorge with beautiful red sand sculptures resembling fairy-tale heroes and built by the nature. Also on the way to Son-Kul high-mountain lake, you will visit a hospitable Kyrgyz family in the village of Kochkorka. There are many children and they all help their parents to make little souvenirs and various things of felt. Together with them, your kids can make their own crafts.

On Son-Kul you will see the real-life of the Kyrgyz. You will eat and sleep in yurts, enjoy the pristine beauty of the lake and the surrounding hills without a single tree or bush.

Day 9: Son-Kul - Bishkek (380 kilometers / 5 hours)

The morning will be free. You can ride horses or walk to the stone paintings, in the vastness of Son-Kul, you can try to run a horse at a gallop or you can see how the local mistress prepares the soup and fried fish for lunch. After lunch, you will go back to Bishkek. In the evening, you will return to the capital. Hotel accommodation.

Day 10: Departure

On this day the car will take you to the airport for the flight home.

Trip intensity: level 2 medium, beginners

It will require physical abilities and endurance, special clothes, and shoes. You also need the necessary gear: a small backpack, warm clothes according to weather, snack, and water. Physical activity takes several hours a day with rest breaks.

You must have skills of being in the mountains, horse riding or cycling, the ability to use special equipment like trekking poles; the ability to move along more complex mountainous terrain, to cross small rivers, etc. Active programs are full of physically active days.

Note

This horse riding holiday is available as a group or private tour (with at least four adults). If you are interested in having your own tour with your chosen date, please send an inquiry to Hotel Asia Mountains.

Food

Full board meals are included. Additionally, you will receive one liter of drinking water per day per person during the tour.

The Kyrgyz food used to be seasonal. In the summer it was vegetables, berries and fruits, and in winter the diet was mainly of dairy food and meat. Kyrgyz people eat mutton, horse meat, beef, camel meat, goat meat, and yak meat. Mutton and horse meat are especially appreciated.

At the moment, many tourists come to Kyrgyzstan and the local population, adjusting to it, cooks more lenten dishes. You can easily find vegetarian food, but you should definitely try national dishes such as Besh-Barmak, Manti, Shorpo, Dymlama, Kazy, Pilov, Ashlyam-Fu, Samsa and Kuurdak.

Nowadays there is no problem with finding drinks. You can easily find all you want in shops: from water to coca-cola lite. But usually, people drink tea in families. In such destinations as Son-Kul, Tash-Rabat, high in the mountains you will be offered kumys (traditional drink from horse milk) or shoro (grains drink).

There is no problem with alcohol. You can easily find beer or more strong drinks in shops. The only thing is that alcohol drinking in public places is forbidden.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Drinks

The following drinks are included:

Water

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

9 nights accommodation according to the program (3-star hotel in Bishkek, guest houses in Reina-Kench, Jyrgalan and Tamga, yurts on Son-Kul)
Transport (2-4 people - Mitsubish Delica, more than 4 people - Mercedes Sprinter)
Meals - full board
Entrance fees for all excursions
Master class on cooking Boorsok on Son-Kul
Felt master class in the village of Kochkorka
Horse rides by the program (on days 4, 5, 6 and 9)
Water - 1 liter per day per person

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