Private Kyrgyzstan Holidays

On your private tour of Kyrgyzstan, discover the history, culture, and natural beauty of this small Central Asian nation.

The Kyrgyz were originally nomadic people of Turkic and Mongol descent who adopted a more settled lifestyle after the country became part of the Soviet Union in the early 20th century.

Why visit Kyrgyzstan?

Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek (called Frunze for 60 years), is a clean, green city with neither skyscrapers nor crowds. It has retained Soviet-era buildings like its City Hall, the Philharmonic Hall and the State History Museum. Some are on Ala-Too Square, the city’s large central plaza. Standing sentinel in this square is the statue of Manas astride a horse, the main character in The Epic of Manas, a lengthy poem on the formation of the Kyrgyz state.

During your tailor-made Kyrgyzstan tour, stop at the arched Victory Monument built to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the end of World War II. Browse Osh Bazaar’s myriad stalls selling food, clothing, and other wares and try dried fruits and beautiful pie-shaped flatbreads with lovely embossed designs.

Bishkek has over a thousand mosques, most built after the 1990s. On your private Kyrgyzstan trip, visit Bishkek Central Mosque Imam Sarakhsi, a gift from Turkey modelled on Ankara’s Kocatepe Mosque. Enter and step onto a turquoise carpet extending across the enormous, serene prayer hall under a multi-domed ceiling decorated in blue and white patterns.

Kyrgyzstan is very mountainous. Head to Ala Archa National Park, an hour south of Bishkek, for fresh mountain air and snowy landscapes. A guided hike will take you to vantage points for breathtaking views. An hour east of Bishkek, Burana Tower is part of a former mosque in the Chuy Valley, all that remains of Balasagun, once a Silk Road city.

Enjoy a leisurely few days boating, swimming, and sunbathing at Lake Issyk-Kul, in Cholpon-Ata town, 280 km east of Bishkek, where Silk Road caravans once passed. This massive waterbody borders Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, is Central Asia’s second-largest lake, and the second-largest saline lake globally. Cholpon-Ata has an interesting open-air petroglyph museum of rock art depicting animals and scenes from daily life created by ancient humans.

Sample different local food and drinks, many derived from nomadic traditions. In the summer, vendors sell traditional drinks from large plastic barrels on Bishkek’s streets. The national drink kymz (or koumiss) is strong-smelling, salty, and fermented, made of mare’s milk—an acquired taste. Beshbarmak is the national dish of slow-cooked horsemeat served atop homemade noodles, and tash-kordo is when lamb is cooked on hot stones in the age-old nomadic style.