Ala-Kul

This post is mostly a chance to show off some incredible photos and videos from our most recent stop, so apologies in advance for the FOMO you're about to experience (if you like hiking—if not, enjoy the schadenfreude).

We've spent the last three days on a 45km trek through two national parks to the high altitude Ala-Kul lake, staying two nights in mountain yurts en route. It hasn't been entirely comfortable, but it has been exceptionally beautiful. And the challenge has made it even sweeter.

On day one, we hiked around 13km and ascended 800m in bright sunshine to the first camp. As the evening closed in, it started raining, then marble-sized hailstones pelted down as it turned dark. Luckily we'd already reached the safety of the camp, but other hikers weren't so fortunate.

We knew day 2 was the hardest hike, so we intended to get up early and steal a march. The alarm rang at 6am and it began hailing at 6.15. Opening the yurt, the ground was covered in ice, thick mist was blotting out even the nearby slopes, and it was bitterly cold. We held off for a bit, ate breakfast and left at 8am instead with most of the other campers, reaching the highlight—Ala-Kul lake—by mid-morning. It immediately began snowing, in between patches of warm sunlight, meaning we truly had every single weather type within 12 hours.

Two American men ahead of us stripped off for a quick dip in the icy lake. Dan didn't like to be outdone by wimpy Yanks, so decided to jump in as well. Only afterward did we find out that they were in fact CANADIANS! If he'd known this, Dan might not have been so brave.

[Side note: we tied the wet swimtrunks on the back of Chelsea's bag to dry, but they had disappeared by the evening—lost somewhere on the trail. A shame, but a heroic swansong for the trunks in any case.]

Next, we climbed up a gravelly slope to the Ala-Kul Pass at ~3900m altitude, before a terrifying 45min descent down a steep scree slope on the other side. Chelsea is not too proud to admit that she descended on her hands and bum for a lot of the way down, like a terrified and very lost crab.

Eventually, after 19km, having climbed 1,000m up and 1,400m down, we reached the 'hot springs' village of Altyn-Arashan where our second yurt camp was located. This hot spring was quite different to the Japanese onsen experience: more like a tin shed in a freezing field, which you can only enter for a half-hour slot. But it was actually very good considering it only cost us £4. A hot (sulphurous) bath after 8.5hrs of hiking is not to be sniffed at (not least because it’s quite eggy).

Day 3 was just a 12km steady decline back towards town—basically a stroll in the park after the rigours of the day before. We're now back in Karakol, nursing aching limbs, and planning our adventures for the second half of our Kyrgyz roadtrip.Read more