Altyn-Arashan — Attraction in Issyk-Kul Region

Attempted the hike towards Altyn Arashin Valley on a Sunday morning after some torrential rain and hailing earlier that morning.

We drove slightly pass the 14km sign and found a spot to mark before embarking the hike towards AAV by foot. It would be a 13km+ hike which we expected to take 4-5hrs one way.

Along the way we passed by multiple 4WD as well as minibuses which were able to navigate the rough rocky terrain. There’s an entry point where you have to pay a small fee. For foreign tourist it’ll be 220som. From here if you decide to skip the hike and go via vehicle it’ll depend on which vehicle you use and if you have people to share with, more on this later. There’s less incentive to use horses as it is almost as pricey per pax as compared to vehicle as it is compulsory to pay for a guide and their horse. However some of them are really young (I’m guessing 10 years old) and I’ve seen some of them share the horse with the customer.

From there most of the way is relatively flat with only a slight elevation, going through the same way as the vehicles and horses. About 4.5km in my guide managed to strike a deal with a 4WD heading towards AAV with an empty vehicle as he was going there to pick up his customers. We ended up taking it the rest of the ~9km. At around the 10km mark there’s a very steep uphill climb, this will probably be the most draining part of the hike. After that it is flat all the way to AAV. The ride itself took 40mins, and I would estimate it to be 1hr if we took it from the start point. Anyway, we ended up paying 3000som for 4 pax, granted 2 pax were locals (my guide and his brother).

At AAV, there’s not that much to do except explore the village and sit and have a picnic. While exploring the village a lady came up to us and offered 2000som for dinner, breakfast and a night’s stay at her yurt. We had no plans to stay so we declined the offer.

There’s also a small natural hot spring area when you go downhill towards the stream. It is a short hike from the end towards the hot spring with pretty narrow passageway. The hot spring itself is tiny, so if it’s crowded it’s best to wait till it’s emptier. There’s 2 hot springs but the one at the end is warmer. Each hot spring probably can comfortably fit 4-5 pax at most.

We didn’t stay for long and attempted the hike back after soaking ourselves in the hot spring. From there we took roughly 3.5hrs to our car with minimum rest stops, just in time as the sun was setting.

All in all, if you’re attempting a day hike to and fro AAV, I would recommend catering a 4.5hrs to, 3hrs fro and 1.5hrs for hot...

Beautiful valley from which you can hike to Ala Kul lake.

It’s about 15km from where the bus/taxi drops you off. We walked on the way up and it took us 4.5h. The trail is mostly flat with two steeper parts, one in the middle and one in the end. On the way down it’s about 3.5h of walking. You can also go with old russian bus, but the ride is extremely bumpy. We took it on the way down for the last 6km and it was so stresaful and uncomfortable. There are no seatbelets, so we were jumping almost to the roof. If you have back or neck problems I would avoid this!

From the valley you can walk to Ala Kul lake, but it’s a long and very steep hike all the way. It’s 10km to the pass. We tried walking there but after 5km we realised we’re very tired from the previous day so we gave up and walked on a nice path more into the valley. You can also ride a horse to the lake, which I think is better if you’re not used to hiking a lot, but even that way there is a very steep part that you have to walk in the end.

There are some hot springs in the valley, we went to private one which was 250 som per person, for 30min, but there are also free ones. Springs are very hot so 30min is more...

It’s an amazing place to visit, however i Would personally recommend to atleast stay for A night or two nights. The reason I Suggest this is there a three ways to Reach on to top of altyn arashan a) Russian jeep, they operate from the entrance and the 18 kms distance is covered in around 1.45-2 hours. There is barely a road and hence I would recommend option 2 or 3. b) hiking depending on your speed would take around 5-8 hours one way c) horse take around 5-6 hours.

There are plenty of guest houses to Stay at the top. Lot of these guest house have a a private hot water spa next to the river. They also serve meals here. There is also a public hot water spring but has a queue and no...