{"id":95342,"date":"2026-08-13T19:19:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T09:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/?p=95342"},"modified":"2026-08-13T19:19:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T09:19:42","slug":"hiking-kyrgyzstan-tien-shan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/hiking-kyrgyzstan-tien-shan\/","title":{"rendered":"How hiking Kyrgyzstan\u2019s Tien Shan trail helped rebuild my strength after a period of ill health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a winter of discontent, Diana Jarvis tackles the high-altitude passes of Central Asia, where medicinal wildflowers, glacial lakes and nomadic camps prove the ideal tonic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b\u2018I wanna be high, so high,\u2019 I spontaneously sing, as I hop over a fresh mountain stream, deep in Kyrgyzstan\u2019s Tien Shan mountains. However, despite the classic 1977 Commodores song Easy springing to mind, it hasn\u2019t exactly<\/em> been the case today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with my fellow hikers on Intrepid\u2019s new Kyrgyzstan hiking adventure<\/a>, we\u2019ve been walking steeply uphill under a hot sun, through nomadic farmsteads, grazing pasture and wildflower meadows, all morning. The shaded woody valley we now find ourselves in \u2013 bisected by a braided river \u2013 proves both mercifully flat and a cool respite from the constant sweaty upward trajectory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I\u2019m easy. Easy like Sunday mor-or-or-or-ning’ I continue, unabated, realising in typical holiday fashion, I\u2019ve lost all sense of days and it is indeed the day of rest. Not that it feels it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because incredible scenery aside, I\u2019ve been finding the going tough \u2013 as I knew I would. I\u2019d booked the trip six months previously when I\u2019d been in full health with a weekly regime of swims, bike rides and gym sessions. But throughout winter, a series of unrelated health situations, culminating in routine surgery under general anaesthetic, had assailed me and kept me away from my regular routines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I awoke into my spring body in mid-April barely able to walk up the hill to the supermarket, let alone spend days \u200b\u200bclimbing to altitudes of up to 3000 metres (10,000 feet). How was I going to be fit enough to walk 50-plus miles (over 80 kilometres) in the thin air of Kyrgyzstan\u2019s lofty peaks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Cattle<\/figure><\/div>
\"Nomads<\/figure>
\"A<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Red rocks and a canyon scramble<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u200bYet here I am, underprepared and more than mildly anxious among a group of seven very pro-looking hikers with their trekking poles and seasoned outdoor gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intriguingly, the first hike on the itinerary is described as a \u2018leg stretch\u2019. However, scrambling up sections of the dry riverbed through Kok Moniok Canyon proves somewhat more than a leisurely stroll. As we walk through the arid scree, our local leader, Vadim, a wiry Russian-speaking Kyrgyz with a friendly weather-lined face\u200b\u200b, points out tiny edible cherries, soon-to-be-ripe barberries, sea buckthorn and bulging orange ephedra seeds (with supposed hallucinogenic properties).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/figure><\/div>
\"Cathedral-like<\/figure>
\"The<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

With burnt orange rocks, sculpted by ancient winds into cathedral-like formations contrasting with the green hillside vegetation, the scenery takes my breath away \u2013 in more ways than one. Faraway rumbles of thunder add to the drama as I keep, ahem<\/em>, \u2018stopping for photos\u2019 just to keep up with the general upward trajectory. From the outset, I claim my position as last in the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happily, I\u2019m not made to feel bad about it, as Vadim explains that on these hiking trips, there\u2019s always a leader at the front and a \u2018sweeper\u2019 at the back to make sure everyone is safe. Vassily, an experienced mountaineer, is at the head, but I\u2019m glad Vadim is the sweeper, as he entertains me endlessly with his exceptional plant knowledge, even when I lag behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Intrepid's
Expert local leaders Vadim and Vassily guide groups through the mountains<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mountain highs and hillside healing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Warm up over, legs well and truly stretched, the hike proper begins the following \u200b\u200bday. We drive to Sutty Bulak, a red-rock valley surrounded by looming jagged peaks where o\u200b\u200bur camp crew, Masha and Illya, welcome us with a hearty hike-fuelling lunch of spicy noodle stew in a scenic dining-room tent, pitched by a stream. Bellies full, we set off in the intense midday sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dirt track takes us past more wind-hewn rusty rocks and some curious cows before petering out into no path at all. I notice the otherwise closely munched hillsides are pock-marked with tall stands of a purple flower avoided by the grazers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018It\u2019s korgoshun,\u2019 Vadim, tells me \u2018it\u2019s poisonous, so the cows don\u2019t eat it, but in Chinese medicine it\u2019s believed to have cancer-fighting properties.\u2019 Looking it up later, I discover it’s known as wolfsbane, monkshood or its Latin name aconite. It\u2019s deeply poisonous but active properties in it can be extracted for a cancer treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Aconite<\/figure><\/div>
\"Artemisia<\/figure><\/div>
\"Yellow<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Under the seemingly watchful eye of one specific peak, looming higher than the rest, we plod upwards through the valley, guided by Vassily\u2019s expert navigational skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But despite his keen knowledge of the peaks, it transpires that here they\u2019re acknowledged differently. \u2018What\u2019s the name of that mountain?\u2019 I ask, after at least an hour of it in my sights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b\u200b\u200b\u2018Oh that one? I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t think it has a special name\u2019, says Vadim in his slow articulated \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200baccent. I\u2019m perplexed. It has such a powerful grip on my psyche right now. Surely other hikers have felt this, too, and named it? \u2018You know, about 95% of the mountains in Kyrgyzstan don\u2019t have names. With more or less 90% of the country as mountains, it\u2019s tricky to name them all<\/em>,\u2019 he says casually. When it comes to mountains and Kyrgyzstan, they\u2019re spoilt for choice it seems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the country is<\/em> light on is people. With a population of around 7.4 million people, and a land mass slightly smaller than the UK, Kyrgyzstan is very sparsely populated \u2013 something which we feel acutely over our 10-day trek, rarely seeing another soul, except a few riders on horseback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Nomadic<\/figure><\/div>
\"Cattle<\/figure>
\"Nomads<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Moved by the motion of nomad life <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not completely uncharted, of course. The nomadic herders, following their seasonal movement of livestock between high and low pastures, know the best grazing spots and build temporary camps in the valleys. During one slightly \u200b\u200bdaunting river crossing with fast-running water and boulders to jump precariously between, we\u2019re closely followed across by a herd of cows, a herder on horseback and his three trusty Alsatians. We follow them to the edge of the forest to a makeshift homestead of a yurt, caravan and temporary wooden fences for livestock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talai, the herd\u2019s owner, offers us a glass of fermented mare’s milk and \u200b\u200bexplains how his winters are spent between Karakol, the nearest big city, and Bishkek, the capital, and even visiting Europe on occasion. While the horse milk isn\u2019t for me, the insight into herd-life shows how this ancient, time-honoured way of living isn\u2019t \u200b\u200bas remote all year round as I\u2019d imagined. Just like me, after a period of isolation, they crave connection, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure><\/div>
\"Local<\/figure><\/div>
\"Cattle<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u200b\u200b\u200bAfter several days following their tracks, I can certainly see the appeal of their semi-nomadic lifestyle: tapping into a more natural cadence is creating the momentum I need to allow my body the chance to heal \u2013 the simple everyday motion curing my latent fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, our group falls into a pleasing daily rhythm: we camp overnight by a stream, awaken to birdsong and fill up on a hearty breakfast. The mornings are all about going up the mountains, lunch is taken at the highest point of the day and in the afternoons we go down, sometimes precipitously. I am, without exception, always last, taking c\u200b\u200bonstant breathers but no one seems to mind too much; we always reach the new camp in time for dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, right on cue, Masha and Illya cook up traditional Kyrgyz feasts each night. After a particularly sweaty day, cold okroshka soup (fermented milk with diced cucumbers, radishes, spring onions, boiled potatoes and eggs) is refreshingly welcome and, after a day exploring Irdyk Lakes \u2013 a pair of scenic alpine lakes in the Terskey Alatau range \u2013 in the cold drizzle and mist, dimlama stew (slow-cooked, layered and steamed vegetables with lamb) revitalises us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Camp<\/figure><\/div>
\"The<\/figure>
\"The<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mountains as medicine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To my surprise, each day\u2019s hike and night\u2019s sleep on a \u200b\u200bthin camping mat on the ground somehow makes me stronger and straightens me out. The aches and strains of the past winter slip away, as the views continuously feed my soul with calm. In total, we walk over 50 miles (80 kilometres) at altitude, covering vertiginous heights and drops through meadows and tall pine woodlands, past glacial lakes enshrouded in mist and streams crossed with log bridges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the final hike, we tackle the Old Jeep Road, one of the many strands of the Silk Road between Karakol and China. The air is fresh with mixed aromas of tarragon, mustard, wild sage, lavender and artemisia. Perhaps it\u2019s knowing we\u2019re at the end, or the much gentler incline, but it\u2019s the most medicinal and restorative of all the hikes \u2013 and I\u2019m not even last anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Yellow<\/figure><\/div>
\"Wild<\/figure><\/div>
\"Wild<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We reach a ridge to see the city of Karakol beneath us, running alongside the turquoise glacial lake of Ala-Kul. It turns out we were never all that far from civilisation after all. Mentally, physically, it just felt like it, to me at least \u2013 the distance acting as the departure I needed to reset from what had come before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walk down into the city to spend our last night with the group in a karaoke restaurant, of all places. Do we sing? Of course we do. In between mouthfuls of \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u2018lazy tongues\u2019 (our new favourite Kyrgz-Chinese dish, made of lightly fried aubergines), I scour the list and breathily croon (after all, Karakol is a city at altitude) Easy \u2013 feeling fortified and believing it this time around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the hikes were far from it, step by step, I\u2019d made it up the mountains and, day by day, I\u2019d returned to peak health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenge yourself in the mountains of Central Asia on Intrepid\u2019s Kyrgyzstan adventure<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Images: Photography taken on location on Kyrgyzstan for Intrepid by Diana Jarvis<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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