Kyrgyzstan Adventures - of Nomads, Horses and Mountains

Kyrgyzstan. The land of nomads, horses and mountains. In August 2022, my three friends from university Anna, Nicole, Lukas and I participated in a three weeks field trip together with 23 other students from all over Germany and Switzerland. We needed to do it for our graduation as geography students and we wanted to experience it for ourselves. This is what happened. The flight from Munich, Germany to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan was around seven hours long and with a four hours break in Istanbul, it took us about 11 hours to arrive in Kyrgyzstan, where the guides of our study trip welcomed us. The first two days we spent in a guest house on a little mountain over Bishkek, where we could relax at the pool and prepare for the outdoor trip. We also went on some little hikes in the area, working through the dusty grassland for the very first time. I was soaking in everything attentively and still remember many little moments as everything was so new and exciting. And we got to know the other students and our guides. Our journey began and we drove with the buses through the land of rough beauty, mostly following the Silk Road, which has connected East Asia and Europe over land since thousands of years and was very, very important for trading in ancient times. This brought us to our first stop at an archaeological city that has been an important trading and resting point for the caravans that transported goods on the Silk Road. There were some interesting ancient stones with hieroglyphs and a cute puppy. In the evening we reached our first wild camping space and set our tent. I finally found a calm corner to talk to you guys, so I went into the forest and now I have a second. I was so excited for this trip, also a little bit anxious because this is my first time out of Europe alone. I was one time in the US with my parents and in Canada, but never alone or, well, on my own without my parents. I'm not alone here, I'm on a study trip with 27 students, but you know what I mean, I mean in my adult life. And well, it is also my first time here in Asia and I was so excited because Asia has always been my dream destination for a longer travel because I was always very fascinated by it. At home we always cooked Asian food and we went to Asian restaurants because my parents love Asian cuisine and I was always very interested and very drawn to Asian countries. I don't know why, well, some people say they really want to travel, I don't know, South America or whatever, and for me it has always been Asia. So this is my first Asian country and I'm so so excited as I already said a million times. The other day we went on our first hike. What was quite special to us were the Kyrgyz people we met riding up the steep and stony mountain path with their horses. Although I've been horse riding for 20 years, I didn't know that horses are capable of this. We got told that in Kyrgyzstan everyone owns animals like sheep, cows, yaks and horses. Also the people that live in the city, they have them as an investment and when they aren't animal keepers themselves, they give it to the nomads to take care of them. Doctors and lawyers aren't the rich people in Kyrgyzstan, but the animal keepers that own a lot of animals are. It's the number one business here. The destination of the hike was the astonishing Koltor lake that has a very distinctive misty light blue color which comes from certain minerals solved in the water. We all haven't seen something like this before. I mean there are beautiful blue lakes in the Alps, but their water has more a clear and darker blue color. The Boom Canyon was one of our highlights in the beginning of the travel. With its red sandy rocks it remembered us of pictures of the Grand Canyon or Australia and we were surprised to see something like this in Kyrgyzstan as it isn't quite famous. It was super hot in the canyon and for me who has never been in a desert or semi-desert before it was an experience I will never forget. What I looked forward to most before this travel started was the riding adventure and the riding trip on the Songköl plateau and also sleeping in a nomad camp in the yurts and well I didn't get disappointed because it was see yourself. It was such a different thing compared to everything I have seen before. The roads up to the Songköl plateau are difficult. Most roads in Kyrgyzstan are gravel roads but this one was also very steep. Our driver Max handled it well and self-assured as always. On the plateau it got very much cooler as it is located on 300 000 meters above sea level. It can be described as an endless wild grassland between mountain tops where thousands of sheep, cows and horses are grazing during summertime. In the winter it's not possible to live here as temperatures can drop to minus 50 degrees celsius which are minus 58 degrees fahrenheit. So the nomads go down with their animals into the valleys and spend the winter in their villages. We immediately got the proof that it also can be quite frosty in the summertime when we arrived in the nomad camp. Kale stones were falling on the ground jingling against the windows of the bus. During summer the nomads live in the typical Kyrgyz yurts that are made out of sheep wool felt and birch sticks. We slept two nights in them which is warm and cozy in the beginning of the night as it is heated with a fire but when the stove cools down it gets super cold quite fast. So we were happy about our sleeping bags. This carpet looks cool. The bedding is also super cool. A bunny. And there is also light. Yes, where there is light there is electricity. First bed in a long time. We always slept in the tent the past three days so it's very luxurious. Amanat was our chef and cooked the best authentic Kyrgyz dishes for us. We got breakfast, lunch and dinner every day through the whole travel. I admire her so much for making all this amazing food for over 30 people also outdoors on a camping stove. The first day on the plateau we witnessed the Kyrgyz nomad game Kok Boru for the very first time which I will explain to you in part two of the travel vlog. So we carry on In the evening we learned a Kyrgyz folk dance called Black Stallion and had a little dance battle. Amanat! The next day we finally went horse riding on the plateau. I called my horse Rasputin because of his beautiful black mane. Most of the nomad horses don't have a name and the rider gives his horse a personal one when he rides it for the first time. I think that's beautiful and Rasputin and I soon made great friends. Nearly every one of us took part in the horse riding adventure although most of the other ones got up on the horseback for the very first time on this day. I think that's very brave as we were riding about four hours before noon and three in the afternoon which is super long. Stopping at a little nomad camp we got to try fermented mare milk which is a Kyrgyz specialty. I would describe the taste of it as smoky cucumber with a tone of acidity. The time in the nomad camp was indeed remarkable, exceptional, stunning and very special. I didn't find better words to describe it but I think those came close. This is where I wanna end telling you the first part of our Kyrgyzstan adventure. In the second one I will show you our time at Issyk-Kul Lake. Seeing yaks for the very first time, the cockaroo game and well many other highlights. I can't list them all now. I hope you enjoyed following us along my friend.