Trekking to Lenin peak
Our entrance into Kyrgyzstan was a dramatic one over the Irkeshtam pass from China. We ended up heading to a small village called Sary Mogul near the Tajikistan border in the South. This wasn’t our plan but other travellers we were with were heading there and it seemed like a great idea. Once we heard about the Lenin Peak trek we had to go.
In Sary Mogul there is a comfortable CBT guesthouse to stay in and they offer all sorts of tours and activities in the region. We wanted to trek out to the mountains, 20km South of there and stay in their yurt camp so arranged it through them, left a bag of stuff we didn’t need in their office and set off on a hike towards the Pamir mountains.
A hard slog to the Yurt camp
It took us over 7 hours to hike the 20km to the Yurt camp. It was a burning hot day and the relentless sun scorched us. Hiking over the open plains of the Alay Valley is incredible though. We passed many herders grazing their sheep and cows out in the valley. Mostly boys on donkeys and men on horses. They were helpful steering us in the right direction to the camp. The odd passing vehicle would stop and the drivers would offer us a ride or just greet us and welcome us to Kyrgyzstan. The last section of the hike was over small hills to Tulpar lake. We were exhausted on arrival but were welcomed with tea and shown to our Yurt.
Yurt life
The CBT Yurt camp at Peak Lenin is pretty basic. It’s 1000 Som ($15US) a night for a bed, dinner and breakfast. The 5 Yurts they have are simple but quite traditional and wonderful to sleep in. Once the stove is cranking you are warm as toast inside.
The felt lining is a great insulator and the wooden framing and decorative weavings make it feel soothing and comforting to be cocooned in a structure of natural materials. The outside long drop was a nasty experience though!
To Peak Lenin
It is a 2 hour hike up the valley to Lenin Peak base camp and beyond to the onion field. I did it alone as Mandy was feeling rough. It was straight forward following some 4×4 tracks over the hills and then dropping down a steep bank and crossing the raging Achik Tash river over a small bridge. From there you climb another slope and follow a stream for a few kilometres to the Lenin Peak base camp. Apparently you are supposed to have a special border permit on this side of the river but the people at CBT didn’t seem fussed and nobody was there to check.
Views to die for
The climbing season starts in July so base camp was just an empty plain with a few vacant buildings and locked up containers when I came in June. You can hike another 3.5km, about an hour up to a high plain at 3700 metres. This is called the Onion field as wild onions grow there. You will see Marmots scurrying around there. It’s the end of the line for hikers. It was covered in snow in June and hard to walk over but worth the effort.
The views South to Lenin Peak and the surrounding mountains are spectacular on a clear day. I was surrounded by amazing snow capped peaks and incredibly had the entire place to myself. I didn’t see another hiker all day! This is what I love about Kyrgyzstan.
- CBT is the community based tourism organisation set up in Kyrgyzstan to help local people make a living from the nascent tourist industry.
- It is possible to organise transport through CBT to the Yurt camp if you don’t want to trek there. We hitched back to Sary Mogol in a sheep truck for 100 Som each. A great way to practice Russian language skills.
- Take sunblock, snacks and plenty of water for the trek in.
Watch on Youtube
Pin It
Our next adventure in Central Asia… Crossing the remote Pamir Highway into Tajikistan.
Read more about our current journey right here
About us and what makes us tick.
