Practical information

EU citizens (including Czech and most EU passports) can visit Kyrgyzstan visa-free for up to 60 days. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after your return.

Rules can change – check your own country's current requirements before flying. For Lake Kel-Suu, Beka arranges the border-zone permit; we will need a scan of your passport.

Flights are not included. From Prague or Vienna, the usual route to Bishkek is via Istanbul (Turkish Airlines, Pegasus), 8–10 hours in total including the connection. Kyrgyzstan is 4 hours ahead of Central European Summer Time.

Confirm your dates with Beka before you buy flights – the programme starts on arrival and ends on departure, so the two need to line up.

Travel insurance with medical cover is compulsory and not included. For the Ala-Kul and Kel-Suu tours, choose a policy that covers trekking up to 4,000 m above sea level and horse riding.

Elimtour is a Kyrgyz tour operator, not a Czech travel agency under Czech Act No. 159/1999 Coll., so it carries no Czech insolvency insurance. What that means for your payments is spelled out on the Terms page.

The currency is the Kyrgyz som. ATMs and card payments work in Bishkek and around Issyk-Kul; in the countryside it is cash only. We recommend bringing euros or dollars in cash and changing some in Bishkek.

You pay for the tour in euros (a deposit once the dates are confirmed, the balance before departure). Budget your own spending money for souvenirs, drinks, tips and lunches where they aren't included.

June to September: 25–30 °C by Issyk-Kul, over 35 °C in Bishkek, and around freezing at night at 3,000 m. Mountain weather changes fast.

The basics: sturdy shoes, layers including a warm jacket, a waterproof jacket, a hat and gloves for the mountain nights, sunglasses and sun cream, swimwear for the hot springs, a head torch and a power bank. We send a detailed list for your tour before departure.

Anyone who can walk uphill for an hour can manage the nine-day tour. The eleven- and thirteen-day tours add days in the saddle and the Ala-Kul pass (almost 3,920 m) – you don't need to know how to ride, local horsemen lead the horses.

Altitude is built into the programme: before the pass you sleep at 2,500 m, and we climb slowly. If you have any health conditions, talk to your doctor and let us know in advance.

3–4* hotels in the towns, simpler guesthouses by the lake, yurts on Son-Kul (2–4 people per yurt, shared facilities), and a mountain hut and camp on the mountain sections. A single room can be added for a supplement where available.

Travelling alone? You join the group and share a twin room with someone from it. If you would rather have your own, the single supplement is 7,100 CZK – it doesn't apply to the yurt and mountain nights, where everyone sleeps together.

Kyrgyz cooking: lamb and beef, noodles (lagman, beshbarmak), pilaf, manty, fresh bread, fruit and vegetables from the bazaar, kumys and other dairy. We can arrange vegetarian food – just tell us when you enquire.

Tap water isn't for drinking; we provide bottled water.

A local SIM (O!, Beeline, MegaCom) costs a few euros at the airport or in Bishkek, and eSIMs work too. There is signal in the towns and around Issyk-Kul; in the mountains and on Son-Kul there is mostly none – expect it, and enjoy it.

Kyrgyzstan is a calm, hospitable country and tourists are welcome. The usual common sense applies, as anywhere. Beka is with you the whole time, speaks Kyrgyz, Russian and Czech, and knows the local customs.

Beka guides in Czech and Russian; English on request. Locals speak Kyrgyz and Russian, younger people in towns often English too. We'll teach you a few words of Kyrgyz on the way.

Once the dates are agreed you pay a deposit, with the balance due before departure. We send the exact deposit and cancellation terms in writing before any payment – you pay nothing until you have them in hand.

The whole process – enquiry, deposit, balance and cancellation – is set out on the Terms and privacy page.