Nomad Games tour 2026

Arrival in Bishkek early in the morning. Your Kyrgyz guide and driver meet you at the airport and take you to the hotel for a rest and a buffet breakfast; early check-in is included. The rest of the day is free to relax after the flight. Lunch and dinner are served at the hotel or in a restaurant close to the hotel. Altitude: Bishkek about 800 m.

Bishkek

• Manas International Airport → Bishkek (45 km)

Overnight: Bishkek (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, drive to Ala-Archa National Park, an alpine park in the Tian Shan mountains just south of Bishkek, for a walk of about 1–2 hours. Then return to Bishkek for lunch. In the afternoon, a city tour of Bishkek takes you to the central square, a park, the monument to the epic hero Manas and a local bazaar (the bazaar is closed on Mondays). Dinner in a local restaurant and overnight at the hotel. Altitude: Bishkek about 800 m, Ala-Archa National Park about 1,600 m.

Ala Archa, Ala Too Square, Bishkek

• Bishkek → Ala Archa (40 km)
• Ala Archa → Bishkek (40 km)

Overnight: Bishkek (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, drive to the northern shore of Issyk-Kul, the second-largest mountain lake in the world after Lake Titicaca in South America, to attend the World Nomad Games. This large cultural and sports event takes place every two years and brings together participants and spectators from all over the world. During the day you can watch traditional sports such as belt wrestling (alysh), wrestling on horseback (er enish) and kok-boru, an exciting team game on horseback played with the body of a sheep, a little like polo. At the ethnographic site there are also archery demonstrations, including traditional shooting from horseback, and hunting with golden eagles and taigans, the ancient Kyrgyz hunting dogs. Lunch is at the food courts or as a lunch box. In the afternoon, return to the hotel in Cholpon-Ata for dinner and the night. The Games take place in the Kyrchyn Gorge. Competitions are held at different venues, and the group can choose which ones to attend. No seating is provided – guests watch the events standing, as is traditional at nomadic festivals. The program of performances can change once the exact events of the day are known. Altitude: Cholpon-Ata about 1,600 m.

Kyrchyn Gorge, Cholpon Ata

• Bishkek → Cholpon Ata (300 km)

Overnight: Cholpon Ata (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, visit the Museum of Petroglyphs. The open-air museum covers 42 hectares dotted with hundreds of boulders carrying ancient rock carvings; the oldest petroglyphs date back to the first millennium BCE. After lunch, in the evening, attend the closing ceremony of the World Nomad Games. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. The program of performances can change once the exact events of the day are known. Altitude: Cholpon-Ata about 1,600 m.

Cholpon Ata petroglyphs museum, Cholpon Ata

Overnight: Cholpon Ata (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, take a boat excursion of about 1 hour on Issyk-Kul. The name means “warm lake”: the salty lake does not freeze in winter. It is about 200 km long and 60 km wide, and its deepest point is about 730 m. Then drive to Karakol, the largest town in the eastern part of the Issyk-Kul region. The city tour includes the Dungan Mosque, built in Chinese style without a single nail, the Russian Orthodox church made entirely of wood, and the local bazaar. Lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon you can relax at the local hot springs before checking in at the hotel. Dinner is with a Uyghur family, where you taste lagman, the hand-pulled noodle dish. Overnight at the hotel. Altitude: Issyk-Kul about 1,600 m, Karakol about 1,700 m.

Issyk Kul Guide, Karakol, Karakol Dungan Mosque, Karakol Orthodox cathedral

• Cholpon Ata → Karakol (160 km)

Overnight: Karakol (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

If it is a Sunday, visit the Karakol animal market before breakfast; it is held every Sunday morning from as early as 4 am until about 10 am. After breakfast, drive along the southern shore of Issyk-Kul towards the village of Tamga. On the way, visit the Jeti-Oguz Gorge, famous for its red sandstone cliffs, including the “Broken Heart” rock and the “Seven Bulls”. An easy walk of about 1 hour in the gorge leads to a beautiful view of the Seven Bulls. Lunch. Continue to the yurt camp, check in and enjoy some free time before dinner. Dinner and overnight in the yurt camp. Altitude: Karakol about 1,700 m, Tamga about 1,650 m.

Jeti Oguz, Tamga village

• Karakol → Tamga village (120 km)

Overnight: Tamga village (Yurt camp)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, drive to Skazka (Fairy-Tale) Canyon for a walk of about 1–2 hours among its bizarre red rock formations. In the village of Kadji-Sai, have lunch with a family of local musicians and enjoy their folklore show; afterwards there is time to talk with them and hear their life stories. After lunch, visit the Barskoon Gorge. Its slopes are covered with thick vegetation and shrubs, and there are three waterfalls in the gorge. The most famous one, “The Tears of the Snow Leopard”, is a state natural monument where the water falls from a height of about 100 m. The walk to the first viewpoint takes about 30–40 minutes one way. Back at the yurt camp, join the camp’s chef for a manty cooking class before dinner. Dinner and overnight in the yurt camp. Altitude: Tamga about 1,650 m.

Skazka Canyon, Kadji-Sai, Barskoon Valley, Tamga village

• Tamga village → Tamga village (100 km)

Overnight: Tamga village (Yurt camp)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast in the yurt camp, drive towards the Chon-Kemin Nature Park. On the way, meet an eagle hunter near Bokonbaevo who shows how the eagles are trained. Then stop in the village of Kyzyl-Tuu, famous for its skilled artisans who make the wooden parts of yurts; a local family shows you how a yurt frame is made, and lunch is with the family. Continue to Chon-Kemin and check in at the guesthouse. Dinner and overnight at the guesthouse. Altitude: Tamga about 1,650 m, Chon-Kemin about 1,400 m.

Bokonbaevo, Kyzyl-Tuu village, Chon Kemin

• Tamga village → Chon Kemin (250 km)

Overnight: Chon Kemin (Guesthouse)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, take a walk of about 2 hours in the nature park to a panoramic viewpoint. Back at the guesthouse, join a cooking class for boorsok, the traditional Kyrgyz fried bread, and enjoy it fresh at lunch. On the way to Bishkek, stop at the Burana Tower. This minaret was built in the 11th century in the medieval city of Balasagun, capital of the mighty Karakhanid Empire. You can climb its winding staircase for a wide view of the Chuy Valley. The open-air museum next to it has a collection of balbals, ancient carved stone figures often found near burial mounds. Farewell dinner in a local restaurant in Bishkek and overnight at the hotel. Altitude: Chon-Kemin about 1,400 m, Bishkek about 800 m.

Chon Kemin, Burana Tower, Bishkek

• Chon Kemin → Bishkek (150 km)

Overnight: Bishkek (Hotel)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast and transfer to the airport.

• Bishkek → Manas International Airport (45 km)

Meals: Breakfast