This is a land of magnificent mountains and ice-blue lakes and I spend my first couple of days making my way through fantastic scenery and camping in the valleys.
A winding dirt track takes me up to the alpine lake Song-Kol where I get my first experience of staying in a yurt with a nomadic tribe who set up camp here every summer on the green pastures surrounding the lake. Horse riding, hiking and fishing are popular activities in this remote area.
I now head for the beautiful lake Issyk-Kol, the world’s second largest alpine lake. Working my way around the lake I spend a couple of days at Jeti Oguz where I have the option of trekking into the lush surrounding mountains to explore the area’s natural beauty.
Bizarre Bishkek is the capital where you can sing Karaoke at a street stall, beat yourself with a birch branch at the local baths and do vodka shots at the expats bar.
