A high mountain lake ringed by summer pastures. You travel by horse and sleep in yurts.
About Song-Köl
Song-Köl, the “Final Lake”, lies at 3,016 m in the Naryn region of Kyrgyzstan. It is 29 km long, only 13 m deep, and the country’s largest freshwater lake. Ridges ring the valley, and snow covers it for up to 200 days a year. The ice, up to a metre thick, does not fully melt until late May. About 190 bird species have been recorded, including one of the highest breeding populations of demoiselle cranes. Petroglyphs and stone circles tell of an old nomadic past. The valley is lived in and safely reachable only from June to September.
Getting there
- Best months
- June–September (Wikivoyage: the area is inhabited and safely accessible only then; Kochkor trips run mid-May to mid-September).
- Nearest airport / gateway
- Bishkek Manas International Airport (BSZ), 20 km north of Bishkek; Kochkor lies on the main road from Bishkek. Go by road via Bishkek and Kochkor; the easiest road is the 85 km from Sary-Bulak.
- Permits & fees
- Not stated
- Sources
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Song_Kul
en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Kochkor
en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bishkek
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song-Köl
Photos of Song-Köl
