Bash-Kaiyndy to Kel-Suu via the Shaar Waterfall

About the Bash-Kaiyndy to Kel-Suu via the Shaar Waterfall trek

Every other route to Kel-Suu crosses passes near 3,800 or 3,900 m and puts you in a tent for most of the nights. This one tops out at the Kynda pass at 3,398 m and sleeps you in a guesthouse, two yurts and a lodge — which makes it the accessible way to a lake that is otherwise the preserve of expeditions. It starts near Naryn city at Bash-Kaiyndy, rides up to the Shaar waterfall with a climb to the Kamak-Suu plateau at 3,100 m for the view over it, crosses the Kynda pass into the Ak-Sai valley, and works south through Chatyr-Tash to reach Kel-Suu on day four, with a guided walk of an hour and a half or two around the shore. Day three is the one people remember: a night in a yurt with a Kyrgyz family rather than a commercial camp. Note that day two includes a forty-minute vehicle transfer, so this is not a continuous point-to-point ride. Some basic riding experience is expected. The operator does not publish per-day distances, riding hours, a season window or a price, which is the main frustration here — ask for all four when you enquire. The border permit is not included and needs about two weeks; it is checked as an original paper at a police checkpoint on the road into the Kok-Kiya valley. Expect no mobile signal past Chatyr-Tash.