Zishaan Hayath Ride: The Tian Shan Loop

Route Map

Seven days, a clockwise loop out of Bishkek and deep into the Kyrgyz Tian Shan. Two days along the great blue sheet of Issyk-Kul — the north shore and its petroglyphs first, then the red cliffs and gorges of the south. Up the "33 Parrots" switchbacks to the high summer pastures of Song-Köl. Then south to the Silk Road caravanserai at Tash Rabat, and the long ride home over the passes. Two nights in yurts, three mountain passes above 3000 metres, and one of the last places where the road still runs out into open grassland. A ride for a rented bike, which is why it starts and finishes at the same door.

Day	Route	Distance	Highlights	Night stay
01	Bishkek → Burana → Boom Gorge → Cholpon-Ata	260 km 4.5 h	Balasagun's 11th-century Burana tower, the red walls of the Boom Gorge, and the petroglyph field above Cholpon-Ata on Issyk-Kul's north shore	Cholpon-Ata
02	Cholpon-Ata → Grigoriev & Semenov gorges → Karakol	190 km 4 h	Spruce gorges climbing off the north shore, then Karakol's carved wooden Dungan mosque and the Holy Trinity cathedral	Karakol
03	Karakol → Jeti-Ögüz → Barskoon Falls → Skazka Canyon → Bokonbayevo	230 km 5 h	The "Seven Bulls" cliffs and Broken Heart of Jeti-Ögüz, waterfalls up the Barskoon gorge, the Fairytale Canyon, and eagle-hunters on the south shore	Bokonbayevo
04	Bokonbayevo → Kochkor → Kalmak-Ashuu pass → Song-Köl	200 km 5 h	The 33 switchbacks up onto the syrt, then the open summer pastures and yurt camps ringing Song-Köl lake at 3016 m	Song-Köl yurt camp
05	Song-Köl → Moldo-Ashuu pass → Naryn → Tash Rabat	290 km 6 h	A morning around the lakeshore, over the Moldo-Ashuu pass and down to Naryn, then up the At-Bashy valley to the caravanserai	Tash Rabat yurt camp
06	Tash Rabat → Naryn → Dolon pass → Chong-Kemin	300 km 6 h	The medieval stone caravanserai at first light, then the long run north over the Dolon pass and down to the green Chong-Kemin valley	Chong-Kemin
07	Chong-Kemin → Bishkek → Ala-Archa National Park	180 km 3.5 h	Back to Bishkek, then up into the Ala-Archa gorge for the glacier and alpine meadows before the ride ends	Bishkek

Notes

Mostly tarmac, but with three gravel mountain passes — Kalmak-Ashuu, Moldo-Ashuu and Dolon. This is an adventure- or trail-bike route, the Himalayan or the GS rather than a road bike.

The passes to Song-Köl only clear of snow from mid-June, and the yurt camps at Song-Köl and Tash Rabat run through the summer only. Two nights sit above 3000 m, so the earlier lake days double as acclimatisation.

Fill up in Karakol, Kochkor and Naryn — there are long empty stretches out on the syrts, and no fuel at the lakes.

The longest days are the Tash Rabat run (Day 5) and the ride home over Dolon (Day 6), both around 300 km but mostly on good tarmac; the gravel passes all fall on shorter days.