With four friends on horseback through the wild east of Kyrgyzstan. A 14 day journey of which we trekked 9 days on horseback, far away from all civilization.
Images and text by ANNE | October 2022
Written by Anne.
And then the journey starts. First we drive for 4 hours with our driver towards the military checkpoint where we will meet our guides and horses. The drive there is already spectacular. Our car, a UAZ, is a cute Russian car, but this cuteness factor does disappear when we get gassed inside.
Arriving at the checkpoint we show our border area permits. The officers also do a quick check of the luggage, but once they discover female underwear, the inspection is immediately over. Hilarity all around.
And then an exciting moment, we meet the guides and horses with whom we will spend the coming time.
Our guides Zhyrgal and Azamat greet us kindly. They repack our luggage in the different saddlebags, somewhere a 10 year old boy (who turns out to be the son of guide Zhyrgal) appears to be coming along and before we know it we are riding away. We are currently already at 2700m.
The first days we trek through the Sary-Jaz valley to the foot of the Tuz pass. The route runs fairly flat through the valley and we slowly get used to the altitude.
Soon we get into a rhythm of horseback riding, unsaddling horses, setting up tents, fetching and filtering water, … Our 3rd guide “Joki” cooks for us. This seems luxurious, but our days are often so full that this luxury gives us a little more time to explore, photograph or fool around in the evenings (which our guides probably think we do). Joki’s cooking is sometimes better than other times, but we’re not complaining. Compared to people who undertake 9 day hikes on foot, we have luxury food with us. Our daily menu consists of: a breakfast with oatmeal or muesli, a lunch of wraps, filled with cheese, sausage, tuna, mayonnaise and a fresh cucumber. For dinner we have pasta dishes or the famous Plov, a central Asian rice dish. We even have a Bialetti with us for a delicious coffee after a cold and sometimes sleepless night.
The whole trip we stay healthy and whole, except for some stomach complaints. Due to a still unknown reason, one after the other on this trip has diarrhea, cramps,… We all eat and drink the same. When on day 2 one of our group has permanent stomach complaints, guide Azamat orders her to lie on the ground. He massages her belly and miraculously, the blockage disappears. This immediately brings the whole group closer together.
On day 3 the Tuz pass, about 4000 m high, is on the schedule. The weather gods are in our favor and we climb steadily until the afternoon. Our guides spot one after another group of Ibexes, Marco Polo sheep, vultures, … We are perplexed.
In the afternoon follows a very steep climb with loose stones. Our horses are struggling to get to the top. My horse gets into trouble and I carefully dismount in the middle of a steep slope. I lead the horse further on foot but soon I am out of breath and pass the lead rope so that I can continue walking at my own pace at the back. A beautiful view over 5000 to 7000 meter high mountains awaits us at the pass. After many photos, the descent begins. We go on foot and the horses go with the guides. We are happy when we reach our camp site, what a day! Tired and satisfied we enjoy the glaciers that surround us and the setting sun.
We still play a daily game of Uno. This game will be the evening activity of the trip. In the end we all play Uno together every night and learn a few words of Kyrgyz – English to each other.
The 4th day is a short but spectacular stage. After 2 hours of riding we arrive at the foot of the Engilchek glacier. This glacier is the 6th largest glacier in the world and has a length of no less than 60.5 km. Its base is completely covered with stone rubble and certainly not particularly beautiful, but it is certainly impressive. The horses cross the wild river and we walk across the glacier to the other side. We enjoy a quiet afternoon and watch, among other things, how our guides shoe a horse.
The next morning we are all a little happier than usual, this valley is curiously not as cold as the other side of the pass. The last nights it kept freezing and we only opened the tent when we felt the first rays of sunshine in the morning.
On day 5 we first ride further into the Engilchek valley, along the Engilchek river. In the riverbed we spot traces of bears, wolves, … We hardly believe our eyes. The riverbed is sometimes muddy and suddenly disaster strikes. Our 10-year-old gets into quicksand with his horse. Guide Azamat quickly rushes to the rescue and luckily the horse, which is in the mud up to its belly, can free itself. The child gets a slap in his face and something is shouted at him. After that, we just carry on as if nothing happened. Not much later we leave the flat riverbed. We cross a swirling river 4 times. Our guides carefully look for the best way with the strongest horses. To us it seems impossible but in the end all horses successfully cross the river. What a beasts. Every day they amaze us with their skills, bravery, strength, … These horses have grown up in this wild nature and are therefore hardened. They watch out for danger and walk carefully on any terrain. Not to be compared with our European horses that probably wouldn’t survive this trip.
We climb another 700 vertical meters and then reach our next camping spot at the foot of one of the so many glaciers.
The next day is extremely windy. Somehow I don’t want to hold up the group but I feel deeply cold and doubt whether I would not walk a bit to get warm. My horse feels tired and unconcentrated and stumbles every now and then. Soon my entire torso is tense. In the afternoon we descend back towards the next large valley. The last part is too technical and it is decided that we will go on foot and the guides will accompany the horses. We walk down and pass a beautiful water source. We feel a bit strange without our horses and are happy when we see them back at our camp site. It’s going to be a nice evening with good food.
Guide Azamat goes looking for the horses in the middle of the night. Because we have such a herd of horses with us, 1 horse is always tied to the ground with a picket and rope. This horse is the back-up horse with which Azamat seeks out the other horses and drives them back to the camp site. The other 8 horses stand with their front legs tied together. Because they are so used to this, they still do real distances at night.
To Europeans, this feels like animal cruelty, but these horses are used to it. Furthermore, this is the only option not to lose your horses in a landscape without trees, fences, … They can also eat enough, which is very important!
The 7th day it is only a 3 hour rice to the yak Farm of guide Zhyrgal and his family. On the way to the farm we take a herd of yaks with us. Together we drive them with us to the farm. A few turn out to be sick and need treatment. Once we arrive at the farm we watch how the shepherds treat these animals. It’s spectacular, well it never gets boring here.
We get the luggage from the horses and part of our group decides to indulge in a few gallops. What a feeling of freedom. And what a power these horses have.
We feel very connected and embracing we walk back side by side with the horses.
To our surprise we can sleep inside in an old carriage, there are beds in it and there is even a heater. We drink a tea at a table and sit on chairs. This little luxury is appreciated after 7 days of outdoor living. Then the farm also appears to have a “banja”. This is a kind of sauna. She is heated with a stove. The stove is heated with dried, tamped sheep poo. We enjoy this incredible wellness to the fullest.
After this, the dinner party begins.
The next morning we wake up in the snow. What good timing that we could sleep inside. The whole valley covered under a thick 5 cm of snow. We wait until the afternoon to continue riding, because by noon the snow has disappeared again due to the sun. What seemed to be a cold day turned into a beautiful warm day. We find a nice camping spot again. In the evening sun we decide to have Yoga session. Even guide Azamat joins in to our surprise, and we close with a real dance party. Without much music but with what a location. When night falls we spot another dozen shooting stars. What a day. Although we say that every day here.
On the last day, our luggage goes into the truck and we drive the last hours to our final destination: the natural hot springs of Engilchek. The hot water just comes out of the rocks and gets caught in a natural basin next to the wild river. We park our horses, change behind the wall formed by our horses and get in the lovely warm water.
Then follows our way back to civilization. During 4 hours drive out of this wild area towards our base camp, Karakol city. We’re a bit quiet. Saying goodbye with the guides, the horses, the environment is hard for all of us. This trip away from everything was rewarding. No phone, no news, no stress…
