Song-Kol Lake
A high mountain lake at about 3,000 m, surrounded by summer pastures where nomadic herders set up yurt camps. Visitors can stay overnight in a yurt.
About
Song-Kol lies in a wide, treeless bowl of green pasture above 3,000 metres, with the water reflecting a huge sky and low mountains. Herds of horses, sheep and cattle graze around its shores in summer, and eagles circle above.
Families of herders live in yurts here from June to September and welcome guests for the night, with simple beds, kymyz (fermented mare’s milk), bread and soup. You can ride, walk or just watch the sunset over the water. Nights are cold even in summer.
History
For many generations, Kyrgyz herders have taken their animals to the high pastures, or jailoo, in summer to escape the heat of the valleys and to give the animals fresh grass, a tradition at the heart of the nomadic way of life. Song-Kol, which lies at about 3,016 metres, is one of the best-known of these summering grounds. The lake is around 275 square kilometres in area, and its shores freeze in winter, when the area is largely cut off by snow. Under Soviet rule many herding families were settled and the livestock collectivised, but summer pasturing at the lake continued. In recent decades, a form of community tourism has grown up, in which families rent out yurt beds and offer food and horse rides, bringing a small income. Because the pasture is fragile and the season short, visitors are encouraged to travel responsibly and to respect the herders’ land.