Friday 12 May 2023
Highlights: Holding an Eagle, Hiking in Song Kul, Exploring Fairy Tale Valley

After a nice and comfortable sleep in a Yurt it was time to start with a nice breakfast in the main Yurt, sitting was again on the floor which is a good way to test your legs. No showers before our exploring today.

A local guide joined us to lead us on another mountain hike this time to get panoramic views of the massive Issyk-Kul Lake. After a 40 minute ride on rough roads we arrived at our starting point and were met by locals training eagles for hunting.

This gave me a chance to hold an eagle up close!

Todays hike was much easier then yesterday and started around 10 am with us returning by 11.40 am. While shorter the hike was still not easy and there were a few uphill parts that took my breath away.

But then the views of this stunning mountain range also had the same effect on my breadth at times.

After returning to our Yurt Camp for lunch we headed off again this time to Fairy Tale Valley. The is another beautiful area. We did minor walks around a major rock formation before undertaking a tricky climb, which was even tricker coming back down. But the views made it worth it.

After this small adventure we stopped off again near Issyk-Kul Lake for a 30 minute rest. A few of us got our feet wet and a some skipped rocks of this magnificent lake.

For tonight we are staying at a Guesthouse run by a Russian couple. First thing on arrival was everyone headed for a much needed shower having been over 36 hours since our last chance to shower! At dinner the owners provided us with dishes more common for Russians in this area, the soup in particular was thick and very filling.