This hike to Yrdyk Lakes is the perfect day trip from Karakol. A great way to acclimatize before going on a longer trek in the Karakol Nature Park. Find all necessary info in this post!
Details of the Hike to Yrdyk Lakes
Distance: The total distance for this hike is 25,7 kilometers (out-and-back hike)
Elevation gain: The total incline was 1476 meter
Moving time: According to Strava my moving time was 6 hours and 38 minutes (total time was 10 hours and 4 minutes)
Difficulty: I would rate this as an intermediate/hard hike.
Address start: Yrdyk Lakes Trail Head
Water: There are some small streams available along the route to refill.
Price: Entrance Karakol NP: 250 KGS (+/- 3 USD/EUR) per person. Transportation to the bridge in Karakol NP: 800 KGS (+/- 10 USD/EUR)
Use the pinned location below so you can navigate straight to where the hike starts.
Transportation to the Trail head in Karakol National Park?
When it comes to reaching the start of this trek there are basically 2 options:
-The first option, and the cheapest (I think it costs 25 KGS), is by taking Marshrutka number 101 that leaves at Meeting Point / Duet Hostel to the entrance of Karakol National Park. You can also wave this marshrutka down somewhere along its route. Keep in mind it will only stop if it’s not full yet. As you’re being dropped off at the parc’s entrance you still have to walk about 3 kilometers (one-way) on a dirt road where the views are not the most interesting. However the road is pretty flat so it’s not a huge effort and it can save you quite some money.
-The second option is to book a (shared) taxi, obviously this costs a lot more, 800 KGS (10 USD/EUR) for the whole car to be exact. If you can split this between 4 it’s pretty alright. The road is perfectly fine for a normal taxi so 4×4 is not necessary. As there is no phone signal you must arrange your transportation back in advance. I asked the same taxi driver to pick me up 11h later at the same spot.
Don’t forget that with both of above mentioned options it is also required to pay the entrance fee of the National Park which is 250 KGS per person and 50 KGS per vehicle.
Hiking map and GPX-File
Generally speaking for all hikes, the easiest way is to download a GPX file that you can view on a gps device, a smartphone or smartwatch. It will tell you step-by-step how to walk. It also includes an elevation profile of the hike which can help you to decide if this hike is for you or not.
Click through to Strava to see all the details:
Download the GPX file right here: Yrdyk-lakes.gpx
Where to stay In Karakol?
Karakol lies East from the Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan and is easily reachable by marshrutka (minibus) or shared taxi from the Western bus station in Bishkek. If you’re coming from somewhere else there’s a high chance you will have to make a transfer in Balykchy which is at the West of the Issyk-Kul lake.
During my time in Karakol I stayed at Madanur hotel which was only a 15 minute walk from the center and a had a delicious breakfast included.
Check availability for Madanur hotel or any other accomodation below:
Karakol National Park
Karakol Nature Park is one of the largest national parks in Kyrgyzstan with an area of approximately 38 000 hectares. It is located 6 km from the center of the city Karakol. The Karakol river flows through it creating the beautiful Karakol gorge.
Another hike and one of the most famous ones to do in the Karakol Nature Park: Ala-Kul Lake Trek in 3 Days – Prettiest lake in Kyrgyzstan?
Why should you hike to Yrdyk Lakes?
The main reason I chose to hike to the Yrdyk Lakes is to acclimatize before doing the 3 day trek to Ala-Kul lake. On this route you will reach an altitude of 3330 meter above sea level which means oxygen levels are lower so your body can already adjust a bit to this. Now keep in mind that this is a pretty hard trek considering the long distance and elevation gain. I chose to have a resting day between this hike and the trek to Ala-Kul lake.
You could also hike all the way to the Yrdyk lakes, camp there for a night and come back. That would an even better acclimatization. There are no yurt camps there so carrying your own camping gear is required.
My experience hiking to Yrdyk Lakes
The hike starts off at an altitude of around 2000 m in the Karakol Nature Park. The taxi driver dropped me off at the bridge. I walked upstream next to the Karakol river for about a kilometer to then go right.
During the next 4 km I walked in a forest slowly but surely uphill. It was nice to start off the hike in the forest protected from the sun. Occassionally I passed a yurt or a tent where a sheppard and his family lived for the summer.
Around 6 km the landscape starts changing into open green pastures, this was the first time that I realized why people call Kyrgyzstan the Switzerland of Central-Asia. It was absolutely gorgeous to see the livestock grazing in the green pastures with huge mountains in the background.
It’s around the 7 km mark that the trail started to vanish because of the long grass, it was quite clear that I was off the beathen path in Kyrgyzstan. I had to freestyle a bit and blindly follow the GPX-track I was following. I would definitely recommend that use the one I provide above. Do however always use your common sense! Basically I followed the ridge for about 3 km. I’d recommend you actually follow the path I took when I went back and not the one I took to get there! Because I got lost a few times you’ll see that the GPX track on the way up there is a bit messed up.
After a while the trail became somewhat visible again but as usual in Kyrgyzstan there are multiple parallel trails because of the many sheppards on their horses.
As it was getting quite late and I had to make it back on time to catch my pre-arranged taxi I decided to ask one of the sheppards what the most beautiful lake of the 2 (or 3) lakes was. They pointed me in the direction of one lake so I decided to go there first. The route I was following wanted to send me first to the other lake actually.
After 13 km and 1350 m of elevation gain I was excited to see the turquoise lake with the huge mountains in the background. I would actually recommend to use the sharp pointy mountains as a guideline to find the lake.
As it was too late for me to also visit the other lake (which I regret till now) I decided to just chill a bit longer at the first lake. If you feel the desire and still have the motivation I’d say go and check out the second lake as well. You can see it on the map and it looks similar in size.
On my way back I basically followed the same route except for where I got lost. Because I came from the other direction it was more clear which trail I had to follow.
Around 8 PM I made it back down to the Karakol Valley, waited for a bit for the taxi and eventually made my way back,
exhausted but satisfied, to the city of Karakol.
Let me know in the comments or through my Instagram if you enjoyed this hike!
