Song-Kol Lake

A high-altitude alpine lake at 3,016 m surrounded by some of Kyrgyzstan's most active jailoo summer pastures and yurt camps.

Song-Kol is Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest lake by surface area but its emotional heart for many travelers. Lying at 3,016 metres in a vast bowl of grass surrounded by the Moldo-Too range, the lake is reachable only via three high mountain passes — Kalmak-Ashuu, Kara-Keche or 33-Parrots — and only between mid-June and the first snow of September. The treeless shores are a working summer pasture (jailoo) where dozens of nomadic herder families bring their horses, sheep and yaks every season. EcoNomad partners with several of these families to offer authentic yurt-stay nights with home-cooked food, eagle hunting demonstrations and sunset horseback rides along the lakeshore. The lake water is glacier-fed and bracingly cold; the night sky on a clear evening is one of the most striking in Central Asia. Wildlife includes marmots, golden eagles and occasional bear and wolf in the surrounding hills.