3 Days Horseback Ridding around the Lakes

Small village on the North shore of the Issyk Kul lake. 35 km East of Balykchy town.

This pass is aptly named "passage to the lake", it connects Lake Issyk Kul and Lake Kel Kogur by an old trail first marked by the caravans of the Silk Road. To the north, the Chong Kemin National Park and its verdant forests, its wide flowering meadows. In the South, an arid land, a mix of meadows and desert areas, to the shore of Lake Issyk Kul.

Lake Koel Kogur lies in Chong Kemin National Park. The lake can be reached from Chong Kemin or from Tamchi village on the shore of the Issyk Kul lake. It is located 5 km below Kel-Tor Pass, and it takes a day of walking or riding from the Chong Kemin River, and 2 days from Issyk Kul Lake.

The population of Chong Kemin is devided in 6 small villages. Novorossiika is the main one with Town hall, hospital and school. Others one are Tegirmenti, Tar Suu, Kalmak-Ashuu, Kaïndy and Karool-Debe where are situated our homestays.

The Chong Kemin River (Kyrgyz: Чоң Кемин дарыясы) is a main river in Kemin District of Chuy Province of Kyrgyzstan. It is rising in the Zailiiski range (marking the border beetween Kazakshtan and Kyrgyzstan) and the Kungey range, and is a right tributary of the Chu River in Boom Gorge. The river is protected by status of the National park of Chong Kemin.

It has a length of 116 kilometres with a basin area of 1,890 square kilometres.

The Chong Kemin river rises as an effluent of the Murok Suu, the Sapojnikova, the Mashkovtseva, the Keminski, the West Ak-Suu, Dolon Ata, North Cholpon Ata and others glaciers of the Kungey range.

It receives the water from many rivers like Utsh Bulak river, Tegirmenti Suu, Kashka Suu (Kekoyrok mount), Tshetyndy, Ishke-Suu, Djan-Aryk, Buzulgan-Say, Kaskeleng, Djaya, Bashy-Djaya, Sek-Archa-Bulak, Chong Ak-Say, Kokuy Bulak, Almaty, Tuyuk Almaty, Koel Almaty, Kashka Suu (Zailiiski range), West Ak-Suu, Dolon Ata, North Cholpon Ata, Tertyuktshyu-Koy-Suu, Chong Koy-Suu, Orto-Koy-Suu, Koy-Suu, Djindi-Suu, Utsh-Emshek, Kashka-Suu (Dzore mount), Diure, Koel-Ter, Toru-Aigyr, Shymbulak, Ortokaindy, Cholakaindy, Kalmak-Ashuu and Tar-Suu rivers.

In the bassin of the Chong Kemin river, there are some lakes like Koel Kongur, Djashyl Koel, Djacyl Koel, Almaty, and many small glacier's lakes.

It's a good place for fishing the Amurdaria trout, Issykulski trout and the Chuy Osman.

The river also offer on its lower part a good opportunity to try rafting on a 23 km long from class II to IV, starting a bit lower than the Shabdan village till Djil Aryk village on the shore of the Chuy river. (see our rafting programs).