The best accommodations Kyrgyzstan

Budget & Tips

Kyrgyzstan's hotel offer is growing year on year, particularly in Bishkek, where you can now find the full range of hotels and B&Bs, for backpackers, charm seekers and businessmen alike. In the country's other cities, such as Jalalabad and Osh, the choice is already more limited, while Karakol, a major meeting place for backpackers from all over the world, is seeing a steady growth in guesthouses. Elsewhere in the country, you can rely on the extensive CBT (Community based tourism) network, which runs a sufficient number of B&Bs and yurt camps to cater for groups and individuals alike, and for all budgets.

A good night's sleep in Kyrgyzstan starts at $20 a night, including breakfast. You can spend more for a comfortable stopover in town, but elsewhere, that's the price for sleeping in a yurt!

To be booked

In high season, reservations are a must. Not that the number of tourists is staggering, but accommodation capacity is relatively limited, despite the fact that tourism is still in its infancy. As tourism is mainly concentrated in the summer months, you'll need to make sure you book your accommodation, especially in the busiest camps, such as those on Lake Song Kul, Lake Aydar Kul and the Tash Rabat caravanserai. Yurts fill up fast as soon as a group arrives. If you have your own tent, you can choose to stay on your own, but you won't necessarily find the best places on the country's natural sites.

What's very local

Sleeping in a yurt is obviously a must on your trip to Kyrgyzstan. And you won't have much choice, unless you stick to the few main towns. Spending the night in a yurt, at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, on Lake Song Kul or in Tash Rabat is an unforgettable experience, with only one drawback: the success of tourism means you won't be alone. For a truly local experience, you'll need to get off the beaten track and experience the hospitality of the jailoo, the summer pastures of the Kirghiz, who set up their yurts here for the summer months.

Tourist traps

Beware of certain campsites that offer "à la carte festivities" such as a bozkachi or horse-racing demonstration... These entertainments will have nothing authentic about them and prove to be totally tasteless. If you wish to attend a bozkachi, contact a serious agency or rely on luck, but don't provoke it by paying for a made-to-order show that will inevitably turn out to be a rip-off.