Salaam! This is Sugi from ASHU TRAVEL, scenic horseback journeys across Central Asia.
Today I want to talk about Altyn-Arashan, a spot that’s popular in Kyrgyzstan tour inquiries from Japan and Korea.
But I’m sorry to say this isn’t a recommendation article.
ASHU TRAVEL is currently not offering trips to Altyn-Arashan. People sometimes ask us why we don’t offer it when it’s so popular, so I’d like to explain our reasons here.
What is Altyn-Arashan like?
It’s a popular spot that comes up often when you search for Kyrgyzstan on Instagram.
At 2,600 m, with a name meaning “golden hot spring”
It’s a valley in the mountains east of Issyk-Kul, reached from the town of Karakol. It sits at an altitude of 2,600 m. The name means “golden hot spring” in Kyrgyz.
A valley of old-growth Tian Shan spruce forest
Both sides of the valley are densely covered in old-growth Tian Shan spruce forest. Even in Kyrgyzstan, there aren’t many valleys where this much old-growth forest remains intact.
It’s also home to snow leopards and bears. Towering to the south of the valley is Palatka Peak, at roughly 5,000 m. Its name apparently comes from its tent-like shape.
Two kinds of hot springs on the valley floor
And on the valley floor, hot springs bubble up: a radon spring of about 35°C and a hydrogen sulfide spring of about 41°C. There are indoor baths as well as open-air stone baths carved out of the rock.
There are still untouched pools where hot water simply collects in hollows in the rock. The temperature varies from pool to pool.
A base for the Ala-Kul Lake trek
From Karakol over the mountains to Ala-Kul, an alpine lake at 3,532 m, and from there down to Altyn-Arashan: it’s one of the most popular trekking routes in Kyrgyzstan.
Hiking in the mountains, sinking your chilled body into hot water, and spending the night gazing at snow-capped peaks… You can see why people flock here from all over the world.
Past a certain point, only local vehicles can get in
It’s not that far from the town of Karakol. Even so, it takes about an hour and a half by 4WD. The issue isn’t the distance but the road itself.
The pavement ends at the valley entrance
For a while after leaving town, it’s an ordinary road. The pavement ends at the entrance to the valley.
The road climbs the spruce-covered slopes in hairpin turns, over rocks and ruts. There are muddy stretches and signs of rockfall.
And then there’s the river crossing. There’s no bridge. You drive straight through the water. Even local tour companies describe it as closer to a riverbed than a road.
Only local off-road vehicles can make it
On ASHU TRAVEL tours, we generally take guests in our own dedicated vehicles. The drivers and guides are all people we know well.
But at Altyn-Arashan, our vehicles can’t go beyond a certain point. You’d have to get out at the valley entrance and transfer to a local vehicle.
By the way, many people also hike up this road. It’s the route that leads into the valley as part of the trek to Ala-Kul. But on foot it takes 4–5 hours one way, which uses up half a day on its own.
Even local tour descriptions go out of their way to warn that it’s rough going for anyone prone to motion sickness. It feels less like an access road to a tourist site and more like forcing a vehicle up a mountain trail.
In other words, the only way to reach Altyn-Arashan is to have our guests change vehicles partway. That means there’s a section where we can’t take you all the way ourselves.
How hard the river crossing is depends on the day’s water level
And the difficulty of the river crossing changes with the water level that day. The same spot is a different crossing in the morning and in the evening, and different again after snowmelt or rain. Whether to cross is decided by the driver behind the wheel that day.
Here’s what happened on the ground
We’ve had our Altyn-Arashan tour on hold for some time. There’s one video that sums up why we can’t change that decision. It was filmed in the valley.
What the video shows
It shows a vehicle on its way back from Ala-Kul carrying tourists: a large vehicle built on a military truck. It entered the river at a spot where it shouldn’t have crossed and got stuck in the middle of the rushing current.
The passengers were stranded inside, and one man climbed onto the roof of the cargo bed. A rescue team from the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS) and heavy machinery were brought in to tow the vehicle and carry out the rescue.
Fortunately, no one was killed or injured. Everyone was rescued safely.
Two things the video makes clear
First, the decision of whether to cross is left to the individual driver. Where to cross, when to cross, how to read the water level: it’s the person driving who decides.
Second, the structure of the road itself. There’s no bridge, and you can’t get there without crossing a river whose water level changes from day to day. Misjudge it, and even a vehicle that big can get stuck in the middle of the current.
We’re not trying to blame any particular company or driver. Whoever is behind the wheel is driving within the same structure.
Why ASHU TRAVEL has put trips on hold
Everything I’ve written so far leads to why ASHU TRAVEL has put Altyn-Arashan on hold.
5 reasons we’ve put it on hold
- The road is structurally dangerous. There’s a river crossing, rocky ground, and a section that only off-road vehicles can get through.
- Our own dedicated vehicles can’t get in. We can reach the valley entrance, but we can’t go any further.
- We’d have no choice but to entrust our guests to local vehicles. Our guide would come along, but we can’t choose the driver, and we’re neither the ones choosing the vehicle you transfer to nor the ones driving it.
- Visitor numbers at Altyn-Arashan keep growing. Neither the number of vehicles nor the management of operations is keeping up with rising demand. We can’t take responsibility for who makes what decisions after you transfer.
- We can’t sell something we can’t take responsibility for.
What we offer is the whole journey, there and back
What ASHU TRAVEL offers isn’t the scenery itself but the entire time from when you set out until you get back. We don’t want to sell a trip where we move you into another company’s vehicle partway and say “from here on, you’re on your own.”
We’re not blaming the local companies at all. It’s simply that we can’t sell, under the ASHU TRAVEL name, a tour that includes a section we can’t manage ourselves.
For those who want to soak in hot springs | Hot springs you can visit on ASHU tours
We can’t take you to Altyn-Arashan, but you can still enjoy hot springs on ASHU tours. There are several options.
Jeti-Oguz, the valley of red rock formations
Also near Karakol is the Jeti-Oguz gorge. True to its name, which means “seven bulls,” it’s a valley lined with red rock walls. There’s a hot spring sanatorium dating back to the Soviet era. The biggest difference is the road: a paved road runs all the way to the valley, so ordinary vehicles can get in. There are no river crossings either.
![Jeti-Oguz Rock Formations & Riding with Nomads in Kyrgyzstan | From Bishkek, 6 Days / 5 Nights [Beginners Welcome]](https://ashu-travel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/90ed7c5abc9fa37f9455e4eed98aacf1-2.jpg)
Jeti-Oguz Rock Formations & Riding with Nomads in Kyrgyzstan | From Bishkek, 6 Days / 5 Nights [Beginners Welcome]
![Scenic Horse Riding & Hot Springs at Jeti-Oguz and Lake Issyk-Kul | From Bishkek, 4 Days / 3 Nights [Beginners Welcome]](https://ashu-travel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/176d168fff41e25a35c7f2dbed9ba301-2.jpg)
Scenic Horse Riding & Hot Springs at Jeti-Oguz and Lake Issyk-Kul | From Bishkek, 4 Days / 3 Nights [Beginners Welcome]
- Scenic horse riding & hot springs at Jeti-Oguz & Issyk-Kul | From Bishkek, 4 days / 3 nights
- Jeti-Oguz’s red rocks and a nomad horse riding trip in Kyrgyzstan | From Bishkek, 6 days / 5 nights
Hot springs on the shores of Issyk-Kul
Jeti-Oguz isn’t the only place with hot springs. You can also soak at a hot spring guesthouse in Bokonbaevo village on the south shore of Issyk-Kul. Relaxing in the hot water while gazing at the lake after a day of riding is quite a luxury.
![Canter Halfway Around Song-Kul Lake in the Sky, Plus Eagle Hunters & Hot Springs | From Bishkek, 8 Days / 7 Nights Riding Tour [Novice Riders and Up]](https://ashu-travel.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/271da33fe9594e1b591b82ba3758ba27-1.jpg)
Canter Halfway Around Song-Kul Lake in the Sky, Plus Eagle Hunters & Hot Springs | From Bishkek, 8 Days / 7 Nights Riding Tour [Novice Riders and Up]
Hot springs can be added to other plans too
Hot springs can sometimes be added to plans other than those above. Depending on your schedule and route, it may not be possible, so please contact us first.
Note that hot springs in Kyrgyzstan are pool-style, with men and women bathing together in swimsuits. Don’t forget your swimsuit.
To avoid bad experiences in Central Asia
Most of the trouble on trips in Central Asia happens while getting from place to place.
4 things to check before you go
Even if you’re traveling around Kyrgyzstan outside of our tours, we don’t want you to have a bad experience, so here are some points to watch out for.
(1) Ask about the vehicle in advance
When arranging a vehicle locally, don’t decide on price and travel time alone. What type of vehicle is it? Are there rough stretches of road? Is there a vehicle change along the way? If you ask, they’ll answer properly. If you don’t ask, you won’t find out until the day itself.
*In Kyrgyzstan, people speak Kyrgyz or Russian, or a mix of the two, so don’t forget a translation app.
(2) If the itinerary includes a vehicle change, the next leg may be a different company
The company you booked with at your starting point and the company whose vehicle drives the mountain road may be different. Be careful, because it can easily become unclear who is responsible if something goes wrong.
(3) Make sure your insurance covers rescue costs
At altitudes above 2,000 m, it’s not unusual for a rescue to take half a day. Check whether your travel insurance covers not only medical costs but also search and rescue costs. It’s also worth reading the terms once to see whether the insurance that comes with your credit card is enough.
(4) Assume there will be days you can’t go
Rain, snowmelt, rockfall: mountain roads in Central Asia close because of the weather as a matter of course. If you plan your schedule with the expectation that some days may not go as planned, the trip itself becomes much easier.
And trust a guide who’s willing to say no. Someone who says “Let’s skip it today” is usually more right than someone who insists “Sure, we can go.”
We’d like to offer it as a tour once safety can be confirmed
Altyn-Arashan really is a wonderful place. I completely understand why everyone who’s been there says the same.
Our pause isn’t about the value of the place; it’s about whether we can take our guests there safely.
We don’t want anyone who has come all the way to Central Asia to have a bad experience.
We’re not telling you not to go. If you do go, check the vehicle, check your insurance, and find a local who can make the call to turn back on days when it’s not safe.
We’ll keep looking into Altyn-Arashan, and we hope to resume the tour once we can confirm it’s safe.
We hope your trip to Central Asia is safe and wonderful.
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