How many days does the Ak-Suu Traverse take?

I walked it in 4 days with 3 nights out, 42.4 miles on my GPS. My whole trip, from landing in Bishkek to leaving Karakol, took a week.

When is the best time to hike the Ak-Suu Traverse?

Local operators run this area from about mid-June to September, and the Ala-Kul pass is most reliably free of snow from about mid-July to mid-September. I went June 10 to 13, 2025, when every pass still had snow.

Where do you sleep on the Ak-Suu Traverse?

I carried a tent and wild camped two nights next to water. On the third night I pitched my tent inside a yurt frame at a yurt camp. Most yurt camps I passed would feed you and give you a bed for cash.

Do I need a permit for the Ak-Suu Traverse?

No trekking or border permit is needed for these valleys. Foreigners pay a Karakol National Park entry fee, 250 som per person according to local sources in 2025 and 2026, plus a small tent fee if you camp in the park.

How do you get to the start of the Ak-Suu Traverse?

Get to Karakol from Bishkek by private driver (about $75 for me), minibus or flight. There's no public transport up the Boz-Uchuk valley road, so take a private taxi or 4x4. At the end, a jeep took me out of the Karakol valley for $100.

The Ak-Suu Traverse film: Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan

Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan · 4 days · 42 miles

Ak-Suu Traverse Hiking Guide

4 days through the Tian Shan in Kyrgyzstan.

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Real pages from the guide. Tap one to see it big.

A day page
A day map and elevation profile
At a glance
The one-page trip sheet

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The route

My GPS recording of 4 days on a relief map. The numbers are where each day starts; the red dot is the finish. The full GPX files and the day maps come with the guide.

Relief map of the Ak-Suu Traverse route: 4 days drawn in red with numbered day starts, labelled Boz-Uchuk valley, Karakol valley, Ala-Kul and Ala-Kul Pass. — Map data: Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED) on AWS · Glaciers, rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors

At a glance

Days: 4 days
Distance: 42 miles
Climbing: About 14,150 ft (4,315 m) up
Season: Mid-June to September

What's inside

All four days. Stats, my notes, the trail mile by mile, where to get off, links to that day in my films, and a map with an elevation profile.
Straight answers. Days, when to go, how hard it is, permits and fees, wild camping, signal, water, resupply and cash.
Getting there and back. How I got from Bishkek to Karakol and the start, the jeep out of the Karakol valley, and the flight, minibus and 4x4 options.
Passes, streams and camps. Every pass with its height and what I found in June, where the bridges are, and where I camped.
Yurt camps and villages. Each place with people on the route, in order, with what I found there.
What I paid and what I carried. My costs from the trip with 2025 and 2026 local prices, and my full kit and food list.
GPX files. My four GPS recordings and the full route with waypoints, ready for AllTrails, Gaia GPS, Garmin or Organic Maps.
Before you go and a trip sheet. One page of the things that change each year, and a one-page summary to print or screenshot.

About this trip

In June 2025 I hiked the Ak-Suu Traverse alone near Karakol, Kyrgyzstan: four days over big passes, past seasonal yurt camps, and over the Ala-Kul pass to the Karakol valley. It was my first time in Central Asia. This guide has my exact route and GPS files, how I set up drivers and cash, where the yurt camps and bridges are, and what I learned.

Watch the film on YouTube (1.2M views).

The Day 3, Anyrtor pass, Altyn-Arashan and the Arashan valley page from the Ak-Suu Traverse Hiking Guide

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Anyrtor pass, Altyn-Arashan and the Arashan valley

The whole day page from the guide, as a PDF: the photo, the numbers and what to know. It opens as soon as you sign up, and you'll get my emails about new guides and trips, a few a year.

The details

Format: A 53-page PDF sized for a phone (A5, prints fine too) and a folder of GPX files, in one zip download.
Edition: 2027 season edition, updated September 2026.
Delivery: Instant. After you pay you get a private download link. Bookmark it to download again on any device.
Payment: Secure checkout through Stripe, in your own currency. Tax is included in the price, except in the US and Canada, where any sales tax is added at checkout.
Refunds: Not useful? Email me within 30 days for a refund: kraig@kraigadams.com.
Questions: Email kraig@kraigadams.com.

Questions

How many days does the Ak-Suu Traverse take?: I walked it in 4 days with 3 nights out, 42.4 miles on my GPS. My whole trip, from landing in Bishkek to leaving Karakol, took a week.
When is the best time to hike the Ak-Suu Traverse?: Local operators run this area from about mid-June to September, and the Ala-Kul pass is most reliably free of snow from about mid-July to mid-September. I went June 10 to 13, 2025, when every pass still had snow.
Where do you sleep on the Ak-Suu Traverse?: I carried a tent and wild camped two nights next to water. On the third night I pitched my tent inside a yurt frame at a yurt camp. Most yurt camps I passed would feed you and give you a bed for cash.
Do I need a permit for the Ak-Suu Traverse?: No trekking or border permit is needed for these valleys. Foreigners pay a Karakol National Park entry fee, 250 som per person according to local sources in 2025 and 2026, plus a small tent fee if you camp in the park.
How do you get to the start of the Ak-Suu Traverse?: Get to Karakol from Bishkek by private driver (about $75 for me), minibus or flight. There's no public transport up the Boz-Uchuk valley road, so take a private taxi or 4x4. At the end, a jeep took me out of the Karakol valley for $100.

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