eSIM and SIM cards in Kyrgyzstan

The local SIM

• Beeline, O! and MegaCom cover the country. Prepaid SIMs are cheap and sold at Manas airport and everywhere in Bishkek.
• Data prices are among the lowest anywhere.
• Registration needs the passport.
• Coverage is good in Bishkek, Osh, Karakol and along the main roads.

And then it stops

• There is no signal in the mountains, and the mountains are 90% of the country and the entire reason to come.
• Song-Kul, the Ala-Kul trek, the jailoo pastures and most of the Tien Shan have nothing.
• Download offline maps and your route before you leave the last town. This is not a convenience here, it is the safety plan.
• A power bank matters for the same reason.

An eSIM instead

• Fine for the cities. It changes nothing about the mountains.
• A local SIM is marginally better for a driving trip, because a local number is what a guesthouse or a driver will call back on.

The number to write down

• Mountain rescue: +996 312 651 404. Save it, write it on paper, and give your route and expected return to someone before you set off - because when you need it you will not have signal to look it up.