Everyday practical information for Kyrgyzstan

The basics

• Plugs are the European two-pin type C and F, 220 V.
• Kyrgyz and Russian are both official. Russian is the working language of Bishkek and of most transactions with visitors; Kyrgyz is what people speak among themselves, more so in the south.
• English is limited outside the trekking industry, where it is good.
• Both languages use Cyrillic, so a camera translation app earns its place.
• UTC+6 all year. Dialling code +996.

Season is everything

• June to September is the season. The passes are open, the yurts are up, the pastures are green.
• Outside that, much of the country is shut. Song-Kul is inaccessible, the jailoos are empty and the high routes are under snow.
• Winter is for Karakol's ski base and for a very different, colder trip.

Culture

• Hospitality is a serious obligation here, not a courtesy. A herder will feed you and be offended by payment; a small gift is the graceful answer.
• Take your shoes off entering a home or a yurt.
• Bread is treated with respect - never placed face down, never thrown away.
• The eagle hunters and the horse games are genuine traditions, still practised, and the World Nomad Games grew out of them.
• Say yes to kymyz once. Then you can say you have.

Practical

• Bring what you need. Trekking gear, medicines and anything technical are hard to buy outside Bishkek.
• Cash, small notes, and a power bank.
• Toilets outside towns are pit latrines. That is simply the standard.