Sustainable Kyrgyzstan

🧭 Trip Overview

Kyrgyzstan is a country made for slow travel. Vast mountain ranges, alpine lakes and summer pastures cover much of the country, while small villages and nomadic communities remain at the heart of everyday life.

This journey takes a different approach. Rather than simply passing through rural areas, the idea is to make the communities themselves part of the journey. The experiences are designed to keep a greater share of your travel spending within the places you visit.

The result is not necessarily a trip with the smallest possible carbon footprint. It is a trip designed to leave more of a positive footprint behind.

✨ Trip Highlights

Sleep in a traditional yurt with a local family
Explore the pastures on horseback
Eat locally produced food wherever possible
Visit local artisans and buy directly from them

Dive in!

Days 1 – 2: Bishkek

Days 3 – 5: Issyk-Kul & Karakol

Days 6 – 8: Kochkor & Song-Kul

Days 9 – 11: Suusamyr

Days 12 – 14: Arslanbob

Meet CBT Kyrgyzstan

✅ Good to Know

What Does Sustainable Travel Mean Here?

Here, sustainability can mean choosing a family homestay over an international hotel, hiring a local mountain guide, eating food prepared by your hosts, buying crafts directly from their makers and spending your money in villages that have historically had fewer opportunities to benefit from tourism.

The country's Community Based Tourism network was built around exactly this idea. Local communities participate in developing and managing tourism, while a significant share of the economic benefits remains within those communities. The network also promotes environmental protection, responsible use of natural resources and respect for local culture.

For travellers, that means making a series of small choices throughout the journey. Stay local. Hire local. Eat local. Buy local. Travel slowly enough for those choices to matter.