Bishkek To Bishkek (15 Days) Kyrgyzstan Overland

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  Carly
  Written on September 7, 2017

  3.5 - Good

  Kyrgyzstan as a destination was absolutely incredible, stunning scenery, warm and welcoming people and a really wonderful place to enjoy hiking, horse riding and loads of outdoor activities, absolutely loved the place. As it is an emerging travel destination I'd encourage anyone to get there NOW before it becomes more crowded!! The tour itself was....fine. It ticked all the boxes on the itinerary, but I don't feel that Oasis Overland went above or beyond in anyway and overall the focus was on the overlanding side of things with virtually no local experiences or cultural knowledge provided. The crew we had were very very experienced in travelling overland style, so the meals provided and efficiency of setting up camp and getting out of tricky situations (like a bogged truck) was very good - but overall I found the tour lacking in cultural experiences. Any info about the country we were travelling in we had to dig out for ourselves, and as there are minimal homestays and interactions with locals we came away with no deeper understanding of the destination or the Kyrgyz people, which for me was very, very disappointing. If you love overlanding travel style and bush camping this trip is ideal - Oasis execute an overlanding trip well (though be prepared for long dusty drive days). The free camps we stayed at were beautiful, but unfortunately the infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan is not yet developed enough to handle the trash created by other travellers so camp sites can be a bit messy. Also most places you stay like Ala Archa, Lake Song Kol and the optional trip to Altyn Arashan it is REALLY COLD even in August, we had ski jackets and sleeping bags that handled -20 degrees and were still freezing so pack layers!!! Ultimately, I'm glad we got to experience Kyrgyzstan but will be returning on a seperate trip as I don't feel this tour really delved into the culture at all. We had an adventurous time overlanding but were left feeling that the tour lacked any insights to the country and at times was a bit too fast moving - we would drive for hours, only to spend 50 minutes at an historical site. So, definitely go to Kyrgyzstan but if you book this tour make sure you know what you are in for with the overlanding travel style!

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