14 Best Day Trips from Bishkek in 2026

The park gate is about 35 km south of Bishkek, 40 minutes to an hour by car. From there a 12 km road climbs the valley to the alpine camp (alplager) at about 2,160 metres, and the highest peak above it reaches 4,895 metres.

Since May 2025 private cars stop at a car park by the checkpoint, and electric cars carry visitors on up the valley. Fires and barbecues are banned in the park. A cable car opened in February 2026, rising 1 km from 2,166 to 2,494 metres. A return ticket costs 600 som and is card-only.

The classic walk climbs from the alpine camp to the Ak-Sai waterfall. Keen hikers carry on to the Ratsek hut at 3,383 metres, which is staffed and has dorm beds.

The Alamedin Gorge starts about 35 km from Bishkek, and the valley opens up beyond the Teplye Klyuchi (“warm springs”) resort, at around 2,000 metres. The resort’s mineral water comes out of the ground at about 53 °C.

There is no public transport into the gorge, so come by taxi. In 2026 work on an access road for a hydropower project above Koy-Tash cut down spruces and dug up some trails, so the upper valley may look rough in places.

Kashka-Suu is a small ski base about 30 km south of Bishkek, with five runs between 1,870 and 2,270 metres. In February 2025 a day pass cost 1,300 som on weekdays and 1,600 at weekends.

In summer the chairlift runs at weekends. Most people come by taxi.

Chunkurchak is a valley about 30 km south of central Bishkek. In autumn the trees on its slopes turn gold, and the Supara Chunkurchak ethno-resort sits on the valley floor.

In winter the valley runs a small ski area with five chairlifts, a children’s lift and runs from 1 to 5 km long. Adult day passes were 1,300 som on weekdays and 1,600 at weekends in February 2025, the same as at Kashka-Suu.

Ata-Beyit lies near the old village of Chon-Tash, about 30 km south of Bishkek, on a site where the NKVD shot prisoners in 1938. The remains of more than 130 people were found in 1991 and reburied here, and the memorial complex was built in 2000.

The writer Chingiz Aitmatov was buried here in 2008, beside his father Torekul, who was among those shot. A monument to the 1916 uprising, shaped like the tunduk (crown) of a yurt, was added in 2016, and victims of the April 2010 revolution are buried here too. There is also a small museum.

Chunkurchak is about 7 km away, so the two make an easy pair.

The Burana Tower stands just south of Tokmok, about 80 km east of Bishkek by road. It was the minaret of Balasagun, a Silk Road city of the Karakhanids, and has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing since 2014. Once about 45 metres tall, it now rises around 25.

An outside staircase takes you up the tower. The grounds are dotted with balbals, the old Turkic stone figures, and there is a small museum. The ticket covers all three and is paid in cash, so bring small notes.

To go by public transport, take marshrutka 353 from the Eastern bus station to Tokmok, then marshrutka 212 to Burana.

Issyk-Ata is a spa resort at 1,775 metres, about 78 km from Bishkek. It reopened in December 2024 after a rebuild, with four renovated hot-spring pools, and three more buildings opened in October 2026.

Near the resort, a stone is carved with a Buddha and old Tibetan inscriptions. A path follows the river up the gorge past a waterfall.

Rooms are booked through an online system. In 2026 some guests complained that bookings weren’t honoured on arrival, so confirm yours before you travel.

The Kegeti Gorge runs south from the Chuy Valley about 18 km south of Tokmok, climbing from 1,250 metres at its mouth, and has a waterfall about 30 metres high.

From the end of the road a trail climbs about 7.5 km to Kol-Tor Lake at 2,725 metres, with roughly 900 metres of ascent. Allow 3 to 4 hours up. Start early, since this is a long day from Bishkek.

The Shamsi Gorge climbs south from the village of Shamshy towards the 3,570-metre Shamsi Pass, which links the Chuy Valley to Kochkor. It is about 85 km from Bishkek.

The track up the valley is rough but passable in an ordinary car, and the lower gorge has easy walks beside the river through conifer forest.

Konorchek is a maze of red-rock canyons about 140 km from Bishkek. Turn off the main road at the Red Bridge past Kemin, cross the railway and park by the 2 km sign.

The trail runs about 3.5 km to an open area known as Central Square. From there it is 1.8 km to the Panorama viewpoint or 2.5 km to the Fairytale Canyons. Allow about 3 hours there and back. Entry is free.

Marshrutkas towards Balykchy pass the turn-off, but there is no reliable way back, so most people come with a driver.

The Kok-Moinok canyons are about 150 km from Bishkek, at the eastern end of the Boom Gorge near the turn-off for Naryn. They add about an hour and a half to a trip to Chon-Kemin, and make an easy stop on the drive to Issyk-Kul, or south towards Kochkor and Song-Kul.

Chon-Kemin is a national park founded in 1997, about 135 km from Bishkek, or 2.5 hours by car. The turn-off is at the start of the Boom Gorge. The road is paved at first, and a 4x4 is better further up.

The valley is good for horse riding and walks from May to September. It works as a long day trip, or you can stay a night in a guesthouse in the valley. There is an entry fee, paid in cash at the checkpoint.

The Belogorka waterfall drops about 60 metres in the Sokuluk Gorge, about 80 km from Bishkek by road. There is no public transport, so come by taxi or with a day tour.

The Suusamyr Valley is a 150 km stretch of high pasture on the far side of the Too-Ashuu pass. The road from Bishkek reaches the 3,586-metre pass about 120 km out, and goes under it through a 2.8 km tunnel at 3,120 metres. Cars pay a 50 som toll, or 200 som on foreign plates.

In summer the valley floor fills with wildflowers. Minibuses are banned from the pass from 15 October 2026 to 15 May 2027, so in winter you need a car and driver. Road works continued at the tunnel portals into autumn 2026, with traffic lights.