This offer is valid from 4 pax
$1050TOUR OVERVIEW
Somewhere between the thunder of hooves and the cry of a golden eagle, you’ll understand why Central Asia’s greatest cultural celebration takes place here. The World Nomad Games — held on the windswept steppes and crystalline shores of Kyrgyzstan — is unlike anything else on Earth. This seven-day expedition places you at the very heart of it: from the Opening Ceremony at Kyrchyn Jailoo to the electrifying equestrian showdowns at Cholpon-Ata, before retreating to the serene alpine silence of Song-Köl lake.
You’ll witness Kok-Boru — the ancient horseback sport that predates civilisation as we know it — alongside eagle hunting demonstrations, traditional wrestling, archery, and nomadic horsemanship that has shaped this region for millennia. This is not a spectator holiday. This is a front-row seat to living history.
World Nomad Games
The World Nomad Games are an international cultural and sporting event that celebrates the traditions of nomadic civilizations. First held in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, the Games bring together athletes and participants from dozens of countries to compete in traditional sports such as Kok-Boru (goat polo), traditional wrestling, horseback archery, eagle hunting demonstrations, and many other ethnic competitions.
In addition to the sporting events, visitors can experience nomadic culture, music, crafts, traditional cuisine, and folklore performances. The Games provide a unique opportunity to witness the living heritage of the nomadic peoples of Central Asia.
TOUR AT A GLANCE
| Dates | September 1–7 |
| Duration | 7 Days / 6 Nights |
| Group Size | Small group — intimate experience |
| Start / End | CBT Office, Bishkek (Gorkiy St. 58) |
| Destinations | Bishkek → Tamchy → Kyrchyn Jailoo → Cholpon-Ata → Song-Köl 2 days horseback riding → Bishkek |
| Accommodation | Guesthouse & Yurt Camp (B&B) |
| Activity Level | Easy to Moderate — suitable for all fitness levels |
| Best For | Culture seekers, adventure travellers, photography enthusiasts |
| Days | Program | Services included | NOT included/Remarks |
| Day 1
Sep 1
|
Meet you at CBT office in Bishkek by 9 in the morning by address Gorkiy st. 58.
Bishkek to Kyrchyn — The Journey Begins Your adventure opens with a morning departure from Bishkek’s CBT office, where your guide will meet you and set the tone for what lies ahead. The drive north toward Lake Issyk-Kul is itself a curtain-raiser: sun-baked plains giving way to the first glimpse of the Tian Shan range. After a hearty lunch at a guesthouse in Tamchy, you’ll make the final transfer to Kyrchyn Jailoo — a sweeping highland valley that transforms, every four years, into the epicentre of nomadic civilisation. As the yurts rise against the mountains and the smell of open fires fills the air, the World Nomad Games are about to begin. |
Tamchy:
Lunch Kyrchyn: Dinner and B&B
Highlights: Scenic Bishkek–Issyk-Kul drive Arrival at Kyrchyn Jailoo First views of the nomadic camp Stay: Guesthouse & Yurt Camp, Kyrchyn Meals: Lunch (Tamchy),Dinner, Breakfast included |
Drive: Approx. 6–7 hours total
|
| Day 2
Sep 2 |
The Opening Ceremony — Nomadic Civilisation Awakens
Today is one of the most spectacular days in Central Asian travel. The Opening Ceremony of the World Nomad Games transforms Kyrchyn valley into a canvas of colour, tradition, and pride. Thousands of performers in ancestral dress flood the grounds as nations from across the world parade beneath the Kyrgyz sky. Then the Games begin in earnest: watch in awe as eagle hunters command their birds of prey in Burkut Saluu, hold your breath during the breathtaking long-distance horse marathon, and absorb the ancient ritual of Ordo — a game of skill and strategy played with sheep knucklebones that predates chess. Your evening returns you to the warmth of a yurt, the day’s images still burning bright.
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Kyrchyn:
Highlights: Grand Opening Ceremony -Eagle Hunting – Horse Marathon Stay: Yurt Camp, Kyrchyn Meals: Breakfast ,Dinner |
Lunch during the Games |
| Day 3
Sep 3 |
Into the Games — Full Immersion
A full day at Kyrchyn gives you the freedom to roam the Games at your own pace. Wander between disciplines, chat with athletes who have travelled from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and beyond, and explore the craft market where artisans display centuries-old weaving, felt-work, and metalwork. Traditional archery competitions draw focused, respectful crowds — these are athletes of extraordinary skill. By evening, the valley campfires flicker to life and the sound of the komuz — Kyrgyzstan’s ancient three-stringed lute — drifts through the cool mountain air.
|
Kyrchyn:
Highlights: Full day at Kyrchyn Games: -Traditional archery – Nomadic craft market – Evening cultural atmosphere Stay: Yurt Camp, Kyrchyn Meals: Breakfast, Dinner |
Lunch during the Games |
| Day 4
Sep 4 |
Cholpon-Ata — Kok-Boru and the Hippodrome
A two-hour morning drive along the northern shore of Issyk-Kul — one of the world’s largest alpine lakes — brings you to Cholpon-Ata, the lakeside resort town that hosts the Games’ most dramatic competitions. The Hippodrome here is the stage for Kok-Boru: an ancient and ferocious team sport played on horseback, in which riders battle to carry a goat carcass across the opposing team’s goal. Raw, fast, and completely unlike anything you’ve seen before — it is the undisputed highlight of the Nomad Games. The day also features Kurosh, Kyrgyz-style belt wrestling that prizes technique as much as brute strength. |
Breakfast
Cholpon-Ata: Highlights: Scenic Issyk-Kul lakeshore drive -Kok-Boru at the Hippodrome -Kurosh wrestling in Sport & Recreation Centre Drive: Approx. 2 hours Stay: Guesthouse, Tamchy : Dinner and B&B |
2 hours drive
Lunch during the Games |
| Day 5
Sep 5
|
Transfer from Tamchy to Kyzart pass. Arrival at Kyzart pass, meet your guides team and start the tour. Within sight of the road, cross Kyzyl-Kiya jailoo, an enormous, relatively flat sea of grass. Continue over the Chaar-Archa Pass (3 061 m) into the Chaar-Archa Valley and eat a tasty lunch by the racing river, with views of holy 4400 m Baba-Ata Mountain. Sated, ford the river and follow the trail over verdant hills to Kilemche Jailoo. The name means “like a carpet,” and this swathe of grass covers whole mountain ranges, with shadings as subtle as any shyrdak (shyrdak is a Kyrgyz felt carpet). Dine and sleep in a yurt, naturally. | 2 days horseback riding tour to Song-Kol lake:
Meals B&B at yurt camp Local guide Horse rent
|
horse time 4-5hours
Driving time 4 hours |
| Day 6
Sep 6 |
After breakfast at Kilemche, spend the morning climbing to Jalgyz Karagai pass (3400 m), over the Song-Kol Mountains and into the lake’s basin. The morning climb affords wonderful views of Kilemche jailoo, and the pass itself is rocky and exciting. From the pass, Song-Kol is still distant, but as you traipse down the slopes, it gets larger and larger; the mountains on the other side get higher and higher, until finally the lake fills most of your field of view and the southern mountains tower above it. After lunch at Jaman Echki, transfer the lakeshore east to the yurt at Batai-Aral. Upon arrival meet your host family of Kyrgyz shepherds. Meals and overnight are in a yurt of shepherds. | 2 days horseback riding tour to Song-Kol lake:
Meals B&B at yurt camp Local guide Horse rent
|
horse time 3-4 hours |
| Day 7
Sep 7
|
Song-Köl to Bishkek — A Farewell to the Steppe
Wake early to see Song-Köl at its most luminous — mist lifting off the water, horses silhouetted against the morning sky. After breakfast, the descent begins. Your route home takes you over the dramatic 33 Parrots pass, where a stop reveals a small waterfall tumbling through birch forest — a last gift from the mountains. Before re-entering Bishkek, the tour pauses at the Burana Tower, a solitary 11th-century minaret rising from the Chuy valley plain, all that remains of the ancient Silk Road city of Balasagun. It is a quietly moving reminder that these steppes have been at the crossroads of civilisations for over a thousand years. Your expedition concludes on arrival in Bishkek. |
Song-Kol:
Breakfast Bishkek: Transport Drive: Approx. 5–6 hours Stay: Tour ends in Bishkek Meals: Breakfast included Lunch at café (own expense) |
5-6 hours drive
meals at café Hotel accommodation |
WHY THIS TOUR
The World Nomad Games happen only once every two years, and Kyrgyzstan — the homeland of nomadic culture — is their spiritual home. This itinerary has been designed not merely to observe, but to immerse: you’ll sleep under felt-and-timber yurts, eat from fires, travel roads that are empty save for herds of horses, and stand within arm’s reach of traditions that the modern world has almost entirely forgotten. From the thunder of Kok-Boru to the hush of Song-Köl at dawn, every day of this journey earns its place. This is adventure travel at its most authentic — and the window to experience it is brief.