I love a milky blue lake and I discovered another one we could visit in Kyrgyzstan so we set off for Kol Tor Kegeti. First we got a shared taxi from Naryn towards Bishkek and the cool thing is there’s a sort of whatapp chat the locals use to offer or ask for shared rides so our host found us a well priced one leaving at the time we wanted which was very convenient. Then we had a couple of hours to wait for the Marshrutka (public van) to take us to the village of Dachi Kegeti.

We passed so many animals being herded down the road, it really felt like the season was coming to an end and the nomads were moving down the mountains to warmer grounds. Once we got dropped off we had a couple of kilometres to hike to our guesthouse. The host was very sweet and made us a tasty dinner including a delicious vegetarian soup for me. She also served homemade cherry jam, but they were tiny cherry’s and the perfect sweetness so I was eating spoonfuls of the stuff.

The rooms were in a wooden house so they had a cute, rustic charm and downstairs in the garden were the shared toilets. They were pit-loos but bizarrely they had a porcelain squatter with the middle hole smashed out so the waste dropped down into the pit.

After a peaceful night sleep we woke early for breakfast and then set off on our hike towards the lake. It was going to be a long walk, 18km return with a 1100m elevation gain. It started along the dirt road where we passed adorable cows and locals galloping past on their horses with their dogs following behind. They have a really interesting breed of dog in Kyrgyzstan called a Taigan which looks like a Suluki but a little rough on the edges, with slightly matted hair and built for hunting instead of lounging on the family sofa.

The trail led us alongside a raging river with occasional waterfalls. The hills around us were turning autumnal with hints of orange tinging the leaves and wild raspberry bushes lined the pathway which kept us well fed. The path was quite flat to begin with but the second half was all uphill with plenty of false summits so we kept thinking we were almost at the lake but another hill was behind it.

It was worth the effort though as the lake was the most incredible milky blue colour. It looked like someone had filled it with mouthwash and milk as it was really opaque, probably from glacial sediment. We made our way along the shores and soaked in the epic views which we had all to ourselves. Apparently it can get busy on weekends though as we met a Slovenian couple who camped up there on the weekend and were joined by a group of noisy lads. It appeared that a local might stay up here on the weekends in a little tent and rent his boat out to visitors but he wasn’t around when we visited.

We had a mix of sun and cloud but all of a sudden it began drizzling with rain which was odd as the sun was still shining. As we made our way back to the start of the lake a group of horses began wandering along the shoreline and made for the most beautiful photos. It looked like a fake scene with the ultra blue water behind them. There were 3 other people at the lake as we left and as luck would have it they had a car at the bottom so we stuck our thumb out and managed to save ourselves 4km walking along the dirt road back to our guesthouse which was a relief. It was the perfect add on adventure to our Kyrgyzstan trip and we timed it very well because as we were checking out the next day a group of 20 teachers arrived at the guesthouse and would no doubt be making their way up the lake and ruining the lovely tranquility.

The weather seemed to be dropping a few degrees everyday and we even woke to snow on the hills which was very beautiful. But it was time to make our way to Bishkek which involved walking along the dirt road again to the Marshrutka stop but Craig managed to step in an almighty muddy patch where his foot sink right down. I couldn’t stop laughing as he was wearing sandals so it was all over his foot and he had to run down to the river to wash all the mud off.

We had one day spare to explore Bishkek so we checked out the huge central mosque which has the capacity for 30,000 worshippers. It was funded by Turkey and opened in 2018 so it’s very new but it was built in the Ottoman revival style and is now one of the largest in Central Asia. Inside was fabulous with decorated ceilings and when we looked carefully we could see there were walkways leading around the upper levels which were so well camouflaged by the paintwork.

We also checked out the big Sunday bazaar where they sold spices, nuts, dried fruits, sweets and even psychedelic coloured fish as pets. We also saw a lady selling little bottles filled with fat or some strange liquid from bears, wolves etc which was sad to see.

When it was time to leave Bishkek we opted for the cheapest method to get to the airport which was a bus, a short walk and a Marshrutka van. The journey took about an hour and cost just 0.85p per person. A little 6 year old girl was put in the van by her mum who passed on some instructions to the driver and bid her farewell. She fell fast asleep for the journey and we were just amazed at how safe countries like this are, no one would dare put their child on a public bus on their own in London. At some point on the journey the driver slammed the brakes on which abruptly woke the child and a relative was waiting to collect her from the side of the road.

Bishkek airport was a bit of a strange experience for us. Firstly they wouldn’t accept our electronic boarding passes so we had to wait for check in to open to get the paper versions. Then we went through security and as we walked away after being stamped out the country the border guard called Craig back by his name. It was very odd because more colleagues came over to stare at the computer screen and his passport. They didn’t say anything so we have no idea why they called him back but luckily he was eventually allowed to pass through. We went through the bag scanners and the two horseshoes I’d found on my travels (one from a Tibetan horse in China and the other from Kyrgyzstan) were detected. I figured it was just because they were metal so I showed the man and he immediately gestured to throw them away. I was shocked, they were harmless!! Even the female staff member was trying to persuade him to let me keep them but he was being a stubborn little man and his answer was final. So there goes my favourite souvenirs of the trip.