I chatted briefly with my hostel mates Joanna and Anna about hiking near one of the lake area on 8/30, and agreed to do it after the Independence Day on 8/31. Right after I woke up from my afternoon nap, Joanna told me she and Amnah were ready to leave for the hike, so I told her to give me 10 minutes to pack my bags and paid for hostel stay. We were on the last bus of the day at 6 pm and arrived at Karakol almost midnight. This was my most spontaneous trip since I had no idea which lake we were going and which trail we would take.
We were let in Duet Hostel but not checked in since they stopped checking in at 10 pm. We persuaded the owner's friend to drive us around until finding a hostel to stay. We checked in Dom Hostel by 1 am and got up early the second day but none of the information center or tour agencies were open. We decided to get some dry food and then go to the national park directly to try our luck and hoped to find yurts to stay since we could rent camping gears.
Joanna thought that we were doing a "picnic" version of the most popular 3-day hike in the area: Karakol Valley to Arashan Valley, via Ala-Köl. But it turned out to be the exact hike. It was first hike ever for Amnah and she was so behind that she told us not to wait for her. As the end of the 2nd day, we still did not know whether or when Anna bailed out of the hike. Joanna and Amnah colleagues working at Dubai so Joanna was worried all the time and jumped on the jeep at 700 som to get back to town early to find out what happened to Anna. It turned out Amnah hiked as far as our first night tent site then hiked all the way down.
We hiked from the end of the bus 101 route for about six hours to where the Ala-Köl Valley branches to the left. The hike before the bridge was mild, but quite steep after the bridge towards carved wooden Kurgak Tor camp. Most hikers carried and camped with their own gears, while me and Joanna spent 650 som to sleep in a warm yurt. We made tons of friends on the hike and at the camp site.
We started hiking around 8 am following a American hiker and her hiking guide. It took twi hours to hike past waterfalls to the high-altitude and barren Ala-Köl lake, and then another 2 hours walk along the north shore and the pass. The trail to the 3860m Ala-Köl Pass is indistinct and the crossing were tricky. Fortunately we followed the guide of the American hiker. The steep and loose rock slop down from the pass was nerve racking. Five hours (13 km) downhill from the pass led to Altyn Arashan, a hot spring village.
Joanna headed back to town, while I had nothing to do but spent 200 som to soak in hot spring across a bridge from the homestay. When I finished hot spring, I ran into one of the lack hikers we met the night before who told me that they were seeking jeep to ride back to town at only 150 som per person. I told him to wait for me to pack my bags for 10 minutes. Nevertheless, while I was looking for them in the dusk after walking by the 3rd guesthouse, one English speaking hiking guide told me that I missed their jeep by 5 minutes. Oh well, I decided to stay at the last guesthouse since it was dark already.
Some people reached the lake in four hours over the ridge from Altyn Arashan, which is the most popular destination from Karakol, a spartan hot spring development called(Golden Spa), set in a postcard-perfect alpine valley at 3000m, with 4260m Pik Palatka looming at its southern end. I soaked in a covered hut in a small sulphur pool for 20 minutes (200 som).
Much of the area is a botanical research area called the Arashan State Nature Reserve and is home to about 20 snow leopards and a handful of bears, but I only saw cows and horses.
On the third day, I started hiking down by myself around 7:30 am to Ak-Suu and paid 20 som to ride a bus back to Korokol around noon time right before animal bazzar was close.
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