The Country
Kyrgyzstan
The Place
Arslanbob
Why You Need to Visit
One word: walnuts!
But if one word isn’t enough (or maybe you suffer from a nut allergy?), Arslanbob is a beautiful village nestled under the snowy cliffs of Mount Babash Ata (4,427 m). But most importantly, Arslanbob is home to a large walnut forest – doesn’t that sound like the setting for a fairytale? Locals are incredibly proud of the Arslanbob walnut, which was Kyrgyzstan’s first known export to Europe!
Arslanbob is probably on a lot of travelers’ Kyrgyzstan itineraries, but seeing as how few bucket lists Kyrgyzstan seems to have made it onto, it still feels pretty far from the beaten path. The great thing about Arslanbob is that it not only offers lots of beautiful places for visitors to explore – from the walnut forest to large waterfalls to mountain hiking trails – but it’s also surprisingly well set up for tourists (something that isn’t yet the case everywhere in Kyrgyzstan).
How to Get There
Arslanbob is around 8-9 hours from Bishkek, and 3-4 hours from Osh. I shared a taxi from Bishkek to Bazaar Kargon for $24, and from there caught a marshrutka (public van) to Arslanbob for $1.50.
Where to Stay
When my friends and I stepped off our marshrutka in Arslanbob we were enthusiastically greeted by Hayat, who runs the Community Based Tourism (CBT) office in Arslanbob. Apparently he had heard that there were some foreigners on their way to the village (my blonde hair didn’t exactly help me blend in in Central Asia).
He took us to his office where we read through brochures highlighting the village’s best sites and outdoor activities – and I promised myself to return in winter when I could take advantage of the many cross-country ski trails – and helped us choose from a list of 18 host families to stay with.
We each paid $8 a night to stay with a local Uzbek family (host family #18 on the list), which included delicious breakfasts and dinners. I did a lot of home stays while traveling through Central Asia, but this was one of the most memorable. The family was warm and welcoming, the food fantastic, and the setting couldn’t be beat. Seriously, I still find myself telling other backpackers that they have to make their way to Arslanbob someday – it’s just such a special place!
Taking an organized tour of Kyrgyzstan and surrounding countries in Central Asia
Travel through Kyrgyzstan (and all of Central Asia) can be difficult, especially if you don’t know any Russian, but I assure you it’s worth it! However if you’re worried about your trip you can always leave the organizing and planning to someone else and take a tour.
I haven’t done this myself, but I’ve heard back from several blog readers who chose to do Central Asia tours with G Adventures and they loved them. The tours organized everything for them, but I think the best part was seeing the region with a group of likeminded travelers.
The two best options for seeing Central Asia would be:
The Best of Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan // this is a 9-day trip that actually covers more of the two countries than I managed to. I would love to go back and do this very trip someday! Check current tour prices and the full itinerary here
Central Asia Adventure – Almaty to Tashkent // this is the ultimate Central Asia tour, taking you through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in 14 days. I love that this one covers so much ground while still spending time in each place, and one reader wrote back to me after doing this tour saying it changed her life, so it must be good! Check current tour prices and the full itinerary here
I wrote more about travel in Kyrgyzstan, including summaries of places to visit and tips for getting around here.
Is Kyrgyzstan on your bucket list yet?
PIN IT!
I’d also love to open this series up to other people’s experiences, so if you have a place you’d like to share email me at heartmybackpack@gmail.com with the destination and I’ll send you some questions to answer about it!
Grace says
I first got interested in visiting Kyrgyzstan when I watched an episode of house hunters international a few years ago (very random I know)…it totally had fallen off my radar – but your post is awesome and it reminded me I should definitely make it a priority. Great post! Can’t wait to see all of your upcoming off the path posts! 🙂
Silvia says
Oh wow, that’s such a funny way to get introduced to Kyrgyzstan! It definitely deserves to be a priority – I seriously have no bad things to say about my time there.
Kaelene @ Unlocking Kiki says
This is my kind of series! Can’t wait to read more about places off the beaten path.
Silvia says
I’m excited to share some of my favorites – and read about other people’s! And of course let me know if you want to share any special place from Iceland 😉
Sarah says
This is going to be an amazing series!
Lovely post. Very informative! I really want to backpack through central Asia and I think your blog will be a major resource!
Silvia says
My trip through Central Asia is the one I just can’t let go of – I still rave about it and cannot wait to return (luckily my boyfriend hasn’t been yet so I have an excuse to go back soon!).
Kara says
I am adding this to my bucket list! I hadn’t considered Kyrgyzstan before but it looks beautiful and I can’t believe how cheap your home stay was!
Silvia says
Kyrgyzstan is super budget-friendly. Like, even more so than Southeast Asia!
Kelly says
Oooh yes I’m loving the idea of this series! I can’t wait to read about some of these locations, especially knowing how many cool places you’ve been to.
Silvia says
I’m really excited both to get to write about some of my favorite places and read about other people’s! And of course let me know if you stumble across any secret gems on your trip 🙂
kami says
perfect, I will do my best to visit it in November, already saved your post 🙂 I need to go through all your Kyrgyzstan posts and will probably come to you with all kind of questions about the country, can’t believe I’m going there soon 🙂
Silvia says
Bahhh Kyrgyzstan is the best, you are going to adore it!
jennifer says
Sigh. I have been following you ever since that time I googled backpacking the Stans and found yours and Danielle’s blog. I think I read every post in one sitting. I still need to go.
Silvia says
You DO need to go, and I need to go back! Also, that was so long ago – it’s hard to believe you’ve stuck around 🙂
jennifer says
Of course I stuck around! You are still going everywhere I want to go and I am still living vicariously through you.
Camels & Chocolate says
I love that you’ve been to Kyrgyzstan! Funny story, when my husband and I started dating a decade ago, we had a bet over whether or not Kyrgyzstan was a real country (mainly because he pronounced it KY-guhr-guh-stan, and I definitely had never heard of such a mythical place!).
Silvia says
Haha that’s awesome! I’m pretty sure that means that you have to plan an anniversary trip there someday.
kimberly oyler says
i stumbled onto a post of yours about saving for travel from pinterest and now i’m totally dying. i was in kyrgyzstan working with an NGO in Jalalabad for 3 months this year and we spent a weekend in arslanbob. we stayed in CBT housing too and were SO surprised by how well set up it was. so fun to read about your kyrgyz experience and recognize things like monty and bazaar kargon, and osh!
kimberly oyler says
i stumbled onto a post of yours from pinterest and now i’m totally dying. i was in kyrgyzstan for 3 months earlier this year working with an NGO in Jalalabad and we spent a weekend in arslanbob. we did a horseriding tour to 2 big waterfalls (7 hours!!) and also stayed in CBT. we were so surprised by how well it was set up and had the best time. so fun to read your experience and recognize all the places and things you’re talking about. thanks for sharing!!
Silvia says
Whaat no way! “Working at an NGO in Jalalabad” just sounds like you’re the coolest person ever, haha. I’m dying to revisit Kyrgyzstan – jealous you got to spend so much time there!
Tiffani says
I lived in Kyrgyzstan for two years and I always get very excited to see how much other people love it too. It has been one of my favorite places to live
Silvia says
Oh you’re so lucky! I’m hoping I can return to Kyrgyzstan really soon, it’s just such a wonderful place.
Gulmira says
Саламатсынарбы, ladies!My name is Gulmira and I’m from Kyrgyzstan. Stumbled on this article on Pinterest. So pleased to hear kind words about my motherland coming from foreigners. We are blessed to live in a country with beautiful nature and great hospitality. I can say so because already 10 years I’m living in Korea and this is a totally different culture. When I first came here everytime someone visited us I felt the urge to lay a корпочо for them to sit on and set a table to share tea. I didn’t have them both and Koreans sit on the floor and they didn’t drink black tea.😊
Hopefully in the near future my country will grow and we can make a long bucket list for our guest to enjoy my country, people and make heartwarming memories!