Mountain Bike Mayhem
Holiday Itinerary
Day 1: Rendezvous at the group hotel in Almaty. KE Land Only package services begin with a single timed transfer from Almaty Airport to the group hotel. Sightseeing tour then assemble bikes.
Day 2: Time for sightseeing in the morning, before loading the bikes onto the support vehicle and setting off on the drive to the Turgen River Gorge and our first camp of the trip at the village of Batan.
Day 3: We ride a rough jeep track to the end of the valley, then climb to a lunch stop at the Assy Pass (2650m). A riverside descent leads to a camping place beside the Assy River. Ride distance 50 km (31 miles).
Day 4: Today's long ride takes us up and over the Zhambas Pass (3150m) and across the Ashyk Dala Plateau to reach our camp beside the Sary Bulak River (1600m). Ride distance 65 km (40 miles).
Day 5: Today we make a bike traverse across the Kungey Alatau Mountains, followed by a wild downhill blast to our camp on the banks of the Chilik River. A great place to swim. Ride distance 40 km (25 miles).
Day 6: We follow guiet country roads from Saty to Zhalanash, beyond which an undulating old road, with a fair bit of up and down, takes us to Zhaydak Bulak and our camp close to the Kegen River. Ride distance 60 km (38 miles).
Day 7: Biking across the rolling grassland known as 'steppe', we enter into Kirghizstan. Following what was once a part of the Silk Road we bike into the Karkara Valley and reach the fixed camp at the Karkara Mountain Base (2200m). Ride distance 80 km (50 miles).
Day 8: This is the first of 2 wild days of heli-biking! We use a large cargo helicopter to take us up to 3500 metres and make a ballistic descent back to our base at Karkara. Ride distance 30 km (19 miles).
Day 9: Another big grin day of heli-biking! We are dropped off on a high plateau, with views of the central Tien Shan peaks. On today's descent to Karkara, we may be able to meet nomadic herdsmen and take tea at their yurt camp. Ride distance 46 km (29 miles).
Day 10: Leaving Karkara, we bike up into the wild and remote Koshkar Valley. There are several river crossings to negotiate, en route to our highest camp of the holiday (3000m) at the head of the valley. Ride distance 56 km (35 miles).
Day 11: An awesome day, as we cross the Mingtur Pass (3700m) to enter Kirghizstan, followed by a long descent through wild and unspoiled scenery to reach our camp at Ekilitash. Ride distance 48 km (30 miles).
Day 12: A rollercoaster start alongside the Saary Zhaz River. We then cross the Chon Ashy Pass (3820m) and have a monster descent that eventually takes us to our riverside camp in the upper part of the valley that feeds Lake Issyk Kul. Ride distance 85 km (53 miles).
Day 13: Following dirt roads through quiet Kirghiz villages, we climb over the range of hills that separate us from the Karkara Valley. A beautiful day of biking ends with a downhill blast to the Karkara Mountain Base. Ride distance 45 km (28 miles).
Day 14: Today, we make the transfer back to Almaty, which takes around 6 hours. After checking in at our hotel and packing our bikes, we enjoy a celebratory evening meal.
Day 15: KE Land Only services end with an early morning group transfer to Almaty Airport.
