Today's ride ends at Kel-Suu Lake, with a hot Kyrgyz lunch on the way. After you arrive there is a boat trip on the lake. Dinner and overnight in a yurt or village homestay, depending on the date.
Kel-Suu Lake: the lake inside the canyon
Kel-Suu is a mountain lake in the Kok-Kiya valley of the Naryn region, at about 3,500 metres (sources give 3,500–3,514 m). It is roughly 10 km long and a few hundred metres wide for most of its length, set inside a rocky canyon whose walls reach about 300 metres in places. The name is commonly explained as the "lake that comes in" in Kyrgyz.
Because it lies close to the Chinese border, Kel-Suu is in a border zone and a border-zone permit is required to visit. Access is generally possible between June and October.
On day 6 of Atla Yolculuk's 7-day tour the ride ends at Kel-Suu Lake, with a hot Kyrgyz lunch on the way. After you arrive there is a boat trip on the lake.
- Altitude
- about 3,500 m (3,514 m in some sources)
- Length
- about 10 km
- Region
- Naryn, Kok-Kiya valley
- Permit
- Border-zone permit required
- Season
- June–October
- On the tour
- Day 6, boat trip
Where is Kel-Suu Lake?
In Kyrgyzstan's Naryn region, in the Kok-Kiya valley, inside a canyon close to the Chinese border.
How high is Kel-Suu Lake?
About 3,500 metres; some sources give 3,514 metres.
Do you need a permit for Kel-Suu?
Yes, it lies in a border zone, so a border-zone permit is required. Confirm current rules with the authorities or an operator before you travel.
When can you visit Kel-Suu?
Access is generally possible from June to October. Our tours run May to September 2027, on the dates in the calendar.
Kel Suu lies at Kyrgyzstan's southeastern edge, 30 kilometres from the Chinese border, a lake almost no one knows about. It was formed by a landslide, squeezed inside a narrow canyon and surrounded by steep rock walls.
The water's colour changes with the season, early spring brings cloudy turquoise, midsummer brings clear ice-blue, late August turns it greenish. The lake surface is 3.5 km long and parts of it are accessible only by boat or by hiking the slopes.
At Atla Yolculuk we reach the lake with our local partner on a small wooden boat. The boat passes between canyon walls; the echo from the slopes, the stillness of the water, the silent advance, this experience is hard to describe.
