Colette's Grand Detour

Today we are saying goodbye to Kazakhstan and hello to Kyrgyzstan. Driving from the village of Saty to the border crossing near Kegen takes about 3 hours and the roads are very good quality except for one slightly more bumpy section near the end. There are petrol stations along the route so it is easy to take coffee and toilet breaks when needed. And there are hardly any other vehicles on the road except for a few farm trucks. In fact, it is the horses and the cows happily standing in the middle of the road that you need to watch out for!

The route is incredibly scenic. There are big skies and rolling hills, with the ever-present mountains providing the perfect background. The grass looks like it is velvety soft from a distance. A good part of the drive involves cutting across a series of valleys and gorges formed by rivers running down the mountains. One of the best we crossed was Bestobar gorge, carved over millions of years by the Bestobar river. Down at valley floor it was possible to see yurts by the riverside and people parked up going for a swim, as well as big herds of horses and cattle grazing on the river meadows.

The border crossing was super simple. We said goodbye to our Kazakh van and driver, passed our bags through a security check and went through Kazakh immigration. Then after a short 20m walk along the road we passed through Kyrgyz immigration and were met by our new van and driver. In all it took our entire group about 20 minutes door-to-door. Not bad when I consider the length of time it has taken to cross some other borders this year. The process was straightforward, especially as no one required a visa, and there was virtually no one else at the border either.

From the border to our next stop – Karakol – it was another 1.5 hours drive. But the time went quickly as there was lots of scenery to look at. And even more horses and cattle on the road to try and avoid.