Kyrgyzstan: Kol Tor Lake (Kegety)
Кыргызстан: Кол Тор Кегеты

Kol Tor Lake is one of the most popular weekend treks for residents of Bishkek – a beautiful walk through pine forests and beneath craggy peaks ends at an aggressively turquoise mountain lake that’s easy to love.

Total Km: 10km
Total Days: 1
Elevation Gain/Loss: 797m+ / 797m-
Start Point: Kichi Kegeti Valley
End Point: Kichi Kegeti Valley
GPS Files

Hiking to Kol Tor lake is navigationally easy and no special skills are required – it’s a straightforward walk along a well-worn path the whole way. However, for many casual dayhikers, this is the first trip near Bishkek that climbs any notable elevation and so some struggle with the longer uphill section.

Also note that the name “Kol Tor” is quite common in the Kyrgyz language, and there are a number of lakes across the country which the name might reference. Derived from a local word meaning roughly “place of honor”, a Kol Tor will typically be the highest lake in a chain or the last/highest lake up a valley. This Kol Tor lake, in Chuy Oblast’s Kegety Valley, is probably the most well-known among those (and certainly one of the prettiest).

The trek to Kol Tor Lake starts at a yurt camp in a small clearing at the end of the road up the Kichi Kegeti Valley. The last stretch is all gravel over some larger rocks, so vehicles with low ground clearance may have to park a little before the end of the road and walk an extra few hundred meters.

The trail picks up from the yurt camp heading southwards along the east side of the small river, passing in an out of the verdant forests that line the river and climbing very briefly on several occasions to avoid small cliffs or rock falls. It carries on through this pleasant landscape for 1.7km before crossing to the west bank of the river, and after another 200m along the river begins to climb.

The first small climbing stretch of the day picks up 124m of vertical over a switchbacked half kilometer, rising to a junction of two paths. The left-hand side continues climbing directly to an open hillside, whereas the right-hand path meanders gently up a forested slope to a source for fresh water and then climbs quickly to rejoin the other path. On balance we prefer the forested route, both for diversity of terrain and for the access to fresh water, but they both eventually lead to the same place.

When the path leaves the first stretch forest, about 3km into the hike, grab water if necessary (there’s also a decent site for a tent camp here, if you’ve started quite late) and then follow the obvious trails that go off to the southeast over the open plateau area and then turn sharply to rejoin the alternate trail and re-enter the forest on a southwesterly heading.

After another short but pleasant forested section, the trail returns to the open hillsides upon which it will remain the rest of the way to the lake. Already from here, it’s easy to trace the path up the mountainside to a notch between two small hillocks, which will be the last brief climb before arriving to the lake itself. From the edge of the forest to the top of the hilltop here is around 1.5km distance climbing 300m of elevation, and this is where inexperienced groups tend to really slow down. If you visit on the same day as a tour group from the city, don’t be shy to ask them to let you pass if you catch them on this stretch.

Arriving to the shore of Kol Tor lake comes almost as a surprise – all of a sudden it just appears over the crest of the hill. Take some time for a picnic or a swim, but also be sure to wander around the lake’s shore a ways to enjoy the views that open up further up the Kichi Kegety Valley. If you’re lucky, there will also be some lovely Kyrgyz horses around grazing to add a bit more magic to the scene.

The most iconic ‘Instagrammable’ angle of the lake is from the far side, where the small stream running down the valley enters the lake itself – somehow this angle always seems to put the most emphasis on the radically turquoise hue that makes the lake so famous. If you’ve got the energy left, it’s also possible to climb a little ways up the small side valley just beyond here for higher-elevation views looking back down towards Kol Tor, but it’s considerably steeper than the trail to the lake itself.

Alternate Options for Kol Tor Lake

Though most visitors to Kol Tor come in the summer season, it’s remarkably beautiful any time of year (and in fact, any other season you’ll have the place pretty much all to yourself). In winter, it’s not the worst idea to have a set of crampons if they’re handy, as there are several steep sections where running water freezes over the path and creates dangerously slippery ice patches with drops to the main stream far below.

It’s also possible to overnight beside or beyond Kol Tor, either to continue to the end of the Kichi Kegety Valley here or to cross the 3700m Polosatyi Pass and descend into Chon Kegety Valley as a loop hike.

Good To Know

There are no fees to visit Kol Tor Lake – though we wouldn’t be surprised to one day see that the yurt camp at the trail head has started to charge some sort of parking fee. The trail isn’t technical, and as such there’s no real special equipment to pack, but it is a bit steeper than most of the popular daytrips around Bishkek and those without a lot of hiking experience will absolutely want to bring a pair of trekking poles to assist on the ascent and descent.

Getting to Kol Tor Lake

As with most trailheads in Kyrgyzstan, there’s no way to get to Kol Tor entirely on public transport. The closest possibility is to take a minibus from Bishkek’s East Bus Station to the village of Kegeti, getting off at the turn into Kegety Valley just before the bus turns into the gravel road that ends at Kegeti village, but this is still about 11km of walking or hitching to get to the turnoff for Kichi Kegety and 4km further from the turnoff to the small parking lot and yurt camp at the trailhead. Organizations like the Trekking Union occasionally run group tours here, or you can contact a local tour operator like Feel Nomad to arrange a private driver and guide for you.

Where to Stay and Eat

Kol Tor Lake is close enough to Bishkek to visit as a daytrip, there are several overnight options. The far side of the lake has a wide open area beyond the stream that’s great for camping, especially if you can spend another day to explore further up the valley. The whole area surrounding Kol Tor can get quite windy, however, so do stake your tent securely.

Along the road to Kol Tor about 1km before the parking lot and trailhead is the Kegety Tour guesthouse, which charges from 1500 som per person for accommodation and three meals. Finally, as of summer 2020, a new guesthouse was being built right at the trailhead – however we haven’t been back yet to determine quality or price.