Prohibited driving zones in Kyrgyzstan

You’ve rented a car and are ready to discover Kyrgyzstan. Don’t forget to consult the local experts. Because the information you find online is not 100% reliable. In this article, we want to talk about mountain roads in Kyrgyzstan. Most of our car rental customers are equipped with online or paper maps. Sometimes, online or paper maps show you roads that are no longer passable. At the very least, you risk wasting time and leaving your rental car in the middle of nowhere.

Below is the case with our clients who took the road connecting the Chon Kemin valley to the town of Cholpon Ata. It was the Kok Ayrik pass at 3800m. The road is shown on both digital and paper maps. However, in reality, it has been impassable since 2010 (for at least 10 years). Our clients reached the pass from the Issyk Kul side, but the descent was impossible. In the end, they left the car at the top and walked down to Cholpon Ata.

Below, we have drawn on the map, where the car does not pass or the road is feasible by experienced drivers.

• Kok-Airyk pass – no road / error on the map
• Tong pass at 4000m (Tonskiy pass) – the road is not passable by car / error on the map. The government has begun reconstruction. You’ll need to find out more.
• Tosor pass, Burkhan pass – Passes require good 4×4 skills.
• Altyn Arashan Valley and Karakol Valley – These valleys are not covered by insurance. You can go there with your own 4×4 (a real 4×4 in high clearance). With our cars, you can’t go there. It’s better to go by Russian military 4×4, which you can organize in Karakol.
• The Chatyr Kol road (towards Kel-Suu from the Torugart pass) – Especially in July and August, river crossings are risky. Risk of flooding the rental car. Locals know the crossings, as this is their usual route. In spring and autumn, the road is passable if you are familiar with 4×4 vehicles.
• Lake Kel-Suu (after the yurt camp) – the 8km to the lake must be covered on foot or horseback, as the road is marshy. You need to know the way. The locals lead the way…
• Enilchek (after BC Maida-Adyr) – there are no bridges over the deep rivers.
• Karkara Valley (after base camp) – there are no bridges over deep rivers.

The car is flooded in the river of “Terek” in 2022, our insurance did not refund saying that the customer has guilty. Our customer changed the dates of his plane ticket and left Kyrgyzstan without meeting us.

A 4×4 is not a military tank that can go anywhere. It’s like a sniper’s rifle: in the right hands, it can go anywhere. If you don’t know your way around a 4×4, it’s best not to risk it. We wish you “SAFE Drive” in Kyrgyzstan.

Feel free to consult with KAGAN and welcome to Kyrgyzstan!