Kel Suu | One day trip to mesmerizing alpine lake

Hello! In this video we will be exploring a hidden gem of Kyrgyzstan Kel-Suu lake (also known as Köl-Suu, Köl-Tetiri). It is located at 3514 m elevation in At-Bashy District of Naryn Region of southeastern Kyrgyzstan, next to Chinese border.

Kel Suu Lake is isolated and far from any kind of civilization, there's no mobile network or any buildings and public transports.

To access Kel Suu Lake and its magic, you’ll have to obtain a border permit. The lake is situated only three summits away from the Chinese border; hence there are several military posts that you’ll have to pass before accessing this little piece of heaven. You’ll have to show your passport and a border permit. The letter needs to be obtained in advance; it takes a few days, so make sure you plan your trip and to check the correctness of your documents. Otherwise you might have a little problem like my friend did and stuck in the middle of nowhere. Luckily we faced the most kind people at checkpoint they let my friend go but not right away.

Where to stay? There are a lot of yurt camps and they offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. Water we've brought with us since they can offer local spring water but one can never be totally sure about it. We had also some snacks with us since we had lunch at the Kel-Suu.

The best time to visit the lake starting from July till the end of September. There might even fall snow due to very high elevation. We faced only a little rain on our way back to yurt camp. People who came for 20 minutes later than us were claiming that there was heavy rain with hail at mountains. So pack your proper clothes for hiking.

We visited the lake with (instagram: @freerun) travel company there are several tours on instagram like @in_tourist and @hiking.club they organize 2 day or 3 day tours to Kel-Suu lake. They organize from transport till yurt camps even the border permits.

P.S. There was another incident with 4 girls from our trip. They rent horses and all of them fell off from the horse and got injuries. One of them even got a concussion and they had to go to the hospital immediately. The nearest town is 80 kilometers away off-road so it was hard for them to reach. Please be careful if you are planning to ride a horse there might be different situations like this.