From Toktogul to Kyzyl Oi: Offroad through the Kyrgyz Mountains

I lived in Kyrgyzstan for three years and did a lot of off-roading during that time. This track is one of my favorite ones. I guess it is also one of the lesser-known tracks. It leads you through an amazing landscape (although this is nothing special for Kyrgyzstan, as everything is spectacular). We drove this track in early August 2020 in an unmodified Landcruiser HZJ76 with all-terrain tires. Locals also drove it in... well... not 4*4 cars :-) You can drive the track with a big rig. The highest point is a mountain pass at around 3200m around 40km west of Kyzyl Oi.

When you come from Toktogul, you will first drive through a few villages on gravel roads. I don’t remember seeing any petrol station in any of the villages. We stopped in one of the villages to buy honey from locals. The last village is Toluk (Толук). After Toluk the track will become a bit more offroady. Between Toluk and Kyzyl Oi you will drive through many Jailoos (summer pastures). We “had” to stop once to share some vodka :-)

I guess the track is passable from May-September. The track is regularly used by locals in summer. There are sections between Toluk and Kyzyl Oi that can be a little muddy when it has been raining. In any case, there should always be someone not too far away that could help you if you get bogged. It is unlikely, but even during summer there could be snow on the mountain pass. If the mountain pass is blocked by snow, there is an alternative way: Coming from Toktogul, there is an “intersection” at a bridge where one track leads north towards Kyzyl Oi and another one south-east towards Kyzyl Korgon (Кызыл-Коргон). Therefore, if the mountain pass is blocked by snow, you can also opt going south-east.

You will always find stops to set up camp. However, I would recommend camping anywhere between Toluyk and Kyzyl Oi. I marked recommendations for (backcountry) camp sites as waypoints for this track. There are also backcountry camp sites marked on openstreetmap or iOverlander. You will almost all the time have water nearby.