When the passes open: a season guide to the mountains near Bishkek

Kyrgyzstan is a country where almost everything interesting sits above 1 000 metres, and the average elevation is around 2 750. Whether a route is open has very little to do with the calendar and a great deal to do with whether the snow has gone from that particular valley.

The difference is larger than visitors expect. In April Bishkek has apricot blossom and twenty degrees. At the same moment, the trail to Kol-Tor is under snow and not safe to walk.

All year, below about 2 000 m. Ala-Archa, Chonkurchak, Kegety and Burana. The roads are cleared and these valleys are genuinely good in winter — quieter, sharper, and with snow on the spruce.

From May. Alamedin and the lower trails. Green, empty, and the rivers running high with meltwater.

From mid-June. Kol-Tor and the other glacial lakes. Before that there is snow on the approaches and ice on the water.

Weather permitting, roughly May to September. Rafting needs the right water level; paragliding needs the right wind. Neither is a date you can fix months ahead with confidence.

All year, with a caveat. Issyk-Kul never freezes, so the lake and the canyons work in any season. Swimming is June to September.

September. The passes are still open, the air is clear after the summer haze, there are noticeably fewer people, and the light is better than at any other time of year. Late May is the runner-up for the lower valleys, when everything is green and nothing is crowded.

Mountain weather changes faster than any forecast. We keep an alternative in reserve for every weather-dependent tour, and we would gently suggest not booking a flight home for the morning after a long day out. A spare day costs less than a missed plane.