Accommodation is limited outside the capital and visitors should not expect Western standards of comfort (although hotels are generally clean). Hotels charge considerably higher prices for individual tourists from non-CIS countries. Foreign tour operators booking for their clients are usually offered a preferential rate. Some hotels in more remote areas may still be wary of accepting foreigners travelling independently.

These ‘tourist bases’ are an alternative to hotel accommodation. For a dollar or two in local currency, visitors have access to basic bungalow accommodation and three meals a day. Homestays are also possible throughout the country as are stays in camps made of yurts – the traditional Kyrgyz nomadic tents.

Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the sanatoria on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul – originally built by cooperatives and trade unions for fatigued workers – have started to take in tourists, but the atmosphere may not be to everyone’s taste.

Various private companies run a number of camps for mountaineers attempting to climb the many peaks in Kyrgyzstan’s mountains. For further details, contact the State Committee for Tourism, Sport and Youth Policy or Regent Holidays (see Top Things To See & Do).