the road between Kochkor and Song-Kul

There’s not much to see on the drive between Kochkor and Song Kul.

Maybe some quirky things, like an old water tank that’s been painted and converted into some sort of shop or house. (And the cluster of Uzbek brothels, no photos of those.)

Eventually the scenery starts to change and the car becomes a bit more vertical.

Now we’re in line with the snow-capped mountaintops.

Now we’re driving much more slowly over the highest point of the mountain pass (about 3800 meters, 12,500 feet), delicately avoiding potholes and the edge of the road, hidden by piles of snow.

Honestly, snow? It’s September. Although, considering I won’t be in Kyrgyzstan this winter, it’s nice to witness the fresh snow (and frolicking horses, cute!) before I leave in November.

Apparently those old Soviet cars are tough enough for the mountain pass (we were in a minivan), although we still have to drive through a (small) river to make it to our yurt camp.

(I wonder if the people in that house have to deal with many people who get stuck in the river.) Luckily, we cross it successfully and soon arrive at our site.