Alay Valley

The Alay is a wide flat valley at about 3,000 metres running east to west between the Alay range and the Trans-Alay, and its distinction is the view south: a continuous wall of ice and rock along the Trans-Alay with Peak Lenin at 7,134 metres in the middle of it, visible in full from the valley floor on a clear morning. The valley is grazing country, with Kyrgyz herders keeping yaks, sheep and horses through the summer and yurt camps taking guests. The Pamir Highway crosses it on the way to Tajikistan, which brings cyclists and overlanders through. Villages such as Sary-Mogol and Sary-Tash are the bases, offering homestays, horse hire and transport to the Peak Lenin base camps.

What you actually see

• The Trans-Alay wall - a horizon of ice with Peak Lenin at its centre.
• Yak and horse herds - summer grazing across the valley floor.
• Yurt camps - seasonal accommodation on the pastures.
• The Pamir Highway - the road running through toward Tajikistan.

When to go

June to September. July and August are the settled months; snow can fall in any of them at 3,000 metres. The road over the passes from Osh closes in winter storms and the valley empties.

Honest expectations

Altitude is felt immediately and nights are freezing year round. Accommodation is homestays and yurts with outdoor toilets and no showers in most. Weather hides the mountains for days at a time. Border zone rules apply near the Tajik and Chinese frontiers.

Nearby

Tulpar-Köl and Peak Lenin lie south; Sary-Tash is the crossroads village.