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.

Turbazas, or ’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 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 Ministry of Tourism or Regent Holidays (see Contact Addresses).