Bishkek Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus & shared taxi

The west (zapadny) or long-distance bus station is the place for catching long-distance buses and shared taxis; get there via bus 7 on Kiev, bus 35 or 48 or minibus 113 or 114 from Jibek Jolu, or trolleybus 5 on Manas.

Prowling around the periphery of the bus station are the shared-taxi and private-car drivers, poised to pounce the moment they spy you. Battle past the drivers to the cheaper, but less comfortable, long-distance minibuses. Further still is the near-empty terminal and what remains of the country’s bus network.

On the bus station’s upper floor are 21 ticket booths, all closed bar one and the station’s only English sign – ‘The disables [sic] soldiers and participants in the Great Patriotic War are served in the first place’. There’s an information office next to counter 21 and a 24-hour exchange here too. Don’t trust the schedule board.

Morning buses depart to Karakol (195som, 8½ hours) stopping at Cholpon-Ata (130som) and most places in between. There is sometimes a single daily bus to Naryn (175som) and At-Bashy (195som) at 7am. Other infrequent destinations include Kochkor (125som), Bokonbayevo (130som) and Almaty in Kazakhstan (250som). The bus to Tashkent in Uzbekistan (285som) requires a Kazakh transit visa.

The private minivans offer better value or, to ride in comfort, wedge yourself into a shared taxi. To hire the whole car, offer to pay for all four seats.

Minivans and shared taxis leave when full throughout the day. Prices fluctuate with petrol costs and seasonal variations. The per seat fares for minibuses/shared taxis include: Karakol (250/400som), Cholpon-Ata (150/300som), Kochkor (200/250som to 300som), Naryn (250/350som to 450som), At-Bashy (300/450som), Bokonbayevo (200/250 som to 300som), Tamchy (150/250som to 300som), Balykchy (120/200som) and a seat to Almaty in a minivan is 250som.

For Osh, ramshackle minibuses (600som) and private cars (600som to 1200som) leave from here and at the Osh Bazaar bus stand. The trip takes around 15 hours depending on the road and vehicle.

The Osh Bazaar bus stand also has local buses to destinations west such as Sokuluk, Tash-Bulak, Kashka-Suu and Chong-Tash. Buses 160, 169 and 177 go several times a day to Kashka-Suu, for Ala-Archa National Park; inquire at the ticket office at the entrance to the bus stand.

The east (vastotshny avtovaksal) bus station is for regional points east such as Kant, Tokmak, Chong-Kemin, Kemin, Kegeti and Issyk-Ata.

Train

Trains 17 and 27 run four times a week from Bishkek to Moscow (from 3900som) via Almaty. It is also possible to travel to Tashkent by rail but all trains pass through Kazakhstan.

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Air

For spectacular trips by Yak-40, between the mountain tops and the clouds to Fergana Valley try one of the following national carriers.Air Company Kyrgyzstan (AC Kyrgyzstan, formerly Altyn Air; 54 58 15; www.altynair.kg; Mira 95) flies several times a day to Osh (US$40 to US$50), twice weekly to Batken (US$48) and thrice weekly to Jalal-Abad (US$40 to US$50). Esen Air (66 34 82; esenair@yandex.ru; Chuy 130) flies every Thursday and Sunday to Ürümqi, China (US$182) via Osh (US$50).

Kyrgyzstan Airlines (62 21 23; Soviet 129) flies to Jalal-Abad and Osh daily. Both cost between US$40 and US$50.

Airline offices

The following international airline offices in Bishkek are useful for reconfirming or changing dates of an existing flight but are not the cheapest places to book international tickets:

Aeroflot (62 09 76; Moskva 121)

British Airways (66 09 00; fax 66 08 68; Toktogul 93)

China Southern (formerly Xinjiang Airlines;66 46 68; Chuy128/3) Can book Ürümqi–Kashgar tickets.

KLM – Royal Dutch Airlines (66 15 00; fax 66 34 50; Toktogul 93)

Lufthansa (66 56 00; Hyatt Regency, Soviet 19)

Turkish Airlines (66 00 08; thyfru@elcat.kg; Soviet 136, cnr Bokonbayevo)

Uzbekistan Airways (21 48 63; uzb-air@elcat.kg; Kiev 107)

For booking airline tickets see Kyrgyz Concept, Central Asia Tourism or Galvtour.

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