Elisha
Tucked away in an obscured valley in the Jalal-Abad region of western Kyrgyzstan is the village of Arslanbob. While only sitting at 1,500m (comparatively low for Kyrgyzstan standards), the valley is flanked by the towering, jagged peaks of the Babash Ata Mountains, or sometimes referred to as Baba Atash Mountains.
Known for its famous walnut forest, the village impresses with much more than that, with stunning nature, a unique culture, and plenty of outdoor activities. While some people simply skip the valley on their way to and from Osh, those that make the effort are rewarded with somewhere that is distinctly different to other villages in Kyrgyzstan.
The mostly Uzbek residents are incredibly warm and welcoming, and the lush forest that surrounds the area, is something of a luxury compared to the more arid landscapes of central and western Kyrgyzstan.
After visiting Arslanbob from Osh in my final week in the country, I was looking for somewhere to slow day and soak in the fresh mountain air. What I found was much than that. In this guide, I’m going to detail everything you need to know about visiting Arslanbob, including where to stay, how to get there, and what to do.
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Why Visit Arslanbob
If you’ve heard of Arslanbob then it’s likely because of walnuts. The valley is home to the world’s largest walnut forest, estimated to be millions of years old. Every autumn, local families disperse into the forest to collect the walnuts, most of which are exported, but some do remain for local sale and to be made into oil.
The fertile lands of the valley also grow many other fruits and nuts, including apricots, apples, and plums. Local produce is mostly consumed within the village, and staying at a local guesthouse means you’ll be treated to all the homegrown crops and traditional meals.
It’s not just the walnuts and delicious fruits that draw people to the valley though. The natural beauty from the tumbling waterfalls to the jagged mountain peaks towering above, make it a beautiful corner of the country that feels a world away from the bustling city of Osh.
A stay in Arslanbob is a nature escape for those in Osh, but also a cultural immersion. The local ethnic Uzbeks of the Arslanbob valley have inhabited the region long before border lines were drawn with nearby Uzbekistan. They are welcoming to visitors, with plenty of guesthouses opening their doors, eager to host foreigners and show them their slice of natural paradise.
It’s easy to skip Arslanbob on your Kyrgyzstan itinerary, if you’re in a rush to get to Osh and the border. However, if you have the time and patience for the long marshrutka ride, I highly recommend at least a couple of days in the village. You’ll be rewarded with hikes to waterfalls, delicious Uzbek plov (a traditional dish), an insight into rural life, and a peaceful serenity that is only occasionally disturbed by an old Lada rumbling up the steep roads.
When to Visit Arslanbob
Arslanbob is one of a few mountainous places that you can visit all year round in Kyrgyzstan. The village itself sits at an elevation of 1,500m, which is much lower than other popular destinations in the country.
While it certainly sees snow and cold temperatures in the winter (enough for skiing on the slopes), it’s a bit more mild than other parts and the village remains quite liveable. Still, the best time to visit Arslanbob is spring, summer and autumn, when you’ll more likely be able to explore the area with ease.
Autumn is walnut harvesting time, and you’ll see people out collecting walnuts in the surrounding forest from the end of September into October. However, for those looking for trekking or horse riding, it’s best to aim for the summer months between May and September, when the higher passes are cleared of snow.
I was there towards the end of September, and the walnuts were starting to be collected by some families and the leaves were slowly changing to orange. A little later in the season, and it would’ve been a beautiful sight for fall foliage, but the temperatures had already noticeably dropped. Pack layers!
How to Get to Arslanbob
Arslanbob is a nice place to add to your itinerary to break up the journey between Bishkek and Osh. If you’re coming from Bishkek, it will still be a long journey, but it allows you to see a different part of the country before reaching the big city of the south.
Otherwise, if you’re already in Osh, it’s a convenient place to head for a couple of days for mountain air and to have a break from the chaos of the border town. Here’s how to reach Arslanbob by public transport:
From Bishkek to Arslanbob
There is a temporary bus station for transport to Tashkent and Osh from Bishkek operating from this parking area here. It’s at least 1.5 hours west of Bishkek, so ensure you allow enough time to reach it. Take a Yandex for 500 som or public bus #13 will bring you there eventually, which costs 30 som.
From there, you’ll find marshrutkas (shared minivans) heading for Osh, where you can get off in Jalal-Abad (to change for Arslanbob). They leave early in the morning, from 6am onwards, so arrive early. It costs around 1200 for a seat to Osh (they’ll likely charge you for Osh even if you get off in Jalal-Abad).
From Jalal-Abad, there are plenty of marshrutkas heading for Bazar Korgen and then Arslanbob. Altogether, this will take 12 hours or more, so be prepared for a long day.
Read more: 10 Best Things to Do in Bishkek
From Osh to Arslanbob
The most convenient way to reach Arslanbob from Osh is to take the direct marshrutka from the main bus station. It only leaves once per day at 2pm, so ensure you arrive at least an hour before so you can get a seat (it leaves when full). Tickets can be bought at the counter in Osh Bus Station (Avtovokzal). It costs 370 som and takes about four hours.
If you want to leave at a more flexible time, you’ll have to contend with changing marshrutkas a few times. But it’s easy to do. From Osh, jump on a marshrutka heading for Jalal-Abad, which leave consistently all day. It will cost 220 som and take about 2 hours.
From Jalal-Abad, you can take another marshrutka to Bazar Korgen for 60 som, which takes about 1 hour. Finally, marshrutkas to Arslanbob leave frequently from there for 100 som, taking about 2 hours, depending on stops.
Where to Stay in Arslanbob
Accommodation in Arslanbob is mostly confined to family guesthouses. But this is one of the highlights of visiting the village, as you really get an insight into local life by spending a few nights with a family.
The CBT (Community-Based Tourism) Office in Arslanbob has several guesthouses that they support and recommend. Most are family homes in the village, where they supply a room, bathroom, and meals. Although, you can also find plenty of other guesthouses that have popped up in the last few years on Booking.com.
I stayed at Ibrahim Guesthouse, one of the original CBT recommended guesthouses, and I truly am so grateful I found it on Google Maps. Ibrahim is a former school teacher, so he speaks fluent English and German, and is an absolute wealth of knowledge about the area.
His family gave me a very warm welcome, cooked me meals, and he was able to answer any questions I had about the village. Plus, his new guesthouse building has nice rooms, with a shared bathroom, and incredible views of the mountains. I stayed four nights there, and it was a perfect mix of hiking and relaxing. There were also other travellers staying there too, which meant I could chat with them at breakfast and dinner.
He’s not on Booking.com, but you can contact him through WhatsApp on +966 777 733 056 to make a booking or ask questions. He can also help recommend hikes and organise horse treks.
Where to Eat in Arslanbob
The best place to get a meal is at your homestay or guesthouse. Usually, prices are negotiated to include breakfast and dinner with your room. But if you’d like to eat out, there are a few small restaurants near the main market, opposite where the marshrutkas leave from in the village.
Best Things to Do in Arslanbob
While most people have heard about the walnut forest that Arslanbob is so famous for, there’s also plenty of beautiful nature to explore. Nature is very accessible from Arslanbob, so you can easily head off on short walks and still experience some of the beauty. But there’s also multi-day adventures available for those who want to get off the beaten path as well.
The best way to get more information on the activities in the village is at the CBT Office in Arslanbob, just up from the market. The staff there speak English and can help with any queries or tours. You can also rely on your guesthouse owner too, they are usually a wealth of information, at least that was my experience at Ibrahim’s place.
I highly recommend downloading Maps.Me app and downloading the offline map for Kyrgyzstan. The trails are very accurate on there, and it’s the best way to figure out how to reach the small waterfall, the walnut forest and other places around the village. There are local trails going everywhere, so it’s easy to lose your way without a map.
After five days in the village, here’s the best things to do in Arslanbob:
Visit the Small Waterfall
Probably the easiest attraction to see in Arslanbob is what is known simply as the “small waterfall”. But I would argue it’s not really that small. It’s become a popular local tourist spot, and now has lots of little market stalls and souvenir shops on the way, plus several viewing platforms with photo stops. It was the only time in Kyrgyzstan that I saw such a tourist-oriented set up for an attraction, so it was quite surprising.
You can walk down some stairs to reach the bottom of the waterfall too. I recommend going in the morning before the day trippers and local tourists visit, and I’d avoid the weekend when many Kyrgyz people from Osh come to visit.
Walk Through the Walnut Forests
After the small waterfall, you can wander further up into the forest from there and into the famed walnut forest. It’s a beautiful place to find some shade, and admire the walnut trees, some of which are estimated to be around 1,000 years old, that make this part of the world so well-known.
In autumn, the walnut picking season is in full swing, and you’ll likely see many locals collecting walnuts in the forest. This is a really interesting time to visit and get involved with the local families. I was there just at the beginning of the harvest, so I only saw a few men collecting walnuts, but October is usually when the most activity is going on in the forest.
Hike up to the Big Waterfall
For a longer day hike, you can reach what is known as the Big Waterfall. This is a moderate 10km return walk from the village to a lookout spot from where you can admire the tall waterfall from.
It’s quite straightforward, as you simply need to follow the main road heading up from the centre of the village (where the market and marshrutka stop is) towards the mountains. It’s entirely uphill for 5km, but you’ll be walking along the road for the first part, which is quite easy.
You’ll see the big waterfall ahead of you for most of the way. The road eventually ends into a dirt path that leads to an entrance gate. In the summer months, you need to pay an entrance fee of around 50 som. However, when I was there in September, it was unmanned and free.
From there, it gets more serious with a 30-minute uphill walk on a rocky path zig zagging to the viewpoint of the waterfall. There is no sign for this path, so look out for it heading off to the right.
At the top, you can enjoy a nice view of the 80-metre long waterfall though the gorge and also back down towards the village and valley of Arslanbob. Return the same way, but be careful walking down the steep trail to the entrance gate as the gravel and rocks can be slippery.
Sunset at Panorama Point
There is a “panorama viewpoint” spot not far above the small waterfall on the edge of the cliffs. You can reach it by walking around from the small waterfall and up on a road, although it’s not easily signposted, so follow the trails on Maps.Me.
There is a proper viewing area there to enjoy the panorama of the village, valley and mountains in the background. You can also reach the walnut forest from this viewpoint if you continue around on the trail.
This is a really nice place to be in the afternoon, when you can see the golden light coming through the valley and hitting the mountain peaks.
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Walk Around the Village and Market
It’s always a good idea to simply walk around the village to explore more of the local life. While some of the streets are steep, you’ll find so much insight in just wandering past people’s homes, browsing the market, and chatting to locals. You’ll find a combination of shy smiles and openly friendly faces, but the kids will likely always say hi.
Hike Up to the Panorama Lookout and Agricultural Fields
I haven’t seen this hike really publicised elsewhere online, but Ibrahim recommended it to me and it was really enjoyable. He dropped me just down from the local market area in his old Lada, but you could easily walk.
From there, I crossed a bridge and headed straight up a steep switchback path, only wide enough for those on foot. Two boys on a donkey were just in front and ended up showing me the way to the top. It was a bit of a slog, but the view back down to the valley was nice through the trees.
At the top, I said goodbye to my little friends and headed right along a dirt road that ran parallel to the escarpment, passing farms, crops, and sheds along the way. People were friendly enough to give me a wave, but I don’t suspect that they see many hikers coming through.
I continued until I came to a four-way intersection. Turning right, the road headed back down the escarpment to the village. Just before the road started to descend, I found a faint trail leading through the bushes and out to a little vantage point overlooking the entire valley (pictured below). Without Maps.Me I certainly wouldn’t have found it!
From there, I went back to the road and walked it steeply down, with only a few vehicles passing me. Once back at the village outskirts it was a much flatter walk back into the market area, to where I could easily make my way back to the guesthouse.
It was a very nice circuit, but I highly recommend having Maps.me downloaded and some local advice before heading out.
Horse Riding and Trekking From Arslanbob
There are several horse rides, multi-day horse treks, and hikes that start in the village and explore the surrounding Babash Ata mountains. The most common one is a loop to Holy Lake.
On foot, the trek usually lasts 4 days and reaches a maximum elevation of 3,670m. There are several mountain passes to contend with, meaning you’ll need a good level of fitness to complete it.
On horseback, you can complete the trek in 3 days, which differs slightly from the route taken by hikers, but you still get to see the alpine lakes.
There are no yurts set up in the mountains around Arslanbob, so you’ll need full camping gear and food as well. To arrange either of these trips, you’ll also need a local guide to accompany you. You can contact CBT Arslanbob or Destination Jalal-Abad for more information. Ibrahim at Ibrahim Guesthouse in Arslanbob can also arrange these trips for you.
Other Things to Know About Visiting Arslanbob
- Arslanbob is a conservative community, so it’s recommended to dress modestly around the village and at your guesthouse
- Bring enough cash with you, because the ATM in town is not reliable
- While some guesthouses advertise Wi-Fi, I didn’t find it to work very well at all. Phone reception does work for some carriers, I had Beeline and the 4G worked well enough
- Bring snacks with you from Osh or Bishkek, as there are no supermarkets in the village and you may not always find reliable lunch available at the restaurants
- The village is built into a valley with steep slopes either side, so you’ll likely have to walk up and down to reach the main road from your guesthouse (you can arrange a pickup with your guesthouse if you’re carrying heavy luggage, but otherwise expect to walk a lot of hills)
- It’s significantly cooler in Arslanbob than in Osh, so bring layers, especially for the evenings
Is Arslanbob Worth Visiting?
While I heard mixed reviews from other travellers about Arslanbob, I really enjoyed my time there and think it was certainly worth my time to visit and explore this part of Kyrgystan. However, I understand that if you’re really short on time in the country, it might not be high on your priority list of destinations.
If you’re planning on heading to Osh though, then I think it’s certainly worth adding a few extra days on to do a side trip to Arslanbob. The village certainly gave me an incredible insight into local life that was a bit different to other corners of the country.
Exploring More of Kyrgyzstan?
- Sary Mogul: Guide to Hiking Travellers Pass and Tulpar Lakes
- Bishkek: 10 Best Things to Do in Bishkek
- Issyk Kul: How to Get From Bishkek to Karakol and Exploring Issyk Kul
- Karakol: 15 Best Things to Do in Karakol
- Train Travel: How to Take the Train From Bishkek to Issyk Kul
- Ala Kul Trek: Complete Guide to the Ala Kul Trek
- Jyrgalan: Essential Guide to Visiting Jyrgalan Valley
- Horse Trekking: Guide to Horse Trekking to Song Kul Lake
- Kol Ukok: An Essential Guide to Kol Ukok Lake Near Kochkor
- eSIM: Which SIM Card Should You Buy for Kyrgyzstan?
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