Altyn-Arashan — "Golden Spa" in Kyrgyz — is a high valley about 40 kilometres east of Karakol, and one of the most rewarding destinations in the whole Issyk-Kul region. The valley floor sits at around 2,500 metres and is hemmed in on three sides by peaks exceeding 4,000 metres, including the glacier-draped Palatka (Tent) Peak that closes off the head of the valley. A clear river runs the length of it, and in summer the meadows are grazed by horses and dotted with the felt yurts of herding families.
The valley takes its name from the hot springs that flow from the hillside at a steady temperature year-round and feed a handful of simple outdoor and indoor baths. After a long day on the trail, the combination of warm mineral water and a view straight up to snow is hard to beat. A cluster of basic guesthouses and yurt camps has grown up around the springs, most of them family-run, serving Kyrgyz staples — borscht, lagman, and bread baked in a wood-fired oven.
There are three ways in. You can drive the rough track up from the village of Ak-Suu by 4WD, an hour or more of bone-shaking switchbacks that is often impassable without one; you can walk in from Karakol over a long day; or you can arrive on foot as the final leg of the Ala-Kul circuit, dropping into the valley from the Ala-Kul pass. Most visitors stay at least one night, which is the right way to do it — the valley empties of day-trippers in the late afternoon and the silence that follows is part of the appeal.
Come prepared for mountain weather even in summer: nights are cold, the track can wash out after rain, and there is no reliable mobile signal once you leave Ak-Suu. Bring cash, as nowhere here takes cards.