Kyrgyzstan🇰🇬A hike to a hot spring, crossing an overflooded river

In Karakol, which was supposed to be a charming mountain village but ended up being a perfectly structured grid of 8-lane asphalt roads with Soviet apartment buildings in between, I had my first, albeit unsuccessful, hope that my weather app was still asleep when it predicted three days of rain. This was so unusual that it made the news, and the mountain stream had no idea how to contain all the water between its two banks.

After a full day of hiking in the rain and crossing overflowing rivers, a soothing hot spring awaited at a mountain hut with a few stranded hikers. The next day, despite the rain, I continued my journey down the valley, where a mushroom-picking family proudly showed off their harvest of the day and invited me for lunch before dropping me off at my hostel, half an hour’s drive away. The people here are incredibly hospitable and friendly.

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