During our travels around Kyrgyzstan, the route from Bishkek to Osh was spectacular and awful at the same time. It is the longest route, most tourist will ever take on in the country and it is not easy to organize. The effort is well worth it, though. The views along the way are some of the best in the entire country, with the road winding through remote valleys and crossing spectacular high mountain passes.

In this guide I will show you how to do the hard part: organizing the journey. I will show you the different options and give you a clear guide for each with statistics and personal recommendations. Feel free to combine this itinerary with a more adventures in Kyrgyzstan like hiking and horseback riding.

Flying

Flying is the easiest option to go from Bishkek to Osh. There are a couple of flights each day, mostly in the afternoon and evening operated by several different airlines. The flight is short typically using A-320 aircraft. The upside here are the huge time savings, as you do not have to spend an entire day slowly traversing the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. You can explore Bishkek by day and arrive in Osh for dinner. In addition, it is way more comfortable than the other two options, with no hot stuffy air, crammed spaces or sleepless nights. If you have the money and seek comfort, then definitely choose the aircraft.

If you are booking just a couple of days in advance, expect to pay around 60€. Plan further ahead and prices drop to about 40€. All prices are excluding luggage fees of course.

However, by taking the plane you miss out on so much as well, as you do not get to enjoy the same views, you would get to enjoy from the road. Your climate footprint is also much higher compared to the bus and the taxi, making it less than ideal for environmentally- and budget-conscious travelers.

Travelling Overland

By Cargo Bus

If you want to take this option, go to the Kerben section of the Dordoi Market. The busses depart between 4 and 6 pm, so I would recommend you arrive around 3:30 pm to secure a seat. A swarm of drivers will be there yelling their destinations. Follow the driver going to Osh and choose a bunk. The „Cargo Bus“ is more like a minibus with sleeping berths and a cargo hold to transport larger items, so do not imagine an overnight sleeper experience like for example in Vietnam.

There are several of these busses going to Osh each day departing once they are full. The entire area seems really chaotic, as it is located basically inside of a giant market. The upside is that you can get something to eat there before departing. The price has to be negotiated of course, with other travelers we met paying 1200-1400 SOM for the trip.

The bus is the cheapest option, yet in my opinion only worth it, if you are traveling on a budget and do not have the time to spend and entire day on the road. The obvious downside here is that you cannot enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way, as it will be dark for most of the journey. Furthermore, safety and cleanliness will be something to think about. I also cannot imagine to sleep in there, as the mountain roads can be quite rough from time to time and drivers are going well above the speed limit whenever they can.

The bus arrives in the morning and will drop you off at Osh Autovokzal (the main departure point for busses going north) or in the city if you are lucky. Both bus stations in Bishkek and Osh require a taxi to get there, but it should only cost around 2-4€. I recommend using YandexGO instead of negotiating with the drivers, as you will get cheaper prices that way.

By Taxi

In order to take the taxi to Osh, you will have to go to the southern end of the Osh Bazaar in Bishkek. It is recommended to arrive as early as possible, because there are only a couple of taxis going each day and when they are full, they will leave. We arrived by 9:30 am, which was quite late and learned that 3 taxis had already departed with only one left. After buying seats and sitting down to wait for our departure we found out, that not many people were trying to go to Osh at that time of the day anymore so it took quite long to fill up. We finally left by 11 am.

My best guess from what we saw would be to arrive by 7 am with a taxi from the city center (1-2€) and take an earlier car, as our late departure meant, that we arrived late at night around 10 pm in Osh. Negotiate prices well as with all taxi journeys in Kyrgyzstan.

From my perspective the taxi is clearly the best option if you want to see as much as possible of Kyrgyzstan. You have the entire day to enjoy changing sceneries of mountain ranges, deep valleys and blue lakes shimmering in the sun. In addition to that, during your stops along the way, restaurants and shops will actually be open, which means you do not have to carry all your food for the journey with you from Bishkek.

The downsides though are similar to the Cargo Bus, but with less space. Especially if you’re unlucky enough to sit in the back seats, 11 hours in there can feel pretty miserable. I therefore recommend buying the front seat for the best experience and the best views. Those seats cost slightly more but trust me it is worth it. The taxi will drop you off at the Osh Autovokzal, from which you can take a taxi with YandexGO for around 2€ into town.

Facts about the journey

Overnight stops

If you feel like the journey from Bishkek to Osh in one day is too long for you, you can easily break it up into two sections. Your best option to do this is in Toktogul. Here, there are several guesthouses available to be booked online. There are also taxis coming through, which will take you further to Osh, so you will not be stranded there.

Your other options are already towns near Osh. Bazar-Korgon is ideal if you intend to go to Arslanbob the next day. From the local bus station, there are taxis going up into the mountains frequently allowing for an easy journey up to Arslanbob without the unnecessary detour to Osh. I also included Dschalal-Abat here, as it is close to Bazar-Korgon and it is easier to find accommodation here. Both towns do not offer much themselves, but they will save you 1-2 hours to Osh and back if you want to reach Arslanbob.

Sary-Chelek and Arslanbob

If your actual goal is to travel to Arslanbob, then you are lucky. You can get off at Bazar-Korgon or Dschalal-Abat as mentioned above and travel there by local shared taxi. Taking the night bus, this option works perfectly, as you will reach the village before noon, allowing for a full day of exploring the nature surrounding it.

On the other hand, if your final destination is Sary-Chelek you are definitely out of luck taking the taxi during the day, as your only option will be to go to Osh first and then take another shared taxi the next day back the way you came. If you take the Cargo Bus though, you have the possibility to get off in Tashkömür and take a short taxi to the local bus station. There, you can change onto the taxi going to Sary-Chelek. This change in Tashkömür saves you hours of driving to Osh and back. If the Cargo Bus is late though, do not get off, as the onward taxi might have left already and there is no accomodation in Tasgkömür itself.