Kyrgyzstan: Ala-Archa National park to Ratsek Hut

Date: May 28th, 2026

After doing some research of top 3 day hikes in Bishkek, Ala-Archa National Park came on the top. There are so many hikes within the national park it was hard to pick but I ended up to do Ak-Sai waterfall which is 4kms from the trail head. And I have done twice the same hike just to stay in the Ratsek Hut.

Started early from the stay and took the public bus to the national park. It takes an hour and half from the city to get to the entrance of the national park and cost around 70 INR by bus. There is an entrance fee of 200INR and a free shuttle which takes you to the parking lot. Trail head is another 200 meters from there, it was 9AM sharp by the time I reached the trailhead.

The trailhead is at 2100m elevation and goes up to ~3400m at the Ratsek hut. Mostly it is a steep inclination hike with some sections where one goes downhill for few minutes. One will pass through small streams roughly an hour so carrying one litre bottle is fine.

As soon I started there are big warning signs not to proceed as there is construction going on. Initially there was an old lady whom I met told me that this hike is closed because of the construction so she was skeptic to continue. However, I told her it will be ok so she proceeded. With in 300 meters there is another big sign not to proceed further and at this point the lady dropped completely. She decided to do a easier river side trail in the park. So I was all alone from here on and up until the waterfall I have not spotted any fellow hikers that is for 2 hours.

I started following google maps and it goes through the wooded area in the beginning and later opens up. I got lost in the trail for about 30 minutes as the path was not clear and there was some main road being laid out which cuts through the trail. As I was all alone I was bit bummed and worried that I might get lost but did not give up. Upon slowly proceeding I was back on trail and was happy. Somehow with little persistence one achieve better results.

There is a forecast of rain at 1PM however, on this hike it was good weather, bright and sunny with cold breeze. The views are great with lots of pine trees on the other side of the mountain, but otherwise it is a mostly rocky mountains. After 3 kms I started seeing the Ak-sai waterfalls from the distance. The falls are not that heavy but beautiful to view and one can do some good picnic around the area. By the time I reached there there was no one and I was just alone enjoying the beauty of the nature. I reached around 11AM at the falls.

On the way to Ak-sai waterfalls I met couple of German hikers who are coming down the hill, and he motivated to go up to Rastek hut which I gave a thought but not totally decided. However, at the Ak-sai waterfalls I met a Old Japanese hiker who is planning to hike upto Rastek hut and I thought I might as well join him. He mentioned its only 35 minutes, then I realised it must be for him :). This guy walks way fast even on uphill, my downhill speed is slower than his uphill speed :(.

With lot of effort and multiple short breaks, started to climb up. Gravel road, loose sand road and big rocks kind of slowed me down but fortunately I did not back down. I made my mind that if I do not reach the hut by 1PM I would start back down as in the mountains weather could change any time. I was wearing two t-shirts with a padded jacket in the bag. It was not that cold but got windy once I reached at the hut.

I met the Japanese man who is having his snacks, and I decided to go inside the hut. It was cosy inside with couple of Russians operating the hut. Staying in the hut costs around 1000INR per day and lunch, breakfast, other stuff is extra. Since I already paid for the next 3 days at my stay in the Bishkek I decided I might come back again as I have good number of days in the country. After having my snacks which is usually assorted nuts and dried fruits, warmed myself, took some photos around the area and headed back down the trail.

Second time when I hiked I met local folks Yuri, Malik and another of their friend and it was so much fun hanging around with them and hiking.

While coming back I met few more hikers so thought they might be doing upto water fall hikes. I was there by 4:30PM by the time I am at the Bishkek city centre. Overall it was a great hike, completely exhausted, with sour legs so decided to take rest the next day. Cooked a big meal, chicken soup, just the two pieces of the chicken weighed almost 1 kilo :) when on my trip back for the first time.

Second time when I came I decided to stay 2 nights at the Ratsek Stay. There are lot of hikers who stay there for few days and you will meet interesting personalities there. If you plan to have peaceful night it wont be as there are people coming in and going out all the time. However, I did have some sleep for the next day hike. There are two rooms and each room has 14 beds side as shown in the picture. They provide sleeping bag for extra 800INR, I took for the first day but not for the second day as I didnt feel the need.