How to cross from Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan from Karakol to Kegen (the Kegen border)
- Jordan Sinclair
- Apr 28
- 5 min read
For our 3 week itinerary through Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, it made sense for us to cross the border at the Kegen border crossing, as we had started our trip in Bishkek, travelled along the southern shore to Karakol and were departing from Almaty. However, we struggled to find much information online about how to do this, so we are sharing our experience here, in the hope it will help you plan your border crossing!
Logistics
The border is now open year round 24/7 (until 2025, it was only open for restricted times and only during certain months of the year.
Previously, E-visas were not accepted at this border. It now seems that they are, but I would advise checking with locals eg. your accomodation hosts or driver for up to date information at the time - you don't want to be turned away. We didn't require visas so this was not an issue and passport checks were quick and straightforward.
Kegen Border Options
Public transport - at the time we visited, there was not any public transport that would take you over the border from Karakol into Kazakhstan.
Update: As of September 2025, there is now a bus that runs from Karakol to Almaty via the Kegen border crossing, and takes around 7 hours depending on how long border checks take. It leaves Karakol at 10am but you can only secure tickets in person from the bus station on the morning you intend to depart. Tickets cost around £10 pp. It’s advisable to arrive early to ensure you get a ticket, but if you don't want to risk it and need to travel on a particular day, then one of the other options might be more suitable.
Private driver - one way journey from Karakol to Almaty, with or without stops at popular sites. This is what we did (read more below)
Taxi - In theory you could take a taxi to the border from Karakol (but it’s likely to be costly - the journey takes 1.5-2 hours). But the crossing is still about 30 minutes drive from the nearest town on the Kazakh side, Kegen, and there are no taxi’s waiting as the border crossing is pretty remote. So you’d have to rely on being able to hitch an onward ride.
Hitchhiking - I found that some travellers had managed to hitchhike either side of the border and organise onward travel from Kegen, but it sounded tricky and unreliable, even with hitchhiking being so prevalent and safe in Kyrgyzstan.
Multi-day private tour - these tours included overnight stays along the way to Almaty, but we found them to be out of our budget.
We opted for a driver with stops at the lakes and Charyn Canyon. We booked through Kyrgyz Wow Travel - the driver picked us up from our guesthouse in Karakol, and drove us through border control to Almaty, making pit stops for lunch, at Kolsai lake, Kaindy lake, and Charyn Canyon en route. We were able to split this journey with another couple (so there were 4 of us in total, plus the driver), which brought the cost down to £65 pp. (More details below).
The other option is to head back to Bishkek and enter Kazakhstan via the Korday / Ak-Zhol border crossing.
Karakol → Bishkek options:
Marshutkra from Karakol to Bishkek - takes 6-7 hours for the full journey. Or you could break this up by stopping off at Cholpon-Alta, a popular holiday town on the northern shore of Issyk-Kul.
Bus from Karakol to Bishkek - GoBus has an overnight bus service.
If you had hired a car for your travels in Kyrgyzstan, drive back to Bishkek via the northern shore of Issyk-Kul.
Bishkek → Almaty options:
Bus from Bishkek to Almaty. The bus goes to the border, then you have to change onto a different bus to continue onto Almaty. Journey time is around 5 hrs.
Fly from Bishkek to Almaty
Our experience
Private driver for group of 4 from Karakol to Almaty with stops along the way for sightseeing.
Although there is now a public bus option, if you’re short on time, this is still a great option as it maximises you time and breaks up the journey with some beautiful sights, rather than just sitting on a bus for several hours.
Cost: £65 per person (in Aug 2025 - note price may have changed since then).
Duration: about 14 hours in total. If we had left earlier, we would have spent more time at Charyn Canyon and it probably would have been around 16-17 hours.
Stops: Saty for lunch, Kolsai Lake, Kaindy Lake, Charyn Canyon, pit stop for toilet/snacks, Almaty.
Cash: Exchange money to get some Tenge (Kazakh currency) before leaving Karakol - you will need cash to pay for lunch in Saty, and there aren’t any cash machines there.
Operator: booked through Kyrgyz Wow Travel (details below).
Early start
This was a big day, and we definitely should have set off earlier. We left Karakol at 9.30am but our driver explained that it would have been better to set off earlier (alas - hindsight). So if you opt for this, I would recommend setting off at 7am or earlier.
Kolsai lake
This is very beautiful but extremely busy with tourists. We only stopped here for about 30 minutes so didn’t have time to explore much, If you were to come back here on a day trip or have longer to spend here, there is a boardwalk down to the shore and boat rides across the lake, as well as a number of restaurants.
Kaindy lake
Kaindy is much more secluded - access involves a crazy bumpy road (do not attempt if you’ve hired a car), up to the car park, then a ride in a soviet army truck to get to the start of the trail. We then hiked down to the lake, which was worth the effort - the “sunken forest” rising from the water surface is surreal and unlike anything I’d seen before.
Charyn Canyon
Unfortunately, we arrived here just as the sun was setting, so were not able to fully appreciate it, although there was a beautiful sunset. We made the decision to come back another day to explore further (and we were so glad that we did - you can easily spend a few hours here).
We finally arrived at our hotel around 11pm. Ultimately, I was still happy with our choice of route, and the decision to return to Charyn Canyon on another day to have more time there.
Summary
This was well worth the cost, but we definitely would have started the day earlier. We found this to be the more cost effective option compared to a multi-day tour, and most reliable without having to be potentially stuck in remote towns trying to hitchhike. Ultimately, we're happy that we opted for the driver.
However, if you’re going to explore both the northern and southern shore of Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan, then it may make more sense to do that in a circle and take the bus from Bishkek, across the Korday border to Almaty. It all depends on your itinerary and time limitations.
How to book
Contact Azema at Kyrgyz Wow Travel through instagram or WhatsApp and quote promo code #spendlesstravelmore to book the same trip we did.
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