Stunning - Picturesque - Sensational - Majestic. Just a few of the inadequate words to describe the Kyrgyzstan landscape. Jagged snow capped peaks, skirted by lush green mountains. Small glaciers that morph into streams that empty into raging rivers. Wide green valleys dotted with yurts and the nomadic families who live here during summer tending their horses, sheep, cattle and goats. All in all it's a feast for the eyes and senses. We are heading deeper into the mountains and specifically to our yurt camp at Son Kul lake which is situated at 3016 metres. Along the way we have a picnic lunch by one of the many rivers which flow down from the mountains. The yurt camp is located on the shores of the lake. In every direction are snow covered mountains. It certainly is a magical part of the world. The yurts are very comfortable and well furnished. We have a great dinner and quite a bit of alcohol is consumed throughout the night. The star show ovehead is spectacular and a few of us attempt to get some good photos, with varying degrees of success. We start the next day with a 6km walk during which we visit one of the nomad familes for morning tea in their yurt. It seems like a tough life but for them it comes naturally. Children, dogs and their animals be it horses, cattle sheep or goats just seem to assimilate. The amazing thing is that their are no fences but the animals appear not to wander far from "home" and it seems that herds don't get mixed up. Almost as if the animals are aware of unmarked boundaries. After lunch we are treated to an exhibition of horse skills by he nomads. The first is a game called kok boru. The best analgy is a game of pole, except the "ball" is the headless carcass of a sheep. The aim is to pick up the carcass as they ride by it, weave their way through the opposition and then drop it on a mound of dirt to score. Its a rugged affair and we see 2 horses go down and 1 rider hobble away. The interchange bench is used frequently. After that they place a row of bank notes on the ground, spaced at about 2 metres. At almost a full gallop they lean over to grab a note off the ground. And finally there is wrestling on horseback. The aim is simple, pull your opponent off their horse! A very entertaining afternoon. The nights are quite cool here but the yurts have a coal heater in them which the staff light around 9pm. We also light the campfire and after dinner it's a great place to sit, listen to some music and watch the stars. We all agree that it's going to be a bit hard to leave this place in the morning.