Airlines and services Bichkek

It takes 30 minutes to reach it from downtown by cab or marchrutka, and twice as long by bus. Minibuses no. 153 (100 soms and 1h) leave from the intersection of Osh and Chuy Prospekt. Cabs cost between 1,000 and 1,500 som, but the local rate is more like 800 or 900 som. Bishkek has regular connections with Urumqi in China, Moscow, London and Istanbul (with Turkish Airlines or Pegasus, its low-cost subsidiary), Tashkent or Almaty.

Uzbekistan's national airline operates two to three weekly flights from Paris - Charles de Gaulle, depending on the tourist season. There is no direct connection with Bishkek, but you can get there with a stopover in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) or Almaty (Kazakhstan). These two capitals have daily connections with neighboring Kyrgyzstan, and the flight takes just over 1 hour. The Uzbek airline's flight schedules are the easiest to cope with, as they allow for the time difference between France and Central Asia.

Two flights per week, Monday and Thursday, between the Kyrgyz capital and the Uzbek capital. Count 1 hours a day.