Moldo Ashuu is a high, bare pass on the track that leads into the Song Kol plateau from the south, at about 3,350 metres, and it is the sort of place that makes you feel small in a very good way. The road climbs out of the valley of the Naryn region in dusty switchbacks over rolling hills, crosses a ridge of scree and short grass, and tops out among prayer-flag-less cairns and the wind. There is no town and no hut. Marmots whistle from their burrows and the horizon is made of long, soft brown ridges. Ashuu is the Kyrgyz word for pass, and the Kyrgyz have a habit of naming each one after something about it, which keeps the map honest.
The road is gravel, sometimes graded and sometimes not, with stretches of washboard, loose stones, stream crossings and the occasional bit of mud. It is a proper adventure road, and it needs a bike that can handle it and a rider with some experience of dirt. Weather matters a great deal at this altitude. Snow can fall on the pass in any month, including midsummer, storms build quickly, and the road is closed completely by deep snow from about October to May. Even in summer, the temperature can drop to freezing at night and the wind is hard. Carry warm clothes, rain gear and food, and tell someone where you are going.
The reward is the highland beyond. Song Kol, a high-altitude lake, lies about three thousand metres above the sea and is used in summer as pasture by herders who bring their sheep, horses and cattle up from the valleys and live in felt yurts. These seasonal pastures, called jailoo, are a centre of Kyrgyz life and culture. Visitors can stay in yurt camps in July and August, drinking kymyz, fermented mare's milk, and eating bread, cream and mutton.
Naryn and Kochkor are the nearest towns with stations and supplies, so start with a full tank and a spare can if you have one. Phone signal is patchy or absent. Water from streams should be treated or boiled, and altitude sickness is a possibility for those who ascend too quickly, so take time to adjust.
The best time to come is July to early September. The days are warm, the flowers are out and the grass is green, but the nights are cold, so a warm sleeping bag is welcome.