Kyrgyzstan offers a unique experience for foreign residents with its stunning landscapes and warm culture. This guide covers everything you need to know, from finding housing to local cuisine, transport, finances, and essential apps.
Expat communities for networking
This Facebook group is a hub for expats across Kyrgyzstan, offering advice, social connections, and local insights.
Focused specifically on the capital city, this Facebook group is ideal for finding local events, housing, and networking opportunities.
More communities here.
How to find housing
Apartment.kg is a popular platform for finding housing in Kyrgyzstan. It offers a wide range of options, including apartments, houses, and rooms for rent or purchase. The site is user-friendly and allows you to filter searches by location, price, and type of housing. Listings are available in both English and Russian, making it accessible to a broader audience.
House.kg is a specialized real estate platform where you can find extensive listings for apartments, houses, and commercial properties. The site allows you to search by various criteria such as location, price, and type of property. It's particularly useful for those looking for specific types of accommodations or commercial spaces.
More about housing here.
Must-try national dishes
Kymyz
A fermented, mildly alcoholic drink made from mare's milk. In Kyrgyzstan, kymyz therapy is popular due to the drink's healing properties, which are used in traditional medicine to boost immunity and improve digestion.
Tash Kordo
One of the earliest national dishes of Kyrgyz cuisine, made from lamb. It is believed that nomads used this cooking method before the invention of cookware. They would dig a pit about one or two meters deep, line it with stones and firewood, and light a fire. The lamb meat, rubbed with salt, was placed in a cleaned lamb’s stomach, then buried or covered with skins and large leaves to keep it clean. The cooking process took five to six hours.
More dishes here.
Transport
Buses
Bus transportation plays a significant role in Kyrgyzstan's public transit system, offering various options for travel within cities and between regions. City buses operate within urban areas, allowing passengers to travel both seated and standing. Suburban buses provide transport between towns and typically offer more comfortable conditions. Intercity buses connect major cities and regions across the country.
Taxis
Several taxi services in Kyrgyzstan make getting around cities convenient and safe. Yandex.Taxi is one of the most popular and widely accessible services in Bishkek, offering a user-friendly app, transparent fares, and the option to pay through the app. There are also several local taxi services, such as Bi Taxi and Navi Taxi, which offer mobile apps with real-time ride tracking and transparent fare calculations.
More about transport here.
Banks and finances
Optima Bank is a trustworthy and stable financial institution with branches across Kyrgyzstan. The bank has been in operation for 32 years.
To obtain a payment card, you need to visit any branch of the bank, present your passport, fill out the application form for the international payment card, and sign the agreement for the issuance and servicing of the VISA debit card for individuals.
MBank
The most popular mobile banking app in Kyrgyzstan is MBANK. While away from home, users can easily access convenient features like transferring money to family by phone number, paying loans and utility bills, and more than 1000 other services.
You can open a virtual Visa card issued without a physical card using the bank's mobile app. For detailed information on opening a card and other services, you can visit the website.
More about banks here.
Mobile communication and internet
Megacom
Megacom is one of the largest mobile operators in Kyrgyzstan, offering a wide range of services, including mobile communication, internet packages, and data plans. Known for its strong network coverage, Megacom provides both prepaid and postpaid options, as well as advanced services like SIP for internet-based voice and video calls. The company is widely used by locals and offers reliable mobile connectivity across the country.
Beeline
Beeline is another major mobile operator in Kyrgyzstan, known for its competitive tariffs, reliable network coverage, and high-quality customer service. Beeline offers a variety of mobile plans, including prepaid and postpaid options, as well as internet packages for both mobile data and home internet services. The operator also supports SIP services, enabling voice and video calls over the internet.
More about mobile communications here.
Essential apps
A convenient app for ordering taxis. It allows you to quickly book a ride, view the route, and find out the cost in advance.
A popular food delivery platform offering a wide selection of restaurants, simple payment options, and fast delivery.
A platform for buying and selling second-hand goods. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to post ads and find the items you need.
More apps here.
