You have picked up your 4×4 in Bishkek and planned your route – which leaves the question of where to refuel on the way. First, the good news: there are enough petrol stations along the usual travel routes. Google Maps, Maps.me and other navigation apps don’t know all of them, though, and in the mountains the distance between two pumps can easily exceed 100 kilometres. With a few simple rules, that is not a problem.
Which fuel for your rental car?
All our rental cars run on petrol. At the pump, the fuel type is written in Cyrillic: petrol is АИ-92 or АИ-95 (AI-95 is 95-octane unleaded), diesel is labelled ДТ or “Дизель”. Diesel must never go into your tank.
Watch out: in Kyrgyzstan, petrol and diesel nozzles have the same diameter – so the wrong nozzle fits your filler neck. Look twice before you refuel.
How refuelling works in Kyrgyzstan
At almost every petrol station, you pay before you fill up:
- Pull up at the pump and note the pump number.
- Take the petrol nozzle (АИ-92 or АИ-95) and put it into the filler neck.
- Go to the cash desk and give the pump number and the amount – in litres or as a sum in som.
- Pay. Only then does the cashier release the pump.
- Fill up and hang the nozzle back.
To fill the tank, say “polny bak” (полный бак – “full tank”) and hand over a little more cash than a full tank costs. You collect your change at the cash desk after refuelling. This only works with cash.
You pay in som. Large petrol stations in cities and on main roads usually accept Visa and Mastercard as well; in villages, only cash counts. How to change money and where to find ATMs is explained in the post Currency in Kyrgyzstan. The price per litre is clearly shown on the price board – petrol in Kyrgyzstan is considerably cheaper than in Western Europe.
How to recognise a reliable petrol station
Poor fuel can damage the engine and end your trip early. So refuel at the big chains whenever you can. The most common ones in Kyrgyzstan are:
- Gazprom
- Bishkek Petroleum
- Rosneft
- Red Petroleum
- Partner Neft
If there is no chain in sight, a simple rule of thumb helps: the station should look well kept and be on a main road. If in doubt, ask locals for the best petrol station in the area. In Google Maps, you find most petrol stations with the Russian search term “АЗС” (filling station) – it shows far more results than “petrol station” or “gas station”.
Stay away from petrol sold in canisters or bottles at the roadside. Its quality is unpredictable.
Fill up before these routes
On the main routes – Bishkek–Issyk-Kul, Bishkek–Naryn, Bishkek–Osh – petrol stations come regularly. Away from them, the rule is: fill up before every longer stretch into the mountains, even if the tank is still half full. On gravel and in low gears, a 4×4 uses noticeably more fuel than on tarmac.
- Son-Kul: there is no petrol station at the lake. Depending on your approach, fill up in Kochkor, Chaek or Naryn.
- Tash Rabat and Chatyr-Kul: the last reliable place to refuel is At-Bashy.
- Kel-Suu: fill up in Naryn or At-Bashy, depending on your route.
- Side valleys around Issyk-Kul: there are petrol stations in the villages on the lakeshore road, but not in the valleys themselves.
What the roads on these routes look like is described in Types of roads in Kyrgyzstan. Which destinations are closed to rental cars is listed on the page Forbidden roads and restricted areas.
Four rules for worry-free refuelling
- Refuel at stations of the big chains.
- Check the nozzle twice: petrol (АИ), not diesel (ДТ).
- Always fill up before long mountain stretches.
- Close the fuel cap properly – dust from gravel roads has no business in the tank.
You collect your rental car in Kyrgyzstan with fuel in the tank and return it with the same level. Have a good trip!