What sort of accommodations are there? Can we stay with locals in Yurts?

On DIY trek, there is only the accommodation that you carry in on your back. Yurts do exist in most places, but these are typically authentic shepherd’s yurts and not really set up to receive tourists. You may be welcomed in, but expect a very rustic experience, and at any rate you can’t count on it so you’ll still need to lug a tent along.

On organised trekking tours your operator will take care of the camping logistics: you'll have porters striking and setting up camp each day and horses or vehicles transporting camp equipment from stop to stop.

In more popular tourist areas like Ala-Kol and Son-Kol, local community-based tourism programs have established tourist yurts that do reliably receive overnight guests.