Route: Almaty → Big Almaty Lake → Charyn Canyon → Saty → Kaindy & Kolsai lakes → Black Canyon → Almaty
Almaty, the green former capital at the foot of the Trans-Ili Alatau, is the gateway to some of Central Asia's most spectacular scenery. You ride the cable car to Shymbulak, admire the turquoise Big Almaty Lake at 2,511 m and explore the "Valley of Castles" in Charyn Canyon, often compared to a small Grand Canyon.
The highlight is two days in the Kolsai Lakes National Park: the mirror-like Kolsai lakes surrounded by Tian Shan spruce and Lake Kaindy, where the trunks of a drowned forest rise out of emerald water. You stay in a family guesthouse in the village of Saty and enjoy home-cooked Kazakh food. An easy tour with short walks, ideal for nature lovers and photographers.
Meet your guide at Almaty International Airport and transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, stroll through Panfilov Park to the colourful wooden Ascension Cathedral and the Green Bazaar, where you can taste dried fruit, nuts and kurt. In the evening take the cable car up Kok-Tobe hill for sunset views over the city and the snowy peaks.
Drive up the Bolshaya Almatinka gorge to Big Almaty Lake, a glacial lake at 2,511 m whose colour shifts from turquoise to deep blue beneath the peaks of Sovetov and Ozyorny. After lunch visit the Medeu high-altitude skating rink and take the gondola to the Shymbulak resort (up to 3,200 m) for sweeping views of the Trans-Ili Alatau.
Drive east across the steppe (about 3.5 hours) to Charyn Canyon. Walk through the "Valley of Castles", a 2-km path between red sandstone walls shaped like towers and fortresses, down to the Charyn river and a picnic lunch. In the afternoon continue into the mountains to the village of Saty, your base for the next two nights.
In the morning a 4x4 takes you to Lake Kaindy, formed by an earthquake in 1911, where the bleached trunks of submerged spruces stand in crystal-clear water. After lunch drive to the first Kolsai lake (1,800 m) for a boat ride; fit travellers can hike 2–3 hours towards the second lake through dense spruce forest. Dinner with the family in Saty.
On the way back to Almaty, stop at the viewpoint over the Black Canyon of the Charyn river and at the Moon Canyon, whose grey clay hills look like a lunar landscape. Arrive in Almaty in the afternoon, with free time for shopping on Arbat street. Farewell dinner with beshbarmak and a performance of Kazakh music on the dombra.
Breakfast at the hotel and free time until your transfer to Almaty International Airport. Guests joining the optional Altyn-Emel extension leave for the Singing Dune and the Aktau mountains instead.
Prices per person in USD. The final price is confirmed with your booking. Child (2–11 years): −25%.
The cancellation terms for this tour are confirmed in writing together with your booking, before you pay anything.
Read our cancellation & refund policyYes. Almaty and Bishkek are only a few hours apart by road, and many travellers combine both countries. Send us a custom tour request.
Walks are easy: short trails in Charyn Canyon and around the lakes, plus a 20–30-minute walk down to Lake Kaindy.
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