Kolsai Kaindy Issyk Lakes + Charyn Canyon + Assy Plateau 3-day jeep tour

Starting/ending point: Almaty city

Driving distance: 800 km from Almaty and back

Tour duration: 3 days/2 nights

Start time: 08:00 am Almaty time

Availability season: May - October

Tour language: English | Russian

Tour activities: Sightseeing | Boating | Hiking | Horseback-riding | Walking

Tour options: PRIVATE

Description

TOURIST PLACES you'll visit:

This tour is designed for those travelers who want to explore more the mountains and lakes of the Northern Tien-Shan and Ile-Alatau mountain area. Within 3 days you will visit and enjoy the scenic lakes "Pearls of the Northern Tien-Shan" - Kolsai Lower (the 1st) and Middle (the 2nd), Kaindy Lake, Issyk Lake; 2 Canyons - Charyn Canyon, Black Canyon, and high-mountain Plateau Assy. In addition to traveling by SUV, you will have the opportunity to experience a long hike along the mountain trail to the Middle Kolsai Lake. If you are not a fan of hiking, then you have the option of going on horseback.

ITINERARY

Day 1

08:00 Pick-up and departure from Almaty
08:00 Trip to Charyn Canyon National Park
11:00 Charyn Canyon "Valley of the Castles", visiting several spots, walking along the bottom of the canyon 1.5 km till Charyn river
14:30 Lunch in Saty village
15:30 Trip to Kaindy Lake
16:00 Kaindy Lake, walking or horseback-riding (optional), visiting several spots
19:00 Hotel or Yurt/Guesthouse accommodation, dinner

Day 2

08:00 Breakfast
Drive to Lower Kolsai Lake
Lower (First) Kolsai Lake, long hike or horseback-ride (optional) to the Middle Kolsai Lake (~3-4 hours)
Middle (Second) Kolsai Lake, rest, lunch
Return back to Lower Kolsai Lake (~3-4 hours)
18:00 Arrival at your accommodation place, dinner

[If you are not a fan of hiking, the itinerary can be changed. Changes must be agreed when booking]

Day 3

08:00 Breakfast
09:00 Check-out and trip to Turgen gorge
12:30 Off-road ride to Assy plateau, several stops for photo
13:30 Observatory of Assy, enjoying the view, photographing
15:00 Lunch in a cafe
16:00 Ride to Issyk Lake
17:00 Issyk Lake, enjoying the scenery, photographing
18:00 Way back to Almaty
20:00 Drop-off in Almaty

⚠️ [Visits to any of the tour sites may be canceled and their order changed due to the change of seasons, weather conditions and other circumstances beyond our control]

PHOTOS OF OUR TOURISTS

OPTIONS & PRICES

PRIVATE tour	✅ Hotel pick-up/drop-off ✅ National parks entrance fees ✅ Comfortable 4x4 SUV/minivan ✅ English-speaking guide/driver ✅ Bottled water ✅ Accommodation (details below)
[ECONOMY] option	✅ Guesthouse accommodation ✅ Breakfast x 2, Lunch x 3, Dinner x 2 (vegetarian option is available)
Number of people	1	2	3	4
PRICE	$960	$1070	$1180	$1280
per person	$960	$535	$393	$320
[NOMADIC] option	✅ Yurt (Kazakh traditional dwelling) accommodation (WC/bathroom is shared) ✅ Breakfast x 2, Lunch x 3, Dinner x 2 (vegetarian option is available)
Number of people	1	2	3	4
PRICE	$1070	$1200	$1320	$1410
per person	$1070	$600	$440	$352
[COMFORT] option	✅ Hotel accommodation with lake/mountain view (see photo) ✅ Breakfast x 2, Lunch x 3 ❌ Dinner is not included and available in the hotel's cafe
Number of people	1	2	3	4
PRICE	$1320	$1360	$1440*	$1600*
per person	$1320	$680	$480	$400
*accommodation in one 3-4-person room

⚠️ [If you are more people, contact us and we will make an individual calculation for you]

IMPORTANT INFO

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Mid-high
Travelers should have a good physical fitness level.

WE RECOMMEND TO TAKE WITH YOU: cap, jacket, trekking boots/sport shoes, sunblock, replacement socks, some cash in KZT for WC/boating/horseback riding (from 3000 KZT per person depending on route).
!!! Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes are located in the border area with Kyrgyzstan. Be sure to have your passport (original, not a copy) with you in case of inspection. Border guards can fine you if you don’t have it.

PRECAUTION

• Not recommended for travelers with serious medical conditions, high/low blood pressure;
• Not recommended for pregnant women;
• Not recommended for travelers with a fear of heights and who can not withstand long trips by car/long walks/hikes;

PRIVATE TOUR BOOKING

[Here you can submit a request to book a private tour. We will try to respond to you within 24 hours]

BOOKING TERMS

Prepayment (10% - 30% deposit for the Private tours, 30% - 50% deposit for the Group tours) of the tour cost is required to confirm your booking. The remaining amount can be paid at the start of the tour.
We use PayPal as a payment gateway to accept online payments from foreign bank cards, so you can securely pay with any debit/credit card. No need to have or create a PayPal account.

CANCELLATION POLICY

PRIVATE TOURS

Customers can change the details or cancel the booking no later than 72 hours before the start of the tour with the possibility of a 70-90% refund of the tour cost. After this time, no refund is possible.

GROUP (SHARED) TOURS

Customers can change the details or cancel the booking no later than 24 hours before the start of the tour/activity with a full refund of the tour cost. After this time, no refund is possible.
A minimum number of tourists and suitable weather are required. If these criteria are not met, the tour/activity will be canceled no later than 48 hours before the start and customers will be offered a different date/tour or a full refund.

Any tour/booking can be canceled in case of force majeure with a full refund.