Altyn Emel + Charyn Canyon + Kolsai & Kaindy Lakes 3-day jeep tour

Starting/ending point: Almaty city

Driving distance: 1200 km from Almaty and back

Tour duration: 3 days/2 nights

Start time: 08:00 am Almaty time

Availability season: all year round

Tour language: English | Russian

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

Tour options: PRIVATE

Description

TOURIST PLACES you'll visit:

We are glad to introduce you the 3-day tour to the most amazing nature sights of Almaty region: Altyn Emel, Charyn Canyon and Kaindy & Kolsai Lakes. It is the best way to visit these places in a short period of time. This tour is designed so that you can enjoy the views at the best time of the day with the best lighting conditions. Our tour guide will show you the best photo spots and tell you interesting information about the sights.

On the 1st day, we will head towards one of the largest National Parks of Kazakhstan, with an area of 3076 sq.km. called Altyn Emel, which means the Golden Saddle. You will enjoy the surreal beauty of the lime mountains of Aktau and the volcanic Katutau mountains.

In the morning of the 2nd day, you will find yourself at the Singing Dune - a sandy mountain 3 km long and 150 m high. The phenomenon of nature, famous for the fact that in dry weather the sands of the dune emit a sound from a faint squeak to organ melody and even a roar.

Afternoon, the tour will lead you to the most known and popular place is the “Valley of the Castles”, one of the side canyons of Charyn river. This is completed the ensemble of “palaces”, “towers” and ”minarets” formed by Pliocene deposits of red color, due to which this place is also called the Red Canyon. The canyon has a length of about 1.5 kilometers and a depth of 150 meters.

After a hearty breakfast in the morning we will go to the picturesque Lower Kolsai lake - the most accessible one. The lake is located at an altitude of 1818 m. The next place you will visit is Kaindy Lake. An incredible scenery that you see above the water are the trunks of centenary spruce trees. And under the surface of the water, branches and needles of spruce trees were preserved in their original form due to the low temperature of the lake's water. Tourists from all over the world come here to enjoy the unbelievable beauty of this place.

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;
• Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level.

ITINERARY

Day 1

07:00 - 08:00 Pick-up
Arrival at Basshy village
Lunch at the guesthouse
Visiting of the National Park museum
Trip around Altyn Emel National Nature Park:
Aktau Mountains, hiking, photo
Katutau Mountains, walking, photo
19:00 Arrival at Basshy village, accommodation, dinner

Day 2

08:00 Breakfast
Trip to the Singing Dune
Singing Dune, climb to the top, photo
Stop at Oshaktas stone steles
Leaving Altyn Emel and trip to Charyn National Park
Lunch in Chundzha village
Charyn Canyon "Valley of the Castles", walk along the bottom till the river, photo
19:00 Arrival at Saty village (Kolsai Lakes National Park), accommodation, dinner

Day 3

08:00 Breakfast
Trip to Kaindy Lake
Kaindy Lake, short hiking or horseback-riding, photo
Lunch at the guesthouse
Trip to Lower Kolsai Lake
Lower Kolsai Lake, walking, horseback-riding or boating (optional)
Leaving Kolsai Lakes National Park
Stop at Black Canyon, viewing spot
Way back to Almaty
20:00 Drop-off

⚠️ [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	✅ Pick-up/drop-off ✅ National parks entrance fees ✅ 4x4 SUV ✅ ENG-speaking guide-driver ✅ Bottled water ✅ Accommodation (details below) ❌ Special food & drinks (paid separately) ❌ Horseback-riding/boating is not included and paid on the spot
[ECONOMY] option	✅ Meals: Breakfast x 2, Lunch x 3, Dinner x 2 ✅ Accommodation: 1st night - guesthouse in the village 2nd night - guesthouse (see photo) or yurt (Kazakh traditional dwelling) (extra charge may apply)
Number of people	1	2	3	4
PRICE	$1050	$1150	$1250	$1350
per person	$1050	$575	$416	$337
[COMFORT] option	✅ Meals: Breakfast x 2, Lunch x 3, Dinner x 1 ❌ Dinner on the 2nd day is not included and available in the hotel's cafe ✅ Accommodation: 1st night - mini-hotel in the village 2nd night - hotel with the Lake view (see photo) ✅ Toiletries
PRICE	$1300	$1350	$1450*	$1570*
per person	$1300	$675	$483	$392
*3/4-person room accommodation

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

IMPORTANT INFO

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Moderate
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level.

WE RECOMMEND TO TAKE WITH YOU: weather/season-appropriate outerwear, head cover, jacket, hiking boots/sport shoes, replacement socks, some cash in KZT for WC/horseback riding (from 10 000 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

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.