Altyn Emel + Charyn Canyon + Kolsai & Kaindy Lakes 4-day jeep tour

Starting/ending point: Almaty city

Driving distance: 1200 km from Almaty and back

Tour duration: 4 days/3 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 4-day tour around Almaty region is the best way to enjoy the most stunning natural sites of Almaty region during the warm season, spending more time in the mountains with more hiking.

On the 1st day of the tour we go to one of the largest National Parks of Kazakhstan, called Altyn Emel. We visit one of the most interesting and spectacular sites in the National Park - the Geological Museum under the sky, lime mountains of Aktau. In Kazakh, this means the White Mountains. Mountains seem white only from afar. On the slopes of the mountains, we can find multi-colored clay rocks of red, white, yellow, filled with crystals of calcite and selenite. When you are there everything around seems surreal.

On the 2nd day of the tour, after 50 km of gravel road, you find yourself at the Singing Dune - the phenomenon of nature, famous for the fact that in dry weather the sand of the dune emits a sound from a faint squeak to organ melody.

Then, we go to the most known and popular place of Almaty region - Charyn Canyon “Valley of the Castles”. This is completed the ensemble of “palaces”, “towers” and ”minarets” formed by Pliocene deposits of red color. The canyon has a length of about 1.5 kilometers and a depth of 150 meters.

In the evening, we stay in Saty village, where we have a delicious dinner of Kazakh national cuisine cooked by hospitable villagers.

We wake up in the morning of the 3rd day and have a hearty breakfast, and go to the picturesque Lower Kolsai lake - the most accessible one. The lake is located at an altitude of 1818 m. Our long hike to the Middle (Second) Kolsay Lake (2252m above sea level) will start here and last about 8 hours.

On the last 4th day we go to Kaindy Lake famous for tree trunks sticking out of the water's surface. Tourists from all over the world come here to enjoy the unbelievable beauty of this place.

Then we leave Kolsai Lakes National Park and move to Yellow Canyon, which is less known and therefore less visited than the Valley of the Castles, but it is the same natural masterpiece.

Those who visit these places at least once will never forget their magnificence, peace and energetics.

ITINERARY

Day 1

08:00 Pick-up
Departure from Almaty
Arrival at Basshy village
Lunch
Visiting the Altyn Emel National Park's museum
Trip to Aktau and Katutau mountains
Aktau Mountains, hiking/walking
Katutau Mountains, walking
20:00 Arrival at Basshy village, accommodation, dinner

Day 2

08:00 Breakfast, check-out
Trip to Singing Dune
Singing Dune, climbing to the top
Leaving Altyn Emel National Park
Tiger Mountains, viewing spot
Lunch at the cafe in Chundzha village
Charyn Canyon "Valley of the Castles", visiting several spots, walking along the bottom 1.5 km
19:00 Arrival at Saty village, accommodation, dinner

Day 3

08:00 Breakfast
Trip to Kolsai Lakes
Lower (First) Kolsai Lake, visiting several spots, boating (optional)
3-hour 8-km hike or horseback-ride (optional) to Middle (Second) Kolsai Lake
Middle (Second) Kolsai Lake, rest after hike, enjoying the views
Way back to the Lower (First) Kolsai Lake
18:00 Arrival at Saty village, accommodation, dinner

Day 4

08:00 Breakfast, check-out
Trip to Kaindy Lake
Kaindy Lake, walk/horseback-ride (optional), visiting several spots
Lunch in the guesthouse of Saty village
Leaving Kolsai Lakes National Park
Black Canyon, viewing spot
Moon (Yellow) Canyon, walking, visiting several spots
Way back to Almaty
18:00 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 ✅ English-speaking guide-driver ✅ Bottled water ✅ Accommodation (details below)
[ECONOMY] option	✅ Guesthouse (see photo) or yurt (Kazakh traditional dwelling) ✅ Breakfast x 3, Lunch x 4, Dinner x 3 ✅ Accommodation: 1st night - guesthouse in the village 2nd/3rd nights - guesthouse or yurt (Kazakh traditional dwelling) (extra charge may apply)
Number of people	1	2	3	4
PRICE	$1200	$1350	$1500	$1650
per person	$1200	$675	$500	$412
[COMFORT] option	✅ Meals: Breakfast x 3, Lunch x 4, Dinner x 1 ❌ Dinner on the 2nd/3rd days is not included and available in the hotel's cafe ✅ Accommodation: 1st night - guesthouse in the village 2nd/3rd nights - hotel with the Lake view (see photo) ✅ Toiletries
PRICE	$1670	$1700	$1850*	$2050*
per person	$1620	$850	$617	$512
*3/4-bed room accommodation

⚠️ [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 10000 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.