Big Almaty Lake, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan
Day 1. Almaty
Today your tour will start and your guide will come and welcome you at the hotel around 2:00 pm before you head out together.
Your tour will start quite relaxed, you will get to meet your guide, have a city tour in Almaty to see its highlights, such as: the Ascension Cathedral, Kok Tobe hill, Green Bazaar, as well as walk on the main streets of the city and learn more about the history and the culture.
Accommodation: hotel (not included)
Meals included: none
Facilities: wi-fi, electricity, hot shower, western style toilets
NOTE: If you prefer to arrive a day earlier and need an extra night at the hotel, let us know, so that the room will be available for you and you have some extra time to rest or acclimatise after a few hours of traveling.
Day 2. Altyn Emel National Park
We will start early in the morning and drive to Altyn Emel National Park, situated in the north-east of Almaty. We will drive for around three and a half hours until we reach Basshy – a village situated in the National Park, where we will be staying the night. Then, we will visit the Aktau mountains, a popular destination in the National Park, situated 72 km from Basshy village. On our way back we will stop at Katutau mountains, which was formed by a volcano eruption millions years ago. We will arrive back at the village closer to the evening where we will have dinner at our first night in a guesthouse.
Accommodation: shared room in guesthouse (twin or triple room)
Meals included: lunch, dinner
Facilities: limited wi-fi, electricity, shower, western style toilets
Day 3. Charyn Canyon
In the morning we will drive to the unique Aigaikum mountain – a so-called Singing Dune, where the sand emits a vibrant sound when it is windy. We will have short walk to admire this wonder of nature (a sand dune situated inbetween mountains). After that, we will leave Altyn Emel National Park and join the main road leading to Charyn canyon – a 12 million year old natural wonder, stretching for 155 km along the Charyn river. We are going to visit its most interesting parts – a valley of castles, a place of various structures of the sand rock, where we can observe wonderful landscapes. We will walk through the canyon to the river, and we will have the possibility to admire the beauty of this place from the upper decks as well. After the walk, we hit the road once again and we will drive to Saty village for an overnight stay.
Accommodation: shared room in guesthouse (twin or triple room)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Facilities: limited wi-fi, electricity, shower, western style toilets
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Day 4. Kaindy and Kol Sai Lake
Close to Saty we have two fascinating spots – Kaindy lake and Kol Sai lake. We will visit Kaindy lake first, a 40-minute drive with a 4x4, and another 40 minutes to reach the lake by a short hike, to see one of the most marvelous lakes. A century ago, there was an earthquake which formed Kaindy lake – water sank a forest, but the trees didn’t fall, which created a unique image of trees emerging from the water – it created a stunning view. We will then return to Saty village to have lunch, and then we will continue our day to visit Kol Sai lake – another pearl of this region. Its water changes color depending on the light of the day, which makes it an unforgettable view. We will have another short walk to enjoy the beauty of Kol Sai.
Accommodation: shared room in guesthouse (twin or triple room)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Facilities: limited wi-fi, electricity, shower, western style toilets
Day 5. Border Crossing to Kyrgyzstan and Kok Jaiyk valley
Today we will tranfer from Saty and cross the border. After we have crossed the border, we will continue our day visiting the red rocks of Jeti Oguz. It is a place where red canyons meet with green coniferous forests. We go further into the mountains and arrive at Kok Jaiyk valley, a scenic place where we will stay at one of the yurt camps.
Accommodation: shared room in yurt camp (up to four or five people)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Facilities: No wi-fi, no electricity, no hot shower, outdoor toilets
Day 6. Karakol Gorge
Welcome to your first full day in Kyrgyzstan! Today we will have a day trip to the picturesque Karakol gorge, situated very close to Karakol town. We will have a through the gorge to get a glimpse of the scenic nature of this region. We will see a crystal-clear river coming from the mountains, coniferous and other various trees growing in the gorge, as well as unforgettable landscapes on our way. A hike there and back is around 20 km, with low ascent. We will return and have an overnight stay in Karakol town.
Distance hike: approx. 19 km
Difficulty level: easy-moderate
Elevation gain / loss: approx. +460 m, -460 m
Accommodation: shared room in guesthouse (twin room)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Facilities: limited wi-fi, electricity, shower, western style toilets
Day 7. Barskoon Waterfall and Skazka Canyon
From Karakol, we will drive to Barskoon gorge, where there are three waterfalls situated in the forest on the hills. We will explore this area and have a short hike to the waterfalls, to see them from near and feel the power of the mountain rivers falling from the height. After the hike, we continue driving along the south shore of Issyk Kul lake and we will arrive at Skazka canyon, also known as 'Fairytale'. This place offers stunning views of the sand rock, various colors and different shapes create unimaginable compositions, which attracts people from all around the world to visit this place.
Later in the afternoon we will meet with an eagle hunter, to see and experience an ancient nomadic art of hunting with golden eagles. After that, we will arrive at Bokonbaevo village, where we will stay at one of the guest houses run by another local family.
Accommodation: shared room in guesthouse (twin or triple room)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Facilities: limited wi-fi, electricity, shower, western style toilets
Day 8. Son Kul Lake
We start our day in Bokonbaevo, where we will have a felt making demonstration. We will be able to see how the masters produce felt carpets and how to make our own carpet too!
Then, we will drive to Son Kul lake, situated at 3000m above sea level. It is a beautiful mountain road leading there. We will have several photo stops along the way. we will drive through a mountain pass at 3400 m above sea level. You will get the chance to see herds of yaks grazing at high altitude jailoo (summer pasture). After the drive, we will be arriving at one of the yurt camps at the north shore of the Son Kul lake. You will have some free time to roam around or go hiking to the nearest hills.
Accommodation: shared room in a yurt (up to four people)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Facilities: no wi-fi, no electricity, no hot shower, outdoor toilets
Day 9. South shore of Son Kul lake
In the morning you will have some more free time to explore the area, maybe even have a cold swim in the lake if your dare and then have breakfast to get ready to drive to the south shore of the lake. We will check-in to the other yurt camp, where you will have the chance to go for a horse ride. The surroundings are serene and simply mesmerizing to enjoy. You can also find some ancient petroglyphs and stone drawings, dating back to the first millennium BC in the surrounding hills.
Accommodation: shared room in a yurt (up to four people)
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Facilities: no wi-fi, no electricity, no hot shower, outdoor toilets
Day 10. Bishkek
Today will be a bittersweet feeling, because it will be our final day of the tour. After breakfast, we will drive back to Bishkek– capital of Kyrgyzstan, which will take around 7-8 hours (including some stretch and lunch stops). We take another road through a scenic mountain pass. We will have a short break on our way and stop at a waterfall close to the road. Once we reach the main road again, we drive directly to Bishkek, with (if you wish) several stops on our way to take beautiful pictures.
We will arrive in the city to the late afternoon and we will have a short visit to see some highlights, such as: main square Ala Too, The Oak Park, and the Old Square. There is an optional final meal together in the city, to say goodbye to our amazing group of new friends!
Accommodation: hotel (not included)
Meals includied: breakfast and lunch
Facilities, wi-fi, electricity, hot shower, western style toilets
NOTE: If you wish an extra night in Bishkek, let us know, so that we can book it for you and the room will be available.
Additional information:
Most international flights from Bishkek leave in the early morning. You can choose to spend the evening in Bishkek before going to the airport after the farewell dinner or stay an extra night at a ho(s)tel in Bishkek and leave the day after. We can help organizing your accommodation in Bishkek.
If you wish to return to Almaty, you can take the bus or a shared taxi from Bishkek (5-hour journey) in the early evening. You’ll receive an info guide upon booking with further information.
This itinerary can be modified in case of weather conditions and other unforeseen circumstances.