First time in Kazakhstan · Almaty region
The Perfect Week in Almaty
A week based in one Almaty hotel, with a single night away in Saty village for Charyn and the lakes. Most evenings you are back in the city in time for dinner.
Why it made the cut
This is what we suggest when someone has a week and it’s their first time here. It covers the places people ask about most, Charyn, Kolsai, Kaindy and Big Almaty Lake, and no day is longer than it needs to be.
The one thing we do differently: Charyn and the lakes are split over two days with a night in Saty. Doing them as a day trip from Almaty means about 700 km in a car and very little time at the water.
Pack a small bag for one night in Saty. Everything else stays at the hotel.
How the days feel
Day 1
Almaty. Panfilov Park and the wooden Zenkov Cathedral from 1907, then the Green Bazaar for dried fruit and horse-meat sausage. Up Kok-Tobe by cable car in the evening.
Day 2
Medeu and Shymbulak. The high-altitude ice rink at 1,691 metres, then the cable car up past Shymbulak to Talgar Pass. Lunch on the mountain and an evening walk on the Arbat.
Day 3
Charyn, then Saty. About three hours east to Charyn Canyon and a walk through the Valley of Castles down to the river. Another two hours to Saty village. Dinner and a night in a family guesthouse.
Day 4
Kaindy and Kolsai. Kaindy first, while it’s quiet. The last stretch of road is by 4×4. Then a walk along the first Kolsai lake and the drive back to Almaty, about five hours.
Day 5
Turgen gorge. A short walk to Bear Waterfall, trout lunch at a farm by the river, then Lake Issyk and the burial mounds near Esik where the Golden Man was found.
Day 6
Big Almaty Lake and falcons. The lake at 2,511 metres in the morning, when the water is clearest. In the afternoon, the bird show at the Sunkar falcon centre.
Day 7
Last morning. The Central State Museum or a final round of shopping, then the airport.
Stays and what’s included
- Stays
- 3–4★ hotel in Almaty, one night in a guesthouse in Saty
- Included
- Driver and English-speaking guide, 4×4 to Kaindy, park fees, cable cars, Sunkar show, museum tickets
- Not included
- Meals, tips
- Group
- Private, only your group
Good for you if
- It’s your first trip to Kazakhstan.
- You travel with children or parents.
- You’d rather walk than trek.
Maybe not if
- You want deserts and the Caspian too. Look at the Great Kazakhstan Journey.
- You want a proper hike. The Kolsai trek is the one for that.