6-Day Almaty Highlights: Kolsai, Big Almaty Lake & Ethno-Village

Start at Medeu rink, at 1691 meters one of the highest mountain rinks in the world. In winter the ice is smooth, in summer it is a cool amphitheater with a walk along the dam and views of the gorge. In the first half of the day, ride up to Shymbulak mountain resort (2260 m) on a three-stage cable car that reaches 3200 meters in 25 minutes and opens a wide panorama of the Zailiyskiy Alatau. Skiers have the slopes in winter, walkers and cafés take over in summer. Around lunchtime, visit the Green Bazaar, operating since 1875, a true Eastern market with piles of dried apricots and raisins, rows of kazy and shuzhuk (horse sausage), barrels of mountain honey, and friendly vendors who let you taste everything before you buy. In the early afternoon, make a short stop at the Rahat chocolate shop, the oldest Kazakh brand, with gift boxes in 1970s-style design, a good place for gifts to take home. Later, walk along the pedestrian Zhibek Zholy, Almaty’s “Arbat”, with street artists, stalls of local handmade goods, guitarists toward sunset and cafés where you can rest after the mountain route. Return to Almaty in the evening.

An early start from Almaty, around 06:00–07:00. In the morning, descend into Charyn Canyon and walk through the “Valley of Castles”, the best-known section of a canyon that stretches for 154 km, where the midday sun melts the rock into copper. The trail runs between tall rock towers along the river. Then view Moon Canyon, a valley near Charyn with gray and bluish rocks. Around lunchtime, visit Black Canyon with volcanic walls and narrow passages, a dark palette in striking contrast to red Charyn. After lunch, walk around the first Kolsai Lake (1818 m), a turquoise surface surrounded by centuries-old Tien Shan spruces, where birdsong and trout splashing near the shore are the only sounds. Return to Almaty late in the evening: it is a long day of about 13–14 hours, much of it on the road.

Immerse yourself in nomadic culture at the Huns Ethno-Village, a recreation of Kazakh everyday life 70 km from the city. Step into the yurts, taste beshbarmak cooked over an open fire, watch horse performances and see the instruments the nomads played. A golden-eagle handler gives a falconry demonstration. Return to Almaty in the evening.

Walk through Alma-Arasan gorge with a mineral thermal spring, a mountain river and trails along cascades beneath a canopy of conifers. In the first half of the day, stop at Ayusai eco-park in the Small Almaty Gorge, with wooden boardwalks, alpine flowers and a waterfall along the trail toward Big Almaty Lake. Around lunchtime, drive up to Big Almaty Lake (2511 m), a turquoise reservoir in the mountains above the city. The water shifts from aquamarine to deep turquoise with the clouds, and there are photo spots on both shores and at a high viewpoint. Return to Almaty in the evening.

A walk through Panfilov Park, a shaded green area in the city center with the memorial to the 28 Panfilov Heroes who fell near Moscow in 1941. Old oaks, quiet alleys and the nearby cathedral bells keep a piece of old Alma-Ata inside the modern city. In the first half of the day, visit Zenkov Cathedral, built in 1907 of wood without a single nail, one of the tallest wooden churches in the world, which stood through the earthquake that wrecked much of the city. Inside is an iconostasis from the late 19th century; outside rise golden domes 56 meters high. Around lunchtime, stop for photos at the Kazakhstan Hotel, a 25-story building from the late 1970s with a huge smalt mosaic on the façade, a classic example of Soviet modernism in Almaty. In the afternoon, visit the Central State Museum, Kazakhstan’s main cultural and historical complex. One hall is dedicated to the Golden Man, while the others focus on ethnography and Bronze Age archaeology.