Tour of Almaty Region: Charyn, Kolsai, Kaindy, and Altyn-Emel [Altyn Emel National Park + Aktau] · 3 days

Exploring Altyn-Emel National Park, 4600 km² of desert landscapes with herds of kulans and goitered gazelles. The scale here is felt physically, as in Arizona. In the first half of the day, visit the Aktau chalk mountains, bands of pink, green, and blue rock from the Paleocene era. A colorful echo of an ancient sea that vanished 50 million years ago. Closer to lunch, stop at the colored Katutau mountains, volcanic rocks sculpted by the wind into striking forms. Geology here seems to have decided to work by hand. In the second half of the day, make a short stop at the 700-year-old willow in the village of Basshi, a living tree whose trunk remembers the era of the Golden Horde. After lunch, transfer and overnight in the village of Basshi, the gateway to Altyn-Emel. A quiet aul at the foot of the range, where the air smells of steppe and burnt straw, guesthouses serve a simple but hearty dinner. Overnight in a guesthouse in Basshi village at the gates of Altyn-Emel.

Climb Singing Dune, a 150-meter dune 1.5 kilometers long. On the descent, the dry sand hums with a deep sound, like the engine of a warming car, and the sound really comes from under your feet. In the first half of the day, relax at the Chundzha thermal springs, mineral water at 39–45°C that eases fatigue after a day in the canyons. A good stopover point in the southeast of the region. Overnight at the Chundzha thermal base.

Descend into Charyn Canyon and walk through the “Valley of Castles,” 154 kilometers of red sandstone where the midday sun melts the cliffs into copper. The trail runs between serrated towers along the river, with the feeling that you have stepped onto a western movie set. In the first half of the day, take in Moon Canyon, a neighboring valley of Charyn with gray and bluish rock formations. An otherworldly landscape where it is easy to forget time and your phone. Closer to lunch, visit Black Canyon with volcanic walls and narrow passages, a dark counterpoint after the red of Charyn. In the second half of the day, walk around the first Kolsai Lake (1818 m), a turquoise surface surrounded by centuries-old Tien Shan spruces. The ringing silence of the mountains, the rare cry of a falcon, and trout biting right from the shore. After lunch, transfer to Saty village, a mountain aul in the Ile-Alatau National Park and the starting base for Kolsai and Kaindy. Guesthouses serve homemade beshbarmak, manti, and herbal tea.