Tour of the Almaty Region: Charyn, Kolsai, Kaindy, and Altyn-Emel [Charyn Canyon + Moon Canyon] · 3 days

Descent into Charyn Canyon and a walk through the "Valley of Castles", 154 kilometers of red sandstone, where the midday sun melts the cliffs into copper. The trail runs between jagged towers along the river, and the feeling is that you have stepped onto a Western movie set. In the first half of the day, an overview of Moon Canyon, a neighboring valley of Charyn with gray and bluish rocks. An otherworldly landscape where it is easy to forget time and your phone. Closer to lunch, a visit to Black Canyon with volcanic walls and narrow passages, a dark contrast after red Charyn. In the second half of the day, a walk around the first Kolsai Lake (1818 m), a turquoise surface surrounded by centuries-old Tien Shan firs. The ringing silence of the mountains, the rare cry of a falcon, and trout that bite right from the shore. Return to Almaty by evening.

Climb Singing Dune, a 150-meter dune 1.5 kilometers long. On the way down, the dry sand hums with a deep sound, like the engine of a warming-up car, and this sound really comes from under your feet. In the first half of the day, an overview of the chalk mountains of Aktau, pink, green, and blue bands of rocks from the Paleocene era. A colorful echo of the ancient sea that vanished 50 million years ago. Closer to lunch, a stop at the colorful mountains of Katutau, volcanic rocks sculpted by the wind into forms. Here, geology seems to have decided to work by hand. In the second half of the day, a short stop by the 700-year-old willow in the village of Basshi, a living tree whose trunk remembers the era of the Golden Horde. Return to Almaty by evening.

Visit Issyk Lake (1756 m), with conifer-covered slopes, clear water, and burial mounds of Saka kings in the nearby valley. In the first half of the day, a walk through Turgen Gorge with seven cascading waterfalls and trout farms by the mountain river. One of the most welcoming routes for families. Closer to lunch, a trek to Bear Waterfall, 30 meters high, the roar of water, a rainbow in the spray, and a coolness you can feel a hundred steps before the cascade itself.