Tour of Almaty Region: Charyn, Kolsai, Kaindy, Medeu and Shymbulak, Big Almaty Lake · 3 days

A visit to the Medeu ice rink at an altitude of 1691 meters, the world’s highest mountain stadium. In winter, the ice is perfectly smooth; in summer, it is a cool mountain amphitheater with a walk along the dam and views of the gorge. In the first half of the day, a ride up to the Shymbulak mountain resort (2260 m) on a three-stage cable car, which climbs to 3200 meters in 25 minutes and opens up a full panorama of the Trans-Ili Alatau. In winter, skiing and snowboarding; in summer, hiking and cafés with a view. Closer to lunch, a walk through Panfilov Park, a shady green space in the city center with the memorial to the 28 Panfilov guardsmen who fell near Moscow in 1941. Centuries-old oaks, quiet alleys, the sound of bells, and the atmosphere of old Alma-Ata, preserved inside a modern metropolis. Return to Almaty by evening.

Descent into Charyn Canyon and a walk through the “Valley of Castles” — 154 kilometers of red sandstone, where the midday sun turns the cliffs copper. The trail runs between jagged towers along the river, and the feeling is as if you’ve stepped onto a Western film set. In the first half of the day, a view of Moon Canyon, Charyn’s neighboring valley with gray and bluish rock formations. 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 stark dark palette after red Charyn. In the second half of the day, a walk around the first Kolsai Lake (1818 m), a turquoise surface surrounded by century-old Tian Shan firs. The ringing silence of the mountains, the rare cry of a falcon, and trout that bite right from the shore. After lunch, a visit to Kaindy Lake, formed after the 1911 earthquake. Fir trunks rise from the water like the masts of a sunken fleet; the turquoise surface between them is a place out of time, one of Kazakhstan’s most recognizable images. Return to Almaty by evening.

A trip to Big Almaty Lake (2511 m), a turquoise reservoir just 15 km from the city center. The color of the water shifts from aquamarine to deep turquoise depending on the clouds; photo spots are on both shores and from the high viewpoint.