Explore Charyn, Kaindy & Big Almaty Lake in 4 Days

Visit the Medeu ice rink, set at 1691 meters, one of the highest-altitude ice rinks in the world. In winter the ice is the draw; in summer the cool mountain amphitheater invites a walk along the dam with views down the gorge. In the first half of the day, take the cable car up to the Shymbulak mountain resort (2260 m); the three-stage cableway continues to the top station at Talgar Pass (3200 m), about 25 minutes in all, with a full panorama of the Trans-Ili Alatau. Winter brings skiing and snowboarding, summer brings trails and terraces with views. Toward lunchtime, ride the cable car up to Kok-Tobe (about 1,100 m), the city’s signature lookout. Almaty lies at your feet, with the Alatau mountains behind you; sunset is especially striking, when the peaks turn pink and the lights of the metropolis come on in the valley.

An early start (around 06:00–07:00) leads to Charyn Canyon for a walk through the “Valley of Castles”, a 2–3 km section of the 154 km canyon where serrated red towers line the river and the midday sun turns the rocks to copper. Next is Moon Canyon, Charyn’s neighboring valley with gray and bluish rock formations that resemble a lunar landscape. Toward lunchtime, visit Black Canyon with volcanic walls and narrow passages, a dark palette in contrast to red Charyn. In the afternoon, walk around the first Kolsai Lake (1818 m), surrounded by Tien Shan spruces. Then drive on to Kaindy Lake, which appeared after the 1911 earthquake: spruce trunks rise from the water like the masts of a sunken fleet. The way back to Almaty is about 270 km, so this is a very long day of 14–15 hours, much of it on the road, with a late-night return.

Walk through Panfilov Park, a shaded green space in the city center with the memorial to the 28 Panfilov heroes who fell near Moscow in 1941. Old oaks, quiet alleys and the sound of bells keep the atmosphere of old Alma-Ata inside the modern city. In the first half of the day, visit the Zenkov Cathedral, built in 1907, a wooden church assembled without a single nail and one of the tallest in the world, which came through the earthquake that leveled much of the city. It stands 56 meters tall under golden domes, and inside is an iconostasis from the late 19th century. Toward lunchtime, stop at the Eternal Flame in Panfilov Park, a memorial of granite and fire in memory of the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. In the second half of the day, 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 from the jaylau, and friendly vendors who invite you to sample everything before buying. After lunch, a short stop at the branded Rahat chocolate store, the oldest Kazakh brand, with gift boxes in 1970s design and plenty to take home as presents. By evening, visit TSUM, a Soviet department store on Zhibek Zholy, where you can still find souvenirs, felt goods and local clothing at a good price. Then comes the Ykhlas Museum of Folk Musical Instruments, with a collection of 1200 dombras, kobyz and zhetygens, where the guide plays a kuy, a piece of Kazakh instrumental music best heard live. The drive continues past the campus of the Kazakh-British Technical University, with its modern architecture and atrium, one of the symbols of new Almaty. A walk along pedestrian Zhibek Zholy, Almaty’s “Arbat”, follows, with street artists, guitarists at sunset, stalls of local handmade goods and cafés for a rest after an active route. A photo stop at the Kazakhstan Hotel, a 25-story building from the late 1970s with a huge smalt mosaic on the façade, a classic example of Almaty’s socialist modernism, closes the day.

Start with 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 at the elevated viewpoint. On the way down, stop at the Ayusai eco-park in the Small Almaty Gorge, which has wooden boardwalks, alpine flowers and a waterfall along the trail toward Big Almaty Lake. After lunch, walk through Alma-Arasan Gorge with a mineral thermal spring, a mountain stream and trails along cascades beneath a canopy of conifers.