Kolsai & Kaindy 7-Day Tour with Bear Waterfall & Falconry Show

This is the longest day of the tour, about 14 hours with most of it on the road, so the start is very early and the return is late in the evening. The first stop is Kaindy Lake, formed after the 1911 earthquake. Spruce trunks rise from the water like the masts of a sunken fleet, and the turquoise surface between them is one of Kazakhstan's most recognizable scenes. Then you walk around the first Kolsai Lake (1818 m), a turquoise surface framed by centuries-old Tien Shan spruces. The mountains are quiet, and trout rise close to the shore. You return to Almaty late in the evening.

The day begins at the Medeu ice rink, 1691 meters above sea level and one of the highest outdoor speed-skating rinks in the world. In winter the ice is flawless, and in summer the rink is a cool mountain amphitheater with a walk along the dam and views of the gorge. Then you ride up to the Shymbulak mountain resort (2260 m). The upper cable car lines reach the top station at Talgar Pass (3200 m) and open a full panorama of the Trans-Ili Alatau. Shymbulak offers skiing and snowboarding in winter and hiking and cafés with views in summer. In the afternoon you take the cable car up to Kok-Tobe (about 1,100 m), the city's signature viewpoint. Almaty lies at your feet with the Alatau mountains behind it, and the view is especially striking at sunset, when the peaks turn pink and the lights of the metropolis come on in the valley. You return to Almaty in the evening.

The day starts in the town of Esik (Issyk) at the “Golden Man” museum, which shows a replica of a 4th-century BC Saka warrior whose ceremonial costume carries 4000 gold plaques. It is the main symbol of modern Kazakhstan, and the Saka royal burial mounds where he was found lie near the town. Next you drive up to Lake Issyk (1756 m), with conifer-covered slopes and clear water. Around midday you trek to Bear Waterfall in Turgen Gorge, 30 meters high, with the roar of water, a rainbow in the spray and a coolness you feel a hundred steps before the cascade itself. Lunch is at a trout farm in Turgen, with fresh fish grilled beside the mountain river. You return to Almaty in the evening.

The morning starts at the Sunkar Falconry Center on the way into the mountains, with its falconry show: a golden eagle takes off from the glove and returns precisely to the ring, a live demonstration of the nomads' ancient hunting art. Then you walk through Alma-Arasan Gorge, with a mineral thermal spring, a mountain stream and trails along waterfalls under a canopy of firs. In the afternoon you stop at the Ayusai eco-park in the Small Almaty Gorge, with wooden boardwalks, alpine flowers and a waterfall on the trail toward Big Almaty Lake. You return to Almaty in the evening.

The day begins at 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 jailau honey, and friendly vendors who let you taste everything before you buy. Next is a short stop at the branded store of “Rakhat” chocolate, the oldest Kazakh brand, with gift boxes in a 1970s design, a good place to pick up souvenirs and presents. Around lunch you walk through Panfilov Park, a shady 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 give it the atmosphere of old Alma-Ata inside the modern city. In the afternoon you visit the Zenkov Cathedral of 1907, a wooden church among the tallest of its kind, built without nails, which came through the earthquake that destroyed much of the city. Inside is an iconostasis from the late 19th century, and outside are golden domes 56 meters high.