Kolsai & Kaindy Lakes with Charyn Canyon 2-day tour

Starting/ending point: Almaty city

Driving distance: 660 km from Almaty and back

Tour duration: 2 days/1 night

Start time: 08:00 am Almaty time

Availability season: Weekly on Mon/Thu (Mar - Nov)

Tour language: English | Russian

Tour options: GROUP | PRIVATE

Description

TOURIST PLACES you'll visit:

Within 2 days you will visit the most famous places of Almaty region - Charyn Canyon, Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes. You will also axplore a very quiet place with landscapes of unearthly beauty - Yellow (Moon) Canyon. The itinerary is designed so that you can enjoy the tour without rushing and visit sites at the best time of the day at the best lighting conditions. Our tour guide will show you the best photo spots and tell you interesting information about the places.

An exciting journey awaits you to the most visited destination among all tourists in Kazakhstan - Valley of the Castles of Charyn Canyon, one of the side canyons of Charyn river. This is completed the ensemble of “palaces”, “towers” and ”minarets” formed by Pliocene deposits of red color, due to which this place is also called the Red Canyon. The canyon has a length of about 1.5 km and a depth of 150 m.

The next place you will visit is Kaindy Lake. An incredible scenery that you see above the water are the trunks of centenary spruce trees. And under the surface of the water, branches and needles of spruce trees were preserved in their original form due to the low temperature of the lake's water.

Picturesque Lower Kolsai lake - the most accessible one. The lake is located at an altitude of 1818 m. Today this place is very popular and receives thousands of tourists every day. Here you can take a walk, enjoy the view of the lake with a cup of coffee or take a boat ride.

ITINERARY

Day 1

08:00 Pick-up and departure from Almaty
Yellow (Moon) Canyon, walking, visiting several spots
Short stop at Black Canyon
Lunch in the guesthouse
Trip to Kolsai Lake
Kolsai Lake, walking, horseback-riding or boating (optional), visiting several spots
18:30 Hotel/guesthouse accommodation, dinner

Day 2

07:00 Breakfast, check-out
Trip to Kaindy Lake
Kaindy Lake, hiking or horseback-riding (optional), visiting several spots
Lunch in the guesthouse of Saty village
Leaving Kolsai Lakes National Park and trip to Charyn Canyon
Charyn Canyon "Valley of the Castles", visiting several spots, walking along the bottom of the canyon 1.5 km till Charyn river
Way back to Almaty
20:00 Drop-off in Almaty

⚠️ [Visits to any of the tour sites may be canceled and their order changed in case of adverse weather conditions and other circumstances beyond our control]

PHOTOS OF OUR TOURISTS

OPTIONS & PRICES

GROUP tour (joint) ⭕ Everyone can join ⭕ Small group of 5-15 people ⭕ Tour language: English ⭕ Pick-up/drop-off: Starting point (28 Shevchenko str.) and 9 locations (see here) ⭕ Available on fixed dates (check here) ⭕ Limited number of seats (check here)	✅ Comfortable minivan/minibus ✅ English-speaking tour guide ✅ Breakfast x 1, Lunch x 2, Dinner x 1 (vegetarian option is available) ✅ Bottled water ✅ National parks admissions ✅ Guesthouse or Yurt (Kazakh traditional dwelling) accommodation in 4-bed rooms shared with other tour participants of the same gender ✅ Bonfire after dinner ❌ Special food & drinks (paid separately) ❌ Horseback-riding/boating (paid separately)
EXTRA
✅ Private accommodation in a separate room (for 1-3 persons) +$30 per room
Regular price per person	Adult/Youth (13-80) - $165 Children (5-12) - $100 Children under 5 y.o. are not allowed on the tour
% Cascading discounts % for a one-time booking for 2 or more people: ⭕ when booking for 2 people - 10% discount; ⭕ when booking for 3 and more people - 15% discount.

PRIVATE tour Only one group of tourists participates without other people	✅ Hotel pick-up/drop-off ✅ National parks entrance fees ✅ Comfortable 4x4 minivan/SUV ✅ English-speaking guide-driver ✅ Bottled water ✅ Accommodation (details below) ❌ Special food & drinks (paid separately) ❌ Horseback-riding/boating is not included and paid on site (from 5000 KZT/person)
[ECONOMY] option	✅ Guesthouse accommodation in private room (WC/bathroom is shared) ✅ Breakfast x 1, Lunch x 2, Dinner x 1 (vegetarian option is available)
Number of people	2	3	4	5
PRICE per person	$310	$233	$190	$165
TOTAL	$620	$700	$760	$825
[NOMADIC] option	✅ Yurt (Kazakh traditional dwelling) accommodation (WC/bathroom is shared) ✅ Breakfast x 1, Lunch x 2, Dinner x 1 (vegetarian option is available)
Number of people	2	3	4	5
PRICE per person	$330	$250	$200	$176
TOTAL	$660	$750	$800	$880
[COMFORT] option	✅ Hotel accommodation with lake/mountain view (see photo) ✅ Breakfast x 1, Lunch x 2 (vegetarian option is available) ❌ Dinner is not included and available in the hotel's cafe
Number of people	2	3	4	5
PRICE per person	$400	$283*	$235*	$217
TOTAL	$800	$850	$940	$1085
*accommodation in one 3-4-person room
EXTRA
✅ Toyota 4Runner 2019 (see photo) or the same class/age SUV with driver +$30 per car

⚠️ [If you are more people, contact us and we will make an individual calculation for you]

IMPORTANT INFO

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: Average
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level.

WE RECOMMEND TO TAKE WITH YOU: season/terrain-appropriate outerwear, cap, jacket, trekking boots/sport shoes, sunblock, personal hygiene products, some cash in KZT for WC/boating/horseback riding (from 10000 KZT per person depending on route/duration).
!!! Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes are located in the border area with Kyrgyzstan. Be sure to have your passport (original, not a copy) with you in case of inspection. Border guards can fine you if you don't have it.

PRECAUTION

• Not recommended for travelers with serious medical conditions, high/low blood pressure;
• Not recommended for pregnant women;
• Not recommended for travelers with a fear of heights and who can not withstand long trips by car/long walks/hikes;

GROUP TOUR JOINING

[Here you can book your place on a group tour by yourself specifying the number of people and selecting an available tour date]

⚠️ [To accept online payment from your bank card, we use PayPal as a payment gateway, so you can securely pay with any international debit/credit card. No need to have or create a PayPal account]

PRIVATE TOUR BOOKING

[Here you can submit a request to book a private tour. We will try to respond to you within 24 hours]

BOOKING TERMS

Prepayment (30% of the tour cost for the Private tours, 20% for the Group tours) is required to confirm your booking. The remaining amount must be paid at the start of the tour.
To accept online payments from bank cards, we use PayPal as a payment gateway, so you can securely pay with any international debit/credit card. No need to have or create a PayPal account.

CANCELLATION POLICY

PRIVATE TOURS

Customer can change the details or cancel the booking no later than 72 hours before the start of the tour with the possibility of a 70-90% refund of the tour cost. After this time, no refunds will be made.

FIXED-DATE GROUP TOURS

Customer can change the details or cancel the booking no later than (24 hours - for day tours; 72 hours - for multi-day tours) before the start of the tour with a full refund of the tour cost. After this time, no refunds will be made.
A minimum number of tourists and suitable weather are required. If these criteria are not met, the tour will be canceled no later than 48 hours before the start and you will be offered a different date/tour or a full refund.

Any tour/booking can be canceled in case of force majeure with a full refund.