Day tour of Charyn canyon, Kaindy lake and Kolsai lake

Do you want to visit all 3 famous sites around Almaty within one day? Let us go and visit them! 
Qayindi lake in Kazakh
Kolsai means lake valley in Kazakh
Charyn canyon image from pixabay
  • Start/finish: Almaty city
  • ​​​​​​Distance: 600 km to and from
  • Duration: 14-16 hours
  • Starting time: 06-00
  • Restricted access: December-February
  • Languages: English and more
  • Activities: Sightseeing | Walking | Hiking

Itinerary

DAY 1

05-50

Meet and greet at hotel

06-00

Drive to lake

10-00

Kaindy lake tour

13-00

Lunch at cafe

15-00

Kolsai lake tour

16-30

Drive to canyon

18-00

Charyn canyon tour

19-00

Drive to Almaty

22-00

Finish, drop off

Included:
  • vehicle
  • guide
  • eco charges and tickets
  • water bottles
Excluded:
  • meals
  • personal expenses
  • shuttle bus from Saty village to the parking lot of lake Kaindy
Notes:
  • tour is subject to change
  • USD KZT exchange rate is volatile
Remarks:
  • weather must be taken into consideration
  • Kolsai and Kaindy lakes are 300 km away from Almaty
  • do not expect 5 star service in the province
  • state of infrastructure in the province is not as good as in Almaty
  • do not expect mobile Internet, Wi-Fi in the province to be as good as in city
  • road from Saty village to Kaindy lake is subject to motion sickness
  • after Saty village there will be a special off-road vehicle (old Soviet-Russian Uazik) to reach the parking lot of lake Kaindy: off-road driving takes 30-40 minutes
  • special off-road vehicle has bad AC/heater and is dusty
  • it takes 30-40 minutes of hiking or 15-20 minutes horse riding or 10-15 minutes of additional off-road driving to go from the parking lot to lake Kaindy
  • depending on weather conditions, the tourist track from the parking lot to lake Kaindy can be muddy, dusty, snowy, icy, etc. 
  • in nature there is a risk of an insect bite
  • veg food is available but not Indian
Saty village info:
  • as a rule, price of a shuttle bus from Saty village to the parking lot of lake Kaindy is around 30-50 USD per vehicle to and from for 10 people group size 
  • lunch is from 5-10 USD per person, dinner is from 10-15 USD per person
What to take with you:
  • original passport or ID
  • rain ponchos if rain is expected
  • proper clothes and shoes (if you want to hike: especially lake Kaindy)
  • paper money and coins to pay for goods and services in the province
Highlights:
  • you will see the world famous Charyn canyon - more info
  • you will see lake Kaindy - more info
  • you will see lake Kolsai - more info
  • you will see so called Black canyon 
  • you will see the typical Kazakh province and the Kazakh steppe
  • you can taste authentic local cuisine
  • you can ride a horse
1
We have a great sense of humor. We do!
2
We try to find an approach to every traveler. Sometimes we ignore)))
3
We help to find hidden places to take the best photos. Some of us know, some not)))
4
We serve a vehicle well before departure. It is up to the driver)))
5
We conduct technical inspection of the vehicle before and after tours. At least we say so)))
6
We have basic knowledge of vehicle maintenance. Some female drivers not)))
7
We provide basic medical assistance if you are injured. Sort of!

Tour Reviews

esik2
John
esik1
Sunil
esik_lake3
Peter
    Standard tour
    Price per person (based on 10 people group size)
    from 55 usd
    Different group sizes
    Price per person depends on the size of the group: for example, different rates are applied for 2, 4, 5, 7, 20 people and so on
    from N usd