This guide contains the best day or multiday trips from Almaty. Visit the famous Charyn Canyon, Kolsai Lakes or the less known Bartogay lake and Moon Canyon. This and much more is waiting for you in our ultimate guide about Almaty’s wonderful natural surrounding. Learn how to get there and other helpful information crucial for the smooth planning of your next trip.

Almaty, the cosmopolitan city in Southeast Kazakhstan, is a perfect base for many day or multiday trips. It is the most westernized city we visited after a couple of weeks of travelling around Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It was like being back in Europe, except the city is surrounded by snowcapped peaks that attract visitors to come and hike them! We stayed in Almaty for almost three weeks. However, most of the places in this article are doable as a day trip, and few of those where it would be a pity not to spend a night in. 

We have to say; we didn’t feel that good in a long time as in Almaty. It’s a very welcoming city with a big expat community. Locals tend to go to nature often, so all places were bustling with locals, and it had such a pleasant vibe that kept us curious all the time and keened on visiting more places.  

Top trips from Almaty 

Bear in mind transportation in whole Kazakhstan is a pain. Public transport to places is basically non-existing, so your best bet is to combine shared taxis with hitchhiking. Given the remote location of the places we were planning on visiting, we didn’t want to risk it, and we used the local cheap tour buses as a way of transportation between the places. This way, it allowed us to explore more places than we would be able to visit independently. Also, we could stay camping overnight by Kolsai Lakes, which was an unforgettable adventure. 

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Bartogay Lake

We loved our visit to this scenic man-made lake, 200 km from Almaty. It was the last major project of Soviet Kazakhstan. It stays pretty untouched until today, and with dramatic mountain scenery, it is a popular spot for locals. There are no facilities. Therefore it’s just a short detour if you are visiting Charyn Canyon or Kolsai Lakes. But it is worth it. The lake is 6 km long, and the average depth is 25 m. If you use the same tour like us, they will take you to this place on the way to Kolsai Lakes. Read how to get there in our Kolsai Lake travel guide below.

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Kolsai Lakes & Kaindy Lake

Kolsai Lakes is a series of three deep blue lakes surrounded by mountains roughly 290 km from Almaty. You can easily make it as a day trip with a tour. Or you can use a tour as transportation to get there, spend a few nights camping and come back to Almaty with the same company. We explain how exactly we did that in our detailed travel guide to Kolsai Lakes. 

You can easily get to the first Kolsai lake, which is in 1800 m, by just walking down the hill from the car park, making it accessible for everyone. There, you can rent a boat and enjoy the sunny day on the lake, rent a horse for some treks in the area or hike to the second lake. 

To get to the second lake, you have to earn it as it is in 2250 m. It is an 8 km challenging hike that takes around 4 hours one way. But the reward is sweet. Surrounded by mountains, and forest, with the gorgeous possibility of camping overnight. We couldn’t resist spending a night by the second lake. It’s safe to say it was one of the best things we did in Kazakhstan. The third lake is another 5 km away, and you need a special permit to get there since it is nearby from Kyrgyz borders and guards control it. 

Once you are already there, it is around 26 km, partially on the rough road to get to Kaindy lake. Turquoise lake with dead trees sticking out of it. Pretty cool place. 

Essential reading: Detailed travel Guide to Kolsai Lakes & Kaindy Lake 

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Moon Canyon 

Moon Canyon is a small Charyn Canyon made of yellow clay. The scenery around is out of this world. As soon as you get closer, you will be blinded by its beauty. Here is a river running through the canyon that you can see immediately from the car park. You can take a short walk around the ridge to get better views of the canyon. It is much less visited than Charyn Canyon, but the beauty is highly comparable. 

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Black Canyon 

Another canyon that is along the Charyn River. Black Canyon is not as accessible as the other two canyons, but there is a nice view platform on the top from where you can see the river down the canyon and rock formations. You visit this canyon on the way to Charyn Canyon and Moon Canyon. 

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Charyn Canyon 

Changing a mountain green scenery to a desert, utterly hot and humid place doesn’t take longer than a couple of hours. Suppose you go from Kolsai Lakes. The next stop on your itinerary will be Charyn Canyon. It is often labelled as the Kazakh Grand Canyon. The jaw-dropping scenery is a must-see for anyone visiting Almaty. The canyon is made of red rock formations, with multiple viewpoints with panoramic views, with some sides deep as long as 300 m. The most famous sight is the Valley of Castles, which you can visit by a 2.5 km hike through the canyon. We put together all information we gathered and created an ultimate guide to seeing all three canyons in one trip.

Essential reading: Ultimate Guide to Charyn Canyon National Park

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Medeu 

Medeu is the easiest place, where you can reach one of the most dramatic mountains around Almaty. It is just a 15 km, 30 minutes bus ride from the city centre. 

How to get to Medeu 

Bus number 12 will take you there for as little as KZT 150. It leaves opposite the Hotel Kazakhstan from Dostyk Avenue and has many stops around Almaty that you can see on Google maps. We went there multiple times to enjoy the cool weather, as it is around 10 degrees colder than in Almaty, which makes it a perfect escape from the Kazakh heat. 

Note: If you want to go hiking, don’t get out of the bus at the first stop, where the cable car is. The bus then goes to its final stop, next to the ice rink, and it is where you want to get out. The bus runs between Almaty and Medeu frequently, every 15 -30 minutes. 

Top thing to do in Medeu:

The highest Ice skating rink in the world

Medeu is a winter sports paradise in Kazakhstan. Not only you find there Central Asia’s top skiing centre Chimbulak. You also see the highest ice rink in the world, at an altitude of 1700 m. You get the best view of the ice rink if you climb the steep stairs leading right behind the ice rink. You just follow the main road to get there. In summer, there is no ice, but you can rent summer skaters and enjoy the ride. What a cool experience. 

Furmanov Peak

This was the first hike of the Alatau range we did and also the most spectacular. The path leads on the asphalt road from the beginning, but it soon turns into an uphill dirt road with medium difficulty. After roughly two hours, you get out of the forest walk, and the lush green meadow with picturesque tall trees opens up in front of you. You can watch the farmers with their horses in the distance if you’re lucky. From there, the trail gets more challenging, but soon you will reach the swing. Isn’t this cool? You can either continue to Furmanov Peak or return to Medeu. That’s what we did as the storm was approaching. Long story short, we didn’t make it on time and were caught in an unexpected quick storm. Make sure you are well equipped with rain cover at least. It takes around 3-4 hours to reach the swing. On the way back, where the meadow viewpoint is, you can choose an alternative route. Instead of turning right, turn left and follow the path that takes you all the way to Medeu. 

Gorelik Waterfall Hike

Another beautiful hike. For this one, you need to climb a series of stairs, the same as if you go to the viewpoint for the ice rink. From there, follow the asphalt road that takes you to the restaurant and a yurt accommodation. Most people go there, and more likely, you will be one of few who challenge the steep climb to reach Gorelnik Waterfall. The first part leads uphill, but don’t worry, soon you will find yourself surrounded by a much green meadow, and the hike gets relatively easy. It takes around 3 hours to reach the waterfall. 

There are many more hikes in the area that you can do. The Three Brothers are amongst the most popular ones. Or, if you want to challenge yourself, the 12 hours Four Peak Hike is waiting for you. 

Cable Car

f hiking is not your thing, don’t be upset. You can get out the bus number 12 at the first stop, from where the cable car goes all the way to Shymbulak. You actually take three different cable cars to get there, and the views must be insane.

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Big Almaty Lake

The most popular day trip from Almaty is Big Almaty lake. The turquoise lake, sitting at 2500 m, is nestled between the rocky mountains. Often crowded at weekends, your best chances for a peaceful visit are during weekdays. The lake changes its colour depending on the time of the year. Between May and September, the water is milky light blue. Whereas in September you get to see the turquoise water. 

How to get to the Big Almaty Lake: 

Bus/Hiking

You can take bus number 63 or 86 from Almaty. At First President’s park, switch the bus to 28, which takes you to GES-2. Then you need to hike to Almaty lake, which takes around 5 hours, with an elevation of 1100 m. Sounds pretty challenging. 

Yandex 

Call a taxi through the Yandex app, where you can also choose the return ride and ask the driver to wait for you for one hour (1 minute of waiting for costs KZT 30 + hour = KZT 1800). The whole trip, including the waiting, should cost KZT 8000 – KZT 11500. 

Note: The final leg of the road to Big Almaty lake was closed as of June/July 2022, making it impossible to get to Big Almaty lake without hiking 12 km from the last spot where the cars can drop you! Make sure you find out the latest information before you go. 

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Singing Dune

Another great trip from Almaty is visiting Altyn-Emel National park, which is famous for its singing dune. The only downside, as in many other places in Kazakhstan, is that you either have to rent a car, hitchhike or take a tour. But with Onyx Tour (WhatsApp +77777306598), you can easily get there with local travellers. The tour is cheap and costs around KZT 10000. 

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Travel insurance for Kazakhstan

Make sure you are well covered when travelling and doing some adventurous activities, horse riding, hiking, and climbing the mountains. We use the services of IATI insurance, which covers all of the activities mentioned with excellent coverage. The website is also easy to navigate, and you get amazing and fast customer support. In addition, readers of Broken Navigation get an exclusive 5% discount. 

Get your 5% discount with IATI Insurance here.

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Where to stay in Almaty 

Almaty is known for having a bit overpriced accommodation for what you get. This is unfortunately true, but we were fortunate with our hostel. Read below. 

Budget I Wanderlust Hostel – we stayed here, and it would be hard to beat this place as, in our eyes, it is simply the best. You can stay in private rooms as well as in dorms. The big fully equipped kitchen is free to use, wifi works super fast so you can work without any problems if you need to, and you can do your laundry for KZT 500 ($1), and it is located in the city centre, just a short walk from Zenkov Cathedral. You can chill on living room sofas or outside terrace. If we are ever back to Almaty, we are coming back for sure. 

Budget I DA Hostel Almaty – if the price is a priority, check out DA Hostel Almaty, a popular choice amongst backpackers. It has dorms, separated for women and men and a kitchen area. 

Mid-Range I Opera Apart Hotel – They have lovely apartments with a balcony in the city centre. The AC is a big plus in the heat of Almaty summer. 

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Wild camping in Kazakhstan 

For your information, wild camping in Kazakhstan is allowed. If you come with camping gear, make the most of your trip. It is very easy to camp by the Kolsai Lakes and in Medeu. In Medeu you find many beautiful camping spots. In most places, you can do fire, and if you’re close to the river, which in these places you are, bring a water filter, so you don’t have to worry about carrying heavy water with you. Make sure you also visit the nature reserve Aksu Zhabagly for another epic camping opportunity.

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