Recently Viewed
Charyn Canyon Tour: Explore Almaty's Natural Wonders
4.7
27 Ratings
Almaty
Explore Charyn Canyon, Black Canyon, Kolsay, and Kaindy Lake all in a single day. Delight in the stunning landscapes of the Almaty Region. The tour also features a traditional food lunch.
Duration:
15 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Kolsai Lake - Our first stop will be the Kolsay Lakes, located about a 15km drive from Saty village. These lakes are among the natural marvels of Kazakhstan, often referred to as the ‘Kazakh Switzerland.’ They are situated on the northern slopes of the Tian Shan Mountains in southeast Kazakhstan.
- Lake Kaindy - Our second destination is Kaindy Lake. We’ll reach the lake by a Soviet off-road vehicle, followed by a 15-minute hike. After exploring Kaindy Lake, we’ll have lunch at a local guesthouse.
- Charyn Canyon - Our third stop is Charyn Canyon, approximately a 2-hour drive away. We’ll spend about an hour at the canyon, where you can enjoy stunning views from the top and walk along a path through the canyon to see formations that resemble castles. Take in the breathtaking landscapes of Charyn Canyon and the Valley of Castles.
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Soviet off-road car
- Bottled water
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- All fees and/or taxes
- Lovely Lunch in local Guesthouse (vegetarian option is available)
Location
Best Western Plus Atakent Park Hotel
Timiryazev Street
Lobby of Best Western Hotel
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(27 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Connector26986320454
Apr 9, 2024
Amazing tour in Kazakhstan - Thanks to this amazing tour, we had a great time in Kazakhstan!
We visited Kolsai Lake and Charyn Canyon which are stunning place to be. Lunch was included so we can enjoy local food in the villliage. The car was clean and comfortable, toilet break also available during the trip.
Thanks to our excellent tour guide ,Yernar. He was friendly, helpful, responsible and speak fluent English. We really appreciate Yernar helped us took awesome aerial shots using his drone. It definitely captured our delightful memories in Almaty!
After this great experience of day tour, we immediately decided to join another tour to Altyn-Emel National park next day. In fact, there is limited local tour option to Altyn-Emel National park online. I searched for long time before the trip but the price was not reasonable.
Thank you so much for our tour guide to organise this tour in short time with reasonable price. We enjoyed a lot in singing dune.
We highly recommend this tour to whom want to explore Kazakhstan.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Patchirau
Oct 30, 2023
So wonderful trip ! - All places are very beautiful. Yernar is such a good guide and driver, he gave me more information and invited me to talking along the way. We had short time for that day but he also well managed time so we arrived at Charyn canyon before sunset that so perfect time to be there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Olivia_m
Oct 24, 2023
Amazing experience, not to be missed!!! - Such an amazing experience, would recommend to anyone. The photos do not do it justice. we also did a quick horse ride for an extra 5000 tenge for the two of us. By far not the most expensive on the market but cannot imagine how you could get more for your money. Due to the private nature of the tour, we went at our own pace so we could enjoy everything to the fullest. Nurlan our guide/ driver was amazing. As two young girls, going for a full day out of phone service with a stranger is of course daunting but with Nurlan we felt so safe. The car we travelled in was also very comfortable which made a big difference.
Also a quick note to say something we were concerned about before booking was that the day would feel like we were sat in the car for way too long. This was completely not the case. Due to the intensity of each spot, the drives in between were nice breaks and it really did not feel like we spent too long in the car. This was definitely helped by travelling by our own car as we were able to do much more in much less time. Overall, could not recommend enough, such a fabulous day.
(btw lunch was a typical, basic Kazakh lunch (plov etc - no menu) so maybe bring your own food for lunch if you are a picky eater)
Review provided by Viator
Martin_n
Oct 13, 2023
A great way to see all the amazing sights in one day - The day started at 6:30 exactly, being picked up with my guide's brand new car. Everytjinf was scheduled to perfection. The guide/driver was very knowledgable and passionate. I was given the option of first going to the canyon or to the lakes, but was advised that the canyon is better during sunset. We headed to the lakes, where we chose Kolsay first due to being able to reach it by our car, as for Kaindy we needed to wait for the UAZ (old soviet military transport sort of vehicle), since we really went through rough terrain. As for the canyon, we saw it from both up and down, and if you can deal with 22.000 steps per day up and down, I absolutely recommend it.
The only downside for some is that my amazing guide doesn't speak much English, but with my basic Russian we had a great time together. If you're a bigger group it shouldn't be a problem at all (I was solo).
Wholeheartedly recommend the tour!
Review provided by Viator
Hamaad_k
Oct 9, 2023
Would 100% recommend - Really fantastic tour. Yernur and his father know what they’re doing and given the private nature of the tour, get to experience it away from the large tourist buses and get to appreciate the scenery a lot more.
Review provided by Viator
Michael_s
Oct 3, 2023
Guide Denis is the best - Guide Denis was perfect. The places were fantastic. This day was the highlight of our holidays. Denis made a lot of photos and videos for us. -> perfect
Review provided by Viator
701nicolasb
Sep 25, 2023
Yernar made my day - Guided and driven by Yernar, I had an awesome experience around Almaty region. He was caring, informative and very pleasant to be with. Highly recommended tour in Kazakhstan. Merci 🙏
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Natalie
Sep 23, 2023
Great way of seeing the sights in a day - A wonderful day out seeing Charyn canyon, Kolsai and Kaindy lakes. Be prepared for a long day but this made so much easier thanks to Yernar’s excellent organisation and transport - not to mention good company. Would highly recommend! It was one of the highlights of our trip to Kazakhstan.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wojciech_z
Jul 31, 2024
bad experience :-( - tour was excellent but the driver drove very dangerously and was very mean. No air conditioning in the car. I would not recommend this tour to anyone with this driver!!!
Review provided by Viator
Syeds122
Jun 20, 2024
Getyourguide Almaty, Kazakhstan is a scam! - "Warning! @GetYourGuide Almaty, Kazakhstan is a scam! Booked 'Almaty: Charyn Canyon, Kolsay, and Kaindy Lakes Day Trip' for June 17, 2024, and got zero response from their provided number. Support was useless—Christina Botoctoy kept me waiting with no solution. Avoid this company at all costs! #scam #travelwoes"
Review provided by Tripadvisor