5 nights / 6 days · Kazakhstan

Kolsai Lakes Overnight

Four nights in the city and one at a resort on Kolsai Lake — the only package that sleeps in the Tian Shan.

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Duration: 5 nights / 6 days
Where you stay: Almaty → Kolsai
Style: Lakes & canyons
From: AED 3,115per person

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About this trip

Everything else here treats Kolsai as a day trip: four hours out, a couple of hours at the water, four hours back. This one puts you at a boutique resort on the lake for the night, which buys the late afternoon and the early morning — the two hours the day-trippers never see.

It also picks up Kaindy, half an hour further on, where a 1911 landslide dammed a valley and drowned a spruce forest. The trunks are still standing in the water, bare and upright. Charyn follows on the way back to the city.

What you go for

A night at Kolsai Nomad Resort on the lake
Kaindy Lake and its submerged spruce forest
Charyn Canyon's Valley of Castles
Boat or horseback on Kolsai in the late afternoon

The route

Day by day

Times are the operator's planned schedule. They shift with the season, the light and the traffic on the day.

Day 1
Arrival in Almaty
1600
Arrive at Almaty
Your English-speaking guide meets you in the arrivals hall once immigration and baggage are cleared.
1700
Transfer to your vehicle. Chocolates, refreshing napkins and Wi-Fi on board.
1800
Check in at your hotel.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 2
Shymbulak, then Panfilov and Arbat on foot
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Shymbulak, Level 3
An hour from the city centre to 3,200 metres by three-stage gondola, with cafés, an observation deck and adventure activities in season.
1400
Lunch at Shymbulak or in the city (on your own account).
1600
Back to the hotel to rest.
1800
Panfilov Promenade and Arbat Street
An evening walk facing the Opera and Ballet Theatre, past small shops and cafés and the local musicians who work the promenade, finishing on Arbat.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 3
To Kolsai Lakes
Overnight: Kolsai Nomad Resort
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
0900
Kolsai National Park
285 kilometres and about four hours south-east, into the spurs of the Kungei-Alatau. Three lakes in sequence under steep forested slopes — the reason the area gets called the Kazakh Switzerland.
1300
Arrive and check in at your boutique resort.
1400
Lunch at the resort or a café nearby (on your own account).
1600
The lake, late
A boat out onto Kolsai, or a horse to see the far shore. This is the part of the day a coach tour never gets to.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
Day 4
Kaindy Lake and Charyn Canyon
Morning
Breakfast at your resort.
1000
Kaindy Lake
A landslide a century ago dammed a valley over a spruce forest. The trees are still there, bare trunks standing straight out of the water. It is a strange thing to look at and photographs badly compared to how it feels.
1300
Lunch at a local café before continuing to Charyn (on your own account).
1400
Charyn Canyon
The Valley of Castles — a ninety-minute walk between vertical cliffs, ending at a clear mountain river. The Witch Gorge and Dragon Gorge are close by.
1600
Drive back to Almaty.
1900
Arrive and check in at your city hotel.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 5
Green Bazaar, the malls and sunset at Kok Tobe
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Green Bazaar and the Rakhat chocolate shop
The Zelyony Bazaar near Panfilov Park — meat, spices, fruit, clothing, furniture, and a price for everyone willing to argue about it. Next door is the factory shop of Rakhat, Kazakhstan's oldest chocolate maker.
1400
Lunch at an Indian restaurant (on your own account).
1500
Shopping
Dostyk Plaza, Esentai Mall and Mega Mall for the higher end.
1800
Sunset at Kok Tobe
Cable car up to the hill at 1,100 metres for the hour when the city lights come on below the television tower.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 6
Departure
1200
Packed breakfast and check-out.
Afternoon
Transfer to the airport for your flight home or onward.

Where you stay

Hotel options

Pick a line and the whole trip is costed against it, so you can see what the difference actually buys.

3★
- Astra Hotel
- Kolsai Nomad Resort
AED 3,115per person
4★
- Regardel Hotel
- Kolsai Nomad Resort
AED 3,229per person
4★
- Park Dedeman
- Kolsai Nomad Resort
AED 3,515per person

Per person, twin share. Land only — international flights are not included. Rates move with the season, the number of you travelling and the hotel line you choose, so we confirm the final figure against your dates before anything is booked.

The detail

What is included

Included

Airport meet and greet.
Chocolates and refreshing napkins served on board your vehicle.
Complimentary Wi-Fi on board every vehicle.
Daily breakfast.
Private vehicle with driver throughout the trip.
Vehicle and guide at your disposal for nine hours daily (1000–1900).
Sightseeing as set out in the day-by-day above.
Two bottles of water per person, per day.
Hotel taxes.
Four nights in Almaty at your choice of the hotels above.
One night at Kolsai Nomad Resort.
Dedicated English-speaking guide throughout.
Gondola tickets to Shymbulak, Level 3.
Gondola tickets to Kok Tobe.
Kolsai Lake, Kaindy Lake and Charyn Canyon.
Souvenir on departure.

Not included

Flights.
Meals other than those listed above.
Expenses of a personal nature.

Meal upgrades

Indian meals: USD 13 per person per meal, for groups of eight and above.
International set menu: USD 35 per person per meal, lunch only, Monday to Friday.

Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.

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