6 nights / 7 days · Kazakhstan

Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort & Almaty

Two nights at a mountain resort forty minutes from the airport, then four in the city — the least driving of any package here.

Plan this trip See the day-by-day

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Duration: 6 nights / 7 days
Where you stay: Oi Qaragai → Almaty
Style: Mountain resort
From: AED 3,196per person

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About this trip

This one inverts the usual order. You land and go straight to Oi Qaragai, a resort in a gorge in the Tien Shan foothills, and spend the first two nights there with a full day of nothing scheduled — paintball, archery, the rope park, a mountain cart, horses, or the spa if none of that appeals.

Only then do you move into Almaty for four nights of city and mountains: Issyk Lake and a falconry show, Panfilov Park and Zenkov Cathedral, Kok Tobe, Shymbulak, and the Green Bazaar on the last morning. Nothing here is a four-hour drive.

What you go for

Two nights at Oi Qaragai, forty minutes from the city
A resort day of paintball, archery, zip line, rope park and horses
Issyk Lake and a falconry show
Shymbulak Level 3, Kok Tobe and Zenkov Cathedral

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, straight to the mountains
Overnight: Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort
1500
Arrive at Almaty
Our English-speaking office staff meet you in the arrivals hall once customs and baggage are cleared.
1600
To Oi Qaragai
Forty minutes into a mountain gorge. The resort sits in the virgin forest of the Tien Shan foothills and looks, when you arrive, more like somewhere in the Alps than in Central Asia.
1730
Arrive and check in. The rest of the day is yours to walk the property.
Evening
Dinner at one of the five restaurants on the resort (direct payment).
Day 2
A day at the resort
Overnight: Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort
Morning
Breakfast at the resort.
Nothing scheduled
The resort runs paintball, hiking, a mountain cart track, archery, a rope park, a climbing wall, a zip line, horse riding and a spa. Take as much or as little of it as you want.
Lunch
At one of the five restaurants on the resort (direct payment).
Dinner
At one of the five restaurants on the resort (direct payment).
Day 3
Down to Almaty
Morning
Breakfast at the resort.
1200
Check out. Your English-speaking guide and driver meet you for the transfer to your city hotel.
Afternoon
Check in and settle.
1900
Panfilov Promenade and Arbat Street
An evening walk facing the Opera and Ballet Theatre, past the small shops and cafés and the promenade's musicians, finishing on Arbat.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing (direct payment).
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 4
Issyk Lake, Alma-Arasan and falconry
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Issyk Lake
East along the old Kuldja caravan road into the Trans-Ili Alatau gorges, past Saka-period burial mounds, an ostrich farm and the Issyk Barrow, to a turquoise lake under the cliffs called the Kremlin Walls.
1400
Lunch at a restaurant of your choosing (direct payment).
1500
Alma-Arasan Gorge
A wooded gorge in the Ile-Alatau national park south-west of the city — a river, pine slopes and easy walking.
1700
Falconry show
A working falcon farm where the birds of prey are flown, and where you can see how they are kept between displays.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing (direct payment).
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 5
Panfilov Park, Zenkov Cathedral and Kok Tobe
0700
Breakfast at the hotel.
1030
Panfilov Park and Zenkov Cathedral
The city's picnic ground, named for the twenty-eight Panfilov guardsmen and anchored by the war memorial east of the cathedral. Zenkov is 56 metres of wooden Orthodox cathedral from the early twentieth century — built with reinforced concrete, preserved timber and ventilation, which is how it survived 1911.
1400
Lunch at a restaurant of your choosing (direct payment).
1730
Kok Tobe
The cable car from near Hotel Kazakhstan, over the old quarters and the orchards, to the hill at 1,100 metres under the 372-metre television tower.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing (direct payment).
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 6
Shymbulak, the Green Bazaar and Rakhat
0700
Breakfast at the hotel.
1000
Shymbulak, Level 3
The resort sits at 2,260 metres in the Zailiysky Alatau, 25 kilometres from the centre. Around 25°C in summer and −7°C in winter, with roughly 1.5 metres of snow and a season that runs December to April. Sunshine on nine days in ten.
1400
Lunch at a restaurant of your choosing (direct payment).
1500
Green Bazaar and the Rakhat chocolate shop
The Zelyony Bazaar near Panfilov Park sells everything from meat and spices to fruit, clothing and furniture. Rakhat's factory shop is next door.
2000
Dinner at a restaurant of your choosing (direct payment).
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 7
Departure
0430
Packed breakfast and check-out.
Morning
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.

4★
- Oi Qaragai
- Astana International
AED 3,196per personLow season. High season is quoted on enquiry.
4★
- Oi Qaragai
- Regardel Hotel
AED 3,368per personLow season. High season is quoted on enquiry.
4★
- Oi Qaragai
- Park Dedeman
AED 3,651per personLow season. High season is quoted on enquiry.

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) — city portion only.
Sightseeing as set out in the day-by-day above.
Two bottles of water per person, per day.
Hotel taxes.
Two nights at Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort.
Four nights in Almaty at your choice of the hotels above.
Dedicated English-speaking guide throughout.
Gondola tickets to Shymbulak, Level 3.
Gondola tickets to Kok Tobe.
Falconry show entrance.
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.

Seasons

Low: March to June, and October to November
High: July to September

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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