5 nights / 6 days · Kazakhstan

Oi Qaragai Overnight

Four nights in Almaty and one at a mountain resort forty minutes out, with Issyk Lake, Charyn and Kolsai either side of it.

Plan this trip See the day-by-day

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Duration: 5 nights / 6 days
Where you stay: Almaty → Oi Qaragai
Style: Honeymoon
From: AED 3,181per person

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About this trip

This one is built for honeymooners, and the shape supports it: a night away from the city at Oi Qaragai, a resort in a gorge in the Tien Shan foothills, with the afternoon and evening left deliberately unbooked.

Around it sit the three excursions that make the region worth the flight — Issyk Lake and the Saka burial mounds on the road east, then Charyn and Kolsai on the last full day. Kok Tobe covers the city at sunset.

What you go for

A night at Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort in the Tien Shan foothills
Issyk Lake, the Kremlin Walls cliffs and the Saka burial mounds
Charyn Canyon and Kolsai Lake in one day
Sunset from Kok Tobe

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 driver-cum-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, cafés and the promenade's musicians, finishing on Arbat.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 3
To Oi Qaragai
Overnight: Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort
Morning
Breakfast, then check out of your city hotel.
0900
Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort
A resort in the Tien Shan foothills built around the gorge it sits in — hiking, horseback riding and adventure parks on the doorstep, and food made from what is grown nearby. It is designed to be stayed at rather than toured.
1300
Arrive and check in.
1400
Lunch at the resort or a café nearby (on your own account).
1600
The afternoon is yours.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
Day 4
Issyk Lake and Kok Tobe
Morning
Breakfast at the resort.
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 cliffs the locals call the Kremlin Walls. There is a hike if you want one and a shoreline to do nothing on if you do not.
1300
Lunch at an Indian restaurant (on your own account).
1500
Arrive and check in at your Almaty hotel.
1800
Sunset at Kok Tobe
Cable car to the hill at 1,100 metres under the television tower, for the hour the city lights come on.
2000
Dinner on your own account.
2200
Hotel drop-off.
Day 5
Charyn Canyon and Kolsai Lake
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
0800
Charyn Canyon
The Valley of Castles — vertical cliffs that genuinely do look like walls and towers, on a ninety-minute walk that finishes at a clear mountain river.
1400
Lunch at Namaste, the Indian restaurant at Kolsai (on your own account).
1500
Kolsai Lake
Time at the first lake, in spruce forest under the Kungei-Alatau ridge.
1800
Return to Almaty.
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.

4★
- Astana International
- Oi Qaragai
AED 3,181per personLow season. High season is quoted on enquiry.
4★
- Regardel Hotel
- Oi Qaragai
AED 3,353per personLow season. High season is quoted on enquiry.
4★
- Park Dedeman
- Oi Qaragai
AED 3,636per 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).
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 Oi Qaragai Mountain Resort.
Gondola tickets to Shymbulak, Level 3.
Gondola tickets to Kok Tobe.
Kolsai 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.

Seasons

Low: April to June, and October to November
High: July to September, and December

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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