Day 1

Day travel distance: 90 kms

Turgen Basecamp

10.00 Start driving from Almaty in the direction of Turgen mountain gorge (North Tian Shan), by the famous Kuldja Road (part of the Silk Road from China). The Almaty Mountains are not far from the city.

11.00 Arrival in Issyk town. Visit of a nice new museum of Saki culture. The museum is built just in the centre of the King’s valley with its giant burials of ancient rulers and warriors of Saki tribes (IX – IIIc BC).

One of the burials is excavated and open for the visitors, making it possible to see how e.g. the famous Golden Man (symbol of Kazakhstan) was living and dying. Excursion to the museum (45 minutes)
12.00 – 13.00 Drive from Issyk to Turgen gorge, stop for a short hike to the Lower Turgen waterfall.

13.00 – 13.45 Hiking to the waterfall and back.
13.45 – 14.00 Drive from the Lower waterfall to Batan place, where our comfortable Turgen safari-campsite is located.
14.00 – 15.00 Lunch at the campsite
15.00 – 18.00 Accommodation in the basecamp, free time: mountain bikes, rope-activities are available at the campsite.
18.00 – 19.00 Dinner
In the evening leisure time, hot shower and Skiff sauna are available!
Overnight at the campsite.

Day 2

Day travel distance: 110 kms

Assy Plateau

09.00 – 10.00 Breakfast
10.00 – 15.00 Jeep-tour to Assy highland plateau. A comfortable 4WD car will take you on the fantastic trip into nature: the road starts in the forest zone of Turgen gorge, and climbs up through the thicket that ends suddenly at a height of 2600 meters, and a boundless green highland valley appears.

The Assy plateau is used already for a thousand years as a summer pasture by the Kazakh nomads, and they are still there with their goats, horses and white yurts. Here, deep in the mountains you can still find the semi-nomads living in a traditional and natural way.

History and real life are inseparable at this point and you see the sheep grazing on the slopes of ancient burials and around Kazakh yurts on the top of the rocks covered with ancient rock paintings!

The Assy valley is part of a National Reserve, and is also famous for its wildlife: eagles, falcons, foxes and marmots live here, protected and safe.

On the way back we will have a stop at the Assy Pass, were one of the biggest Astronomical Observatories of the region is located –  it’s huge dome can be seen from any point in the valley!
A short lunch with hot tea is planned on the plateau.

15.00 – arrival (back) at the campsite
15.00 – 16.00 Supper at the campsite
16.00 – 19.00 Free time the campsite
19.00 – 20.00 Dinner
Overnight in a tent.

Day 3

Day travel distance: 90 kms

En Route

09.00 – 10.00 Breakfast
10.00 – 13.00 Hiking to the Big Kairak waterfalls.

The path starts at the confluence of the Turgen and Kishi-Turgen rivers, from where a really nice and wide trail goes through the wild forest to one of the miracles of North Tian Shan nature – a great 75 meters high waterfalls! The trail is not steep, there are no any dangerous points on the way, so you are invited to enjoy the wildlife: relict mossy fir groves, alpine herbs and flowers, birds and dragonflies.

13.00 – 13.30 Lunch at the waterfall
13.30 – 16.00 Trek back to the camp
16.00 – 17.00 Supper at a camp
17.00 – 19.00 Return to Almaty