Day 1
Nederlands
EnglishVariation in South Kazakhstan
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Day 1
Arrival in Almaty and transfer to the ****Hotel Grand Tienshan in the green city center. After lunch we have a city excursion, visiting the green bazar, a mosque, the Zerkov cathedrale and the museum for folkmusical instruments.
In the end of the afternoon we ascend the Koktube mountain by lift, have diner up there and enjoy the sunset.
Day 2
Day travel distance:
250 km 
Today we drive to the Bartogai reservoir and onwards to the famous Charyn Canyon, where we'll enjoy a picnic along the river.
We continue to the village Saty - direction Kyrgystan - in the valley of the river Chilik, where we'll spend the night in a simple guesthouse.
Day 3
From the guesthouse we move on a small distance to the Kolsai lakes, three mountain lakes at different altitudes. We arrive over an arduous road at the first lake and stay ther in a guesthouse. Around the lakes one can splendidly hike, ride a horse or try to catch a trout in the lake.
Day 4
Today we hike through the mountains, through the village of Algabas in the pictoresque valley of the river Zheniske. We spend the night in tents along the river.
Day 5
We drive on towards the Assy Plateau, through beautiful nature with hardly any human beings around. Before ascending a mountain pass we pitch our tents at a point where we have a lovely view over the Zheniske valley.
Day 6
We cross the pass and continue across the Assy Plateau. I summer Kazakh families stay here with their herds, living in yurts. We spend the night nearby a yurt or inside, depending on the circumstances.
Day 7
We stay one day at the Assy Plateau, living with the Kazakh nomads. Here we can hike, ride a horse.
Day 8
We return to Almaty and have the afternoon for ourselves. The night we spend again in ****Hotel Grand Tien Shan.
Dag 9
We visit the Kasteyev National Arts Museum and have lunch in a traditional Uzbek restaurant. In the afternoon we visit the falconers os Sunkar, followed by some free time.
In the evening we catch the nighttrain - in two persons compartments - to Tjulkebas, nearby the Aksu Jabagly natural reserve, our destination.
Day 10
We are picked up from the trainstation in Tjulkebas in the earlu morning and transfered to the nearby village of Jabagly. This is the entrance-point to the Aksu Jabagly Nature Reserve, and here we'll first enjoy our breakfast.
After breakfast we'll a day excusion in the reserve, having a picnic on the way.
We have diner and spend the night in a simple but comfortable guesthouse in the village Jabagly.
Day 11
A day-excursion on foot or by horse (optional) to the Kschi Kajindy valley. Pic nic is on the way, dinner and the night we spend in the guesthouse in Jabagly.
Day 12
We drive to Kaskasu at the foot of Mount Sairam, the highest mountain of South Kazakhstan. On the way we visit holy places in Sairam and Nikolajevka.
We spend the night in a simple family guest house, investigate the village and enjoy a Kazakh diner with a family.
Day 13
A day for hiking or horseriding (optional), on the way to the wonderful mountainlake of Susyngen. We spend the night at the lake, in tents.
Day 14
Today we return to Kaskasu, (by horse or on foot), and will spend the night again in the family guest house. In the village we'll have time for ourselves.
Day 15
Via the large city of Shymkent we drive to Schaulder, visit the local museum and enjoy a lunch. On we move to the ruins of Otrar. This used to be an important city until it was destroyed by the Mongols. We spend the night in Otrar in the pilgrims guesthouse of Aristan Bab.
Day 16
Today we move on to the town of Turkestan, where the most important site of Kazakhstan can be found, the mausuleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (on the UNESCO list). We receive a guided tour in this holy place and we'll have time for ourslves to explore it.
For dinner we'll have the traditional Kazakh (and Central Asian) 'Shashlyk' and we'll spend the night in hotel Turkestan.
Day 17
We return to Shymkent, more precisely its airport, and board the plane to Astana, the new Kazakh capital in the center-north of the country.
There we'll be accommodated in hotel Mukkamal in the old, lively part of the city.
Day 18
A day for visiting the modern sights of Astana, a new city still in the middle of its development. We will visit a.o. the President's Culture Center, the Baiterek Tower with a wonderful panorama etc.
Dinner in a Kazakh restaurant.
Day 19
Transfer to the airport and return home (depending on your further program).
