Green Ring Almaty
The most popular tour in Kazakhstan
Highlights of this eight-day tour from Almaty:
– Altyn Emel nature park and its semi-desert landscape
– spectacular Charyn Canyon
– the beautiful Kolsai mountain lakes plus the Kayindi lake with the standing out tree tops
– accommodations along the way, small hotels and a homestay (option: a yurt in Charyn Canyon)
– the cosmopolitan city of Almaty
Almaty and surroundings is the most popular area for travelers in Kazakhstan – and with good reason. Here you will find many different landscapes, as well as memories of the past, on a relatively small surface. For those who are mainly looking for emptiness and tranquility: don’t worry, you will encounter much of these in Almaty province.
The Green Ring route leads past the most interesting and beautiful places in this area. You will visit the Altyn Emel National Park, with its remarkable and colorful mountains, and wildlife (gazelle, wild donkeys).
Your journey continues via Charyn Canyon to the Kolsai & Kaindy mountain lakes, enjoying beautiful landscapes along the way.
On this trip you can walk a lot and even ride a horse if you wish. You will stay outside Almaty in small guesthouses and in Almaty in a three-star hotel (we can upgrade if you like). The tour in Almaty Province can be shortened if you have fewer days off.
A visa is not necessary for a visit of up to 30 days to Kazakhstan for most countries.
You can read more about highlights and practical advise on travelling in Kazakhstan here.
In Altyn Emel
Day 1
Flight to Almaty.
Day 2
Day travel distance: 20 kms
Meeting in the airport, transfer to the hotel, resting.
Panfilov Cathedrale in Central Almaty
You start your tour from Almaty with an excursion in Almaty in the afternoon for four hours. Including visits to the Republic Square with the monument of Independence, Panfilov park with its wooden Cathedral, the Green Bazar a.o.
Day 3
Day travel distance: 380 kms
We leave Almaty, drive to the north and leave for the national park Altyn Emel, to the north of Lake Kapchagai. In this large park there are a lot of different phenomenons to explore and enjoy. There is wildlife, and you stand a chance to see wild donkeys (kurgan) and steppe antilopes (djeiran).
Nature has created here, far and away from any sand desert, an enormous sanddune that you’ll be given a chance to climb. This so-called Singing Dune will produce a low monotonous sound once you slide from it.
Singing Dune in Altyn Emel
You’ll have dinner and spend the night in a small guest house in the village of Basshi.
Day 4
Day travel distance: 140 kms
We drive through the national park towards the Aktau (‘White’) Mountains, and explore its canyons, followed by a visit to the Kakutau (‘Volcanic’) mountains.
Aktau and Kakatau mountains in Altyn Emel
Dinner and night are spend in the same guest house.
Day 5
Day travel distance: 310 kms
On the way to the Kolsai Lakes we exchange the semi-deserts of Altyn Emel for steppe landscapes where herds of horses roam freely. We end up in the village of Saty, base for exploration of the Kolsai lakes, and situated in another subsequent ecosystem, namely the high mountains.
Kayndi Lake nearby Saty
After lunch in Saty you will enjoy a visit (by car) to Lake Kayindi at a 45 minutes drive, famous for its tree trunks rising from the lake, a very nice picture. Incidentally, a dive in one of the lakes (Kolsai and / or Kayindi) is recommended, but cool!
You return by car to nearby Saty for your dinner and overnight at a Kazakh family home.
Day 6
Day travel distance: 20 kms
The first Kolsai lake is situated at 1800 meters altitude. Lake number two is 9 kms away from here, and you reach it either on foot or on a horseback – a brave ride! The renting of horse is not included in our offer, but can be arranged locally, as well as hiring a local guide.
You will spend the whole day at the beautiful mountain lakes.
Full board at the guesthouse in Saty, with lunch in a box today.
Day 7
Day travel distance: 310 kms
You’ll end the day at the hotel in Almaty. Before reaching it, visit to Charyn Canyon is scheduled, 110 kms north of Saty and on the route to Almaty. This is perhaps the most popular natural phenomenom in Almaty Province at 220 kms from the city. Here we have a picnic and stroll among the magnificent rock formations, and along the river Charyn.
Charyn Canyon
Close to Almaty in the village of Issyk you will pay a visit to the Golden Man Museum, with treasures from the surrounding burial mounds from the Sakh period. In the evening you return in Almaty and will be taken to your hotel.
Please take note that in order to visit the Golden Man Museum you should leave early from Saty this day!
Day 8
Day travel distance: 0 kms
You’ll be transfered to Almaty Airport for your flight back home. Most international flights leave Almaty in the early morning.
The cost of this eight day tour from Almaty at six persons is €625 per peron, at four persons €740 p.p. and at two persons €1,050 p.p. For other group sizes please write us for an offer.
Included in the offer are:
– two nights of accommodation in a 3* hotel in Almaty plus an early check-in, and four nights in simple but nice homestays in the countryside, on the basis of bed & breakfast and double rooms
– all transfers in by car/minibus
– services of English speaking guides during all excursions, and a driver-guide with little or no English knowledge during the four day tour in the countryside
– entrance tickets for all nature parks, museums and sites according to the program
– five lunches and four dinners
– transfers airport-hotel-airport at the start and finish of the program
– mineral water during the transfers
Not included in the offer are the international flight tickets, the remaining lunches and dinners, and all not mentioned services.
Finally we withhold €15 per booking for the Dutch GGTO Travel Guarantee Fund.
PLACE | Almaty and region |
DATES | best season April-October |
PRICE | €740-€1,050 p.p. at four resp. two persons |
LENGTH | 8 days |
Contact
Telephone
tel. (00)31 23 700 12 22
(00)31 6 47 12 64 09Email