Canyons & steppe Top pick
Charyn Canyon
The Valley of Castles, red canyon walls and a walk down to the rushing Charyn river.
Price on request
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Medeu & Shymbulak
The legendary high-altitude skating rink and a cable car up to Talgar Pass at 3,163 metres.
- Duration
- 5–6 h
- Distance
- 25 km from Almaty
- Altitude
- 3 163 m
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Season
- Jan – Dec
- Price
- Price on request
Almaty’s most accessible mountains: just 25 kilometres from downtown and you are at an altitude where people ski in winter and hike alpine meadows in summer.
We start at Medeu, the high-altitude rink where more than a hundred world records have been set. Then we take the gondola up to Shymbulak and continue to Talgar Pass, with views of the Trans-Ili Alatau glaciers.
Highlights
- Medeu skating rink
- Medeu — Shymbulak gondola
- Talgar Pass, 3,163 m
- Views of the Trans-Ili Alatau glaciers
Itinerary
- Pick-up at your hotel
- Medeu rink and dam
- Gondola to Shymbulak
- Lifts up to Talgar Pass
- Lunch at the resort (optional)
- Back at your hotel
Times are approximate and depend on the road and your stops.
Included
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Comfortable car and fuel
- Driver-guide in your language
- Bottled water in the car
Not included
- Lunch and personal expenses
- Cable car tickets
What to bring
- Passport or ID
- Comfortable shoes
- A warm layer or windbreaker
- Sunglasses and sunscreen
- In winter — warm clothes and gloves
Season
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Lakes Top pick
Kolsai & Kaindy Lakes
Kazakhstan’s two most famous mountain lakes in one day: spruce-lined shores and a sunken forest.
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Lakes
Big Almaty Lake
A turquoise lake at 2,511 metres — just an hour’s drive from the city.
Price on request
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