Kolsai Kaindy Lakes with Charyn Canyons 2-day tour
Recommended by 97% of travelers
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Almaty, Kazakhstan
- 2 days (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
The area around Almaty contains beautiful nature that’s worth visiting, but it can be hard to get there on your own. Simplify your trip to the Kolsai Kaindy Lakes, Charyn Canyon, and other natural highlights on a guided group tour from Almaty. National park admissions are included, as well as a night in a comfortable yurt and all meals. See a different side to Kazakh life without planning the logistics.
- All food is provided, including vegetarian options if required
- Transfer to Lake Kaindy in a rugged, off-road Soviet-era vehicle
- Explore mountains, lakes, canyons, and forests over two days
- Learn about nomadic lifestyles from your hosts
What's Included
- Bottled water
- National parks admissions
- Comfortable transportation by modern van/bus with AC
- Bonfire and evening entertainment
- Shower gel, shampoo and towel
- English-speaking tour guide
- Shared overnight stay in yurts/rooms
- Meals: 2 lunches, dinner, and breakfast
- Private accommodation (contact us if you need it)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting points
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End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Day 1
Moon Black Canyons & Kolsai Lake
2 Stops
1
Charyn National Park
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
2
Lower Kolsai Lake
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Accommodation: Not included
Meals: Not included
Day 2
Kaindy Lake & Charyn Canyon
2 Stops
1
Lake Kaindy
3 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
Charyn Canyon
2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Accommodation: Not included
Meals: Not included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Important note: Children under 5 y.o. are not allowed on the tour
- Not allowed for travelers who can not withstand long trips by car, long walks and hikes
- Not allowed for travelers with disabilities, injuries, diseases that limit physical abilities
- Special dietary meals (e.g., gluten-free) are not available
- Vegetarian food option is available
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Nazerke was the best tour guide! She was a lot of fun and very informative with all of our stops. The tour itself was a good pace over two days and we saw a lot. I’d recommend to everyone!
Reviews
4.9
based on 559 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
* The food was not sufficient, and some meals had very little meat. I think the tour operator should consider increasing the price slightly in order to provide better meals for travelers.
* The guide, itinerary, and bus were all good.
This tour experience was fantastic from start to finish! I did have to write to the company directly & request to be able to book solo, but once on the tour there were several other solo travelers so I think that may have been a Viator control, not the operator. Communication was clear & thorough from before the tour even began, both from the company prior to my trip, and from our tour guide the day before. Axsultan, or Ax, was one of the best tour guides I've ever had, especially on a tour like this which was only 2 days, with a fairly large group of ~32 people. I lucked out with a great group of travelers, for sure, but Ax also had a lot to do with keeping the energy of the whole group positive and exciting. Ax speaks excellent English, and he made sure to give clear directions & info about the country, places we saw, and details about pickup times, meeting times, options for what to do at the various sites, etc, which was very much appreciated! He also gave some good recs for Almaty after the tour. I cannot complain about anything from this 2 day tour with Ax, and I'd add that if you're debating between the long 1 day trips covering the same sites vs this option, go for overnight if you have the time. It's well worth it!
Overall, this was an excellent trip. They kept us right on time, the views were great, and it was nice meeting other people also on the trip. There were about 30 people altogether. The guide brought a drone and we were able to get some personalized drone clips for an extra fee. There was the opportunity to jump in the river in the morning before breakfast, I wish I had known to bring my swimsuit- but also we didn’t end up going because it rained.
The yurts were cozy and comfortable, I got to sleep early and slept great.
Moon Canyon and Black Canyon were both quick stops- with Moon there was the option for a half mile walk along the top of the canyon, and Black Canyon was just an overlook.
Kolsai Lake was really nice, you can walk down to the water and get in a pedal boat if you have time.
Kaindy Lake is beautiful but also overcrowded with tourists, we get there in the morning but then as the people arrive it gets steadily more crowded.
Charyn Canyon was a beautiful hike, if you’re into hiking, it’s very hot so bring water and sun covering. It reminded me of Utah and Arizona.
The one thing that I wasn’t a fan of, and reason for one star off, was the price for the horseback riding at Kaindy Lake. Before the trip, we received an email saying “ PLEASE NOTE: for tourists of our travel company, horseback riding (optional activity) to Kaindy Lake has a fixed price of 6,000 KZT/horse for the round trip. Please keep this in mind to avoid scams or price-gouging attempts.” However, once we got there, suddenly it was 6,000 for one way, and 8,000 for a round trip on the horse. TBH, the walk back looked great, but I felt that it was a bait and switch, not telling us the price was actually 8,000. When we asked the guide, he said the price had changed a year ago, and the information was old. That didn’t sound right, but what can you do when you’ve already paid. More than the money though, it’s the principal.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you so much for your detailed review! We’re very happy to hear that you enjoyed the tour, the scenery, the yurts, and the overall experience.
We especially appreciate you bringing the discrepancy regarding the horseback riding price to our attention. We take situations like this seriously and will look into what happened, check the current pricing with our local partners, and discuss it with the guide to understand why the information you received before the tour differed from the price given on site.
Thank you for letting us know about this. Feedback like yours helps us identify issues that we may otherwise not be aware of and improve the experience for our future guests.
We’re glad that, despite this issue, you had a great trip overall, and thank you again for traveling with us!
This tour was great! We covered a lot of the area and saw many great sites along the way. The guides and driver were excellent and very knowledgeable about what we were seeing. Food provided was excellent and plentiful. Can not recommend this tour enough!
The Kolsai Kaindy Lakes & Charyn Canyon overnight tour is a must-do while you’re in Almaty!
The stops are well-spaced with rest stops every 60-90 minutes for the long portions of the drive.
Day 1 we had short stops at Moon Canyon and Black Canyon, then lunch, then a couple of hours at Kolsai lake.
Day 2 we had the morning at Kaindy Lake and afternoon at Charyn Canyon which was the highlight for me.
At each stop there were options for every fitness level so you could ride/walk/hike as far as you liked.
Zhuldyz (tour guide) and Alex (driver) were absolutely terrific. There’s a lot of driving in these two days, and Alex handled the roads very well and safely.
Zhuldyz (who also went by Julie or Jule) was informative, funny, and made sure everyone had a good experience. She was very clear about the activities and what we could expect, which helped everyone get the most out of each stop. She
shared lots of interesting information without overloading us with facts. And she always answered our questions with a smile.
Beautiful nature and scenery; our guide Jon was incredibly helpful and showed us the best parts of each location, was fluent in English, and super fun. Stops were well selected and well timed.
Was a great trip, our tour guide Serzh was brilliant and made the whole thing easy and enjoyable! Had the added bonus of a private yurt on request, which was a great extra.
Fantastic tour, beyond my expectations. Vald was great, he was quite helpful and made the tour more enjoyable.
Fantastic trip I went on the trip with my son who had a great time. Our guide, Vlad, was very knowledgeable and informative regarding the history and culture of the region, while also being very friendly, engaging and personable. He did a great job of bringing a disparate group of travellers together to make the whole experience more enjoyable for everyone. Not to mention his singing, dancing and musical skills!
The lakes and canyon are beautiful, lake Kaindy being particularly picturesque. A highly recommended tour.
Axe was a great guide! One of the best guides I have had on a tour - he cares deeply and is an all around great human
This was, without question, the best tour I have ever been on.
From start to finish, everything was exceptionally well organized. Communication before the tour was excellent, departures were perfectly on time, and the entire itinerary ran incredibly smoothly. You could tell a lot of thought had gone into every detail.
The bus was brand new and one of the most comfortable tour vehicles I’ve ever traveled in. It had excellent air conditioning, USB charging ports at every seat, and even Starlink Wi-Fi available for a small additional fee, which was a great option given how remote some of the locations are.
Our guide Serzh was fantastic..friendly, knowledgeable, and organized. The yurt camp exceeded my expectations, and the food throughout the tour was very good.
One thing I especially appreciated was the pacing. We were given plenty of time at each stop, so I never felt rushed or like we were just checking places off a list. I was able to fully enjoy every destination without constantly watching the clock.
Honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing. If you’re considering this tour, don’t hesitate..it’s worth every penny.
They enjoyed 2 days trip together. The bonfire provided the opportunity to mingle, share experiences.
Zhenis was an exceptional tour guide. I booked this overnight tour on viator (Kolsai Kaindy Lakes with Charyn Canyons). The bus they used was modern and comfortable, and the driver drove safely. Both lakes were very beautiful and the food provided was of high quality. As well, the yurt was comfortable and the beds were soft. As an American, the canyons were repetitive due to the grand canyons in Arizona but nonetheless for most others they will be extremely cool. Overall easily 5 stars among the best tours l've done. The only recommendation I would add is to add more pick up points in the future. Would be easier for the guests. It's not like the time was essential as we got to the overnight accommodations before 6pm. 3 is less than what I would expect for a city as big as Almaty.
This was the highlight of my Kazakhstan trip! The tour was really organized and they connected me to other solo travelers. Julz/ Zhuldyz was an amazing guide helping us translate to talk to local vendors.
Overall, it was a good experience exploring this part of the country. However, I have a few reservations. First, the group size was quite big. We almost completely filled a big bus. Second, the host of lunches on both days was a bit hostile. One of the group members wanted to take a caramel on the table, but the host yelled “no”, prohibiting her from doing so. It was unclear why. Third, the program is quite long. We got dropped off at our hotel at 10 pm and were exhausted. Fourth, the guide’s poor handling of an problem. We found out that our bag was swapped with someone from our group who had been dropped off earlier. The guide asked us to go back on the bus as they had to drop off more people at the last stop. However, he did not take the responsibility in taking us back to our hotel. Instead, he asked the person who took our bag to come to the hotel at the last stop and us to wait for her here (he didn’t know how long we would have to wait), and just leave us hanging. We did not have a local app to call a taxi or local money to pay for the taxi. I felt that it was a poor irresponsible handling of the situation. Ps. The music in the bus (when it was played) was also a bit loud.
This was a great tour with an excellent guide, Zhuldys. She did a great job of herding 30 people on a comfortable luxury small bus to 6 locations all over Kazakhstan. The bus had air conditioning,WiFi, and a competent driver. Optional activities included boat rentals and horseback riding. The hikes were relatively easy (and we were the oldest folks at 73) and never more than 5km. A great mix of tourists of all ages from Singapore, Philippines, Canada, India, Turkey, Italy, France and a few from the USA.
I really enjoyed the trip and the tour guide Vlad was really a nice guy, everything was planned very well.
One of the best experiences I’ve had. Sergie and Ax were amazing tour guides. An authentic Kazakhstan experience. Honestly amazing beautiful nature and lakes. Would recommend to anyone and everyone. 100% worth it
Amazing experience! Great sceneries and wonderful people met on the tour! Yurt experience was fantastic!
Absolutely amazing experience. Naz was the BEST guide, and every part of the tour was incredible - great hikes, views, comfortable bus and yurt experience and a great group of people. And the stars at night by the yurts were underrated, saw many shooting stars! I went solo and this experience went as well as I possibly could have hoped. I would recommend this to anyone in Almaty!
It was wonderful experience of this 2 day tour.Najerke was great host and our guide.She made us feel comfortable at each and every moment of tour.Food was good.Intermittent breaks during bus journey were adequate enough to make your journey easy.There is adequate water arrangements on bus ( so need to get panic).Green valley yurt stay was excellent(karaoke night and bon-fire makes whole group like small family).Would recommend the tour to my friends…enjoy
Really cool trip, definitely recommend. We had a great guide Vlad and he really made the trip enjoyable <3
It seemed like the guide was rushing us. On our second day, according to the itinerary, we were meant to go to charyn canyon and get a chance to walk into the canyon and walk to the river. It was my birthday and meant to be the highlight of my trip. However, the guide did not let us do that and said we were only to walk at the top and gave us a only a little time where we even had to rush to walk along the length of the top. Furthermore, he kept saying proudly how we were 2 hours ahead of schedule (a lie as we were robbed off time and experiences at other locations) and getting back to Almaty at 7 pm when we should have left Charyn at 6pm. I messaged the company about this and got a very poor response with no resolution. it's not often that people get to travel, and to be lied to and not given any resolution or explanation is extremely poor. I spoke to friends who went on this exact tour with different guides and they had plenty more time at other locations and even got to walk down into the canyon.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Dear Marriya,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We are truly sorry to hear that your birthday tour did not meet your expectations and that you felt disappointed by the time spent at Charyn Canyon.
We understand how important this day was for you, and we sincerely regret that the experience did not feel as special as you had hoped.
After reviewing the situation with the guide, we were informed that the possibility of returning to Almaty earlier was discussed with the group and agreed with the majority of participants. However, we understand now that this may not have been communicated clearly enough, especially regarding the fact that an earlier return would naturally reduce the time available at some locations, including Charyn Canyon.
Even if the guide acted according to the group’s general preference, it was still his responsibility to make sure that all guests clearly understood the impact of this decision on the itinerary. We are sorry if this was not made clear to you at the time.
We also regret that you felt there was no proper resolution after you contacted us. Your feedback has been taken seriously, and we will use this case to improve how our guides communicate any route or timing adjustments during group tours. In the future, guides will be reminded to explain such changes more clearly and to make sure guests understand what they are agreeing to before the itinerary is shortened or adjusted.
We are sorry that this tour left you with such an impression, especially on your birthday. Kazakhstan’s nature deserves to be experienced fully, and we regret that your visit to Charyn Canyon felt incomplete.
Kind regards,
Kazakhstan Guided Tours
All the spots we went to were stunningly beautiful. Itinerary was reasonable and it doesn’t feel too rushed or dragging. Our guide, Serzhan speaks fluent English and was extremely friendly and professional. He took care of us well and had good banters. All the places were thoroughly introduced.
Had some local cuisines and stayed in Yurts. Had a great time with our fellow travellers in front of the bonfire at night.
Great tour covering major sights around Almaty, Jan and Sergei were absolutely lovely as guide and driver
This is the first time that I travel abroad. This trip was really fun and I was happy all the time. The schedule was not too packed but still see all the attraction and had time to enjoy and explore by myself. I like the Yurt experience and the cuisine but I hope it has more meat.
Vad, our guide, he was so energetic. He managed to hype everyone up and also let us rest as well. A very good guide !
A 10/10 trip for me !!!
Lake Kolsai and Charyn canyon were amazing. Other sites were not.
The overnight stay (in the guest house) was good, as well as the meals.
The tour itself consist about 30-40 person. And the experience was great! The tour leader was very helpful, polite, and gave us time to enjoy the place. No rushing. So if you're going here, I suggest you take this tour and enjoy. No need to rush.
A great overnight trip to the canyons and lakes. Zhuldyz (Jules) is a great guide, gamely balancing the wishes of a pretty large group (almost 30) and adapting activities on the fly. She also did a great job herding all of us across the various stops to make sure we were on schedule.
I'd definitely recommend two days over one. Even with the extra there were locations where I could have spent more time, but this was a great overview.
Naz is super friendly, super fun trip and beautiful sceneries, i love the lakes and canyons, the yurt staying you guys should try
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