Almaty, canyons and lakes: 6 days in Kazakhstan
Almaty → Charyn Canyon → Kolsai Lakes → Kaindy Lake
From €775 per personView tour
The Valley of Castles · Kazakhstan
Charyn Canyon
Red sandstone towers carved by the Charyn river.
Charyn Canyon, roughly 200 km east of Almaty, is often compared with a smaller Grand Canyon. Its most visited section, the Valley of Castles, is a walk of about 2–3 km between red sandstone towers down to the Charyn river.
It is usually combined with the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes in a two- or three-day loop, or visited as a long day trip from Almaty.
- Time needed
- 1 day
- Best time
- April–June and September–October; hot at midday in summer
- Getting there
- About 3–4 hours by road from Almaty.
Don’t miss
Highlights
- 01
Valley of Castles
A walk between eroded towers to the river.
- 02
Charyn river
A shady riverside at the bottom of the canyon.
- 03
Viewpoints
Rim views at sunrise and late afternoon.
- 04
Ash grove
A relict grove of Sogdian ash trees along the river.
Tours
Tours that include Charyn Canyon
Uzbekistan & Kazakhstan: Silk Road and Tien Shan, 12 days
Almaty → Charyn Canyon → Turkistan → Tashkent → Samarkand → Bukhara → Khiva
From €1,435 per personView tour
Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan: lakes and pastures, 10 days
Almaty → Charyn Canyon → Kolsai Lakes → Karakol → Issyk-Kul → Song-Kul → Bishkek
From €1,245 per personView tour
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