Charyn Canyon and Kolsay Lake: Scenic Day Trip

92 Ratings

Almaty

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Explore Charyn Canyon and Kolsay Lake on a day trip from Almaty. Hike, ride, and boat through stunning landscapes and experience Kazakh culture.

Duration: 16 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Charyn National Park - Explore the canyons, enjoy a short hike to Sharyn River, and capture stunning photos.
Charyn Canyon - Spend 15 minutes at the Black Canyon viewpoint.
Charyn Canyon - Spend 15 minutes at the Lunar Canyon viewpoint.
Kolsai Lake - Stroll around Kolsai Lake. Optional horse riding and boating are available for an additional fee. Don’t forget to take amazing photos.

What's Included

Bottled water
Entrance fees to Charyn National Park
All fees and/or taxes
Professional Guide
Transportation
Entrance fees to Kolsai lakes National Park

What's Not Included

Special food & drinks
Boating and horse-riding (30 min boat ride $10 per group of 4 people, horse riding $10 for 30 min)

Additional Information

Discover the unique landscapes of Charyn Canyon and Kolsay Lake on a day trip from Almaty. The tour includes various activities such as hiking, horseback riding, and boating, allowing tourists to engage with the environment actively and enjoy different perspectives of the lakes. Kolsay Lake, often referred to as the “Pearls of the Northern Tien Shan,”…

Location

Abay Ave 50

Abay Avenue

Please wait for our guide or bus before entering the metro. If you see transport (bus, minibus) come and show your voucher. Make sure you go to your tour operator and to your tour

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.6

(92 Ratings)

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Cpizzle2

Jun 7, 2025

A++ - Super duper fun trip we had with Anel! She was very professional, great with English communication, nothing better to ask for! No further explanation needed about Kazakhstan's stunning nature~ A++++++

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Zgtieh15

May 12, 2025

Fun and comfortable trip - The pickup was on time and van provided was comfortable. The guide, Dalila was helpful in her English explanations and made sure the info was conveyed nicely. The locations were beautiful! Suitable for solo, couples, or families as their vehicle can accommodate all. Will recommend if you are looking to visit Charyn and Kolsai!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

410oljap

May 3, 2025

1 day - 5 locations - The trip “1 day - 5 locations” was incredibly beautiful, the guide was very kind and helpful, she showed the natural beauty in the best way 🏞😍 I will definitely remember this day for a long time and I recommend it to everyone ❤

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Azimahh2025

Apr 28, 2025

Beautiful nature! - Had a great time and took beautiful pictures. Tour guide Altynay told us about the history of all the places we visited. She spoke English well and helpful in answering our questions. The driver was also nice and drive safely. The cons was we wasted about 1 hour waiting for latecomer at the start and waiting at another locations when departing. This is a 13 pax group, imagine if there are more. Things that can be improve maybe skip the yellow canyon so tourist can have more comfortable time at lunch. It was 25 mins lunch with many other tours at one restaurant. Overall, a great experience. Info for Muslims, there are prayer room at the Kolsay lake at the cafe at the end of the lake.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Tour03382413859

Apr 20, 2025

Good trip - Very good experience with our friendly guide Sayana! Bring warm clothes tho! Snacks and drinks can be purchased in abundance during the trip

Review provided by Tripadvisor

_a4734hf

Apr 7, 2025

Thanks for Comfort. - The guides were very friendly, caring, worried asking if everything was okay. On each location advised where best and most effective to do. Actively photographed us and generally stayed close without leaving separately, so if you travel alone may not worry about who will shoot you) Luto recommend.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Tour57921667297

Mar 12, 2025

Nature of Kazakhstan - Enjoy the nature of Almaty. Despite the hard weather, we really enjoyed interacting with the guides and other participants.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Thomas_m

Mar 11, 2025

Concise and full of... - Concise and full of explanations of each sight- loved it! Even a few extras thrown in such as the local market and nice eating spots and local food recommendations

Review provided by Viator

Victoriawa3092my

Apr 20, 2025

One Day Canyon & Lake Tour with Joinme - Nicely organised tour, can’t remember correctly our tour guide name, seems to be Sayana. Energetic young girl, always making sure her tourist are enjoying and satisfied with the tour. Beautiful scene, but be prepared for long distance walk in the attractions.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Ken_q

May 20, 2025

Nice scenery, too long along with horrible food and break stops from hell - This tour is just too long. The scenery is beautiful. What made it bad is the tour company picked the worst places to stop. The lunch was horrible, and the guest bathrooms were a hole dug in the floor. The break stops were not much better. They charged for subpar bathrooms even though you bought items. All of the stops were at mom and pop locations. The Black canyon is one area that could be cut from the tour to shorten it. Thank goodness we took another tour the next day or we would have been left with a bad impression of Kazakstan. Many in our group had taking the same tour but the small group tour. They they show us pictures of it. They said the didn’t experience anything we experienced and their lunch was amazing. Bottom line do not take this companies tour and take the small group tour that in includes lunch.

Review provided by Viator

Check Availability

From $43

up to 15 guests

1 - Adult