Being one of the world's largest land-locked country, Kazakhstan offers visitors a variety of natural landscapes. We start our expioration in the south western Mangystau dry region with its unique mountains and canyons which feels so alien - almost from planet Mars. After 5 days here, we travel back to Almaty, which is Kazakhstan's largest city to soak up culture & history. Our journey continues towards the south eastern region for Charyn Canyon & beautiful lakes with green mountains in the background.
HIghlights of this trip :
- 5 days Mangystau adventure to experience out of this world landscape.
- 3 days South eastern region featuring of Charyn Canyon, Lake Kolsai and Lake Kaindy for short walks.
- Discover bustling local bazaar and remnants from the USSR period in the bustling city of Almaty
Please take note that we have several nights staying in tents and yurts with shared outdoor toilets.
B = Breakfast, L= Lunch, D=Dinner
Day 1 Airport/Plane: Assemble in KLIA latest by 10:00AM TUES 15 April 2025 for AirAsia morning flight D7 600 departing 1:00PM. Fly 7hr 40min before arriving in Almaty 5:40PM. Go through immigration and short rest in Almaty airport before domestic flight late night or early tomorrow morning. Stay in Aktau hotel included with breakfast provided.
Day 2 Aktau-Desert Camp (B/L/D): After breakfast, our Mangystau 5days program begins about 10am. Some of the natural landscapes for our visit today includes Valley of Balls (Torysh), Jurassic Clays (Kokkala), Sherkala Mount and Airakty Valley of Castles. Set up camp and enjoy the night sky filled with stars. O/N camp (outdoor toilet) with meals provided.
Day 3 Salt plains (B/L/D): After breakfast, walk up the Valley of Castles for amazing views of the surrounding. Afterwards, our journey takes us to the huge salt flats of Tuzbair. Enjoy lunch here amongst the amazing landscape. We next visit a White Big Arch and white limestone canyons. We finish the day at our yurt camp where we get to experience some traditional food. O/N yurt camp with shared toilets & showers, meals provided
Day 4 Kyzylup Camp (B/L/D): After breakfast, we visit Senek sand dunes and journey towards the colorful Tiramisu Canyon, earning its name because of the striped white and dark brown colors. Enjoy some nice sunset views before we retire to our camp at Kyzylkup. O/N camp (outdoor toilet) with meals provided.
Day 5 Bozjyra National Park (B/L/D): Those interested can go for a sunrise walk through the Tiramisu canyon. After breakfast, we continue our drive towards Bozjyra National Park famed for its many ecological formations. This include the Mars Panorama, Middle Panorama and Dragon Crest top view. We proceed to the lower part of the park where we set up camp for the night amongst the canyon. O/N camp (outdoor toilet) with meals provided.
Camping inside Bozjyra National Park / Walk through the Kokkala jurassic clay formations
Day 6 Aktau (B/L): Members have option to explore and take wonderful pictures of the Bozyjra Canyon during the beautiful sunrise colors. After breakfast, we drive 4-5 hours back to Aktau. Along the way, we stop for included lunch. Arrive Aktau by evening. Check in to hotel and own dinner tonight. Aktau is the 2nd largest city in Western Kazakhstan and is located on the eastern shore of the Caspian seas. O/N Hotel with breakfast provided
Day 7 Aktau-Fly Almaty (B): Today is a free day before our domestic flight Aktau to Almaty. Almaty being Kazakhstan largest metropolis will be a huge contrast after the quiet Mangystau journey. Free day to explore this city on your own. Lunch and dinner on own. Overnight Almaty in hotel for next 2 nights with breakfasts provided. .
Day 8 Almaty (B): After breakfast, we have an included city tour around Almaty. This include the Park of 28 Panfilovs, Zenkov Cathedral Church and Square of Republic. Afternoon we drive towards Medeu, located about 40minutes from Almaty. This is home to the world's highest skating rink at 1,691m. Nearby is the Symbulak ski resort. Located at 2,200m, it is the largest ski resort in Central Asia. Back to Almaty for own dinner. O/N Almaty hotel for 2nd night.
Day 9 Tamgaly Tas & Altyn Emel (B/D):This morning we drive about 2hr north towards Tamgaly Tas to visit the interesting open-air temple with Buddhist petroglyphs. We then travel 3-4hr eastwards towards Altyn Emel National Park to visit the popular Singing Dunes. O/N simple guesthouses in Bashi Village with dinner included
Day 10 Charyn Canyon & Kolsai Lake (B/D): After breakfast, we journey further about 4hr towards Charyn Canyon. The beautiful canyon is carved by the Charyn river which flows from Tian Shan mountains. Many millions years of wind and water erosion carved out the beautiful landscape from the red sandstone. We next head towards Kolsai Lake where you can enjoy short walks. The lake is formed due to landslide from tectonic movements. O/N simple guesthouses in Bashi Village with dinner included
Day 11 Kaindy Lake - Almaty (B): We continue our nature exploration to Kaindy Lake which is famous for the dead spruce trunks rising from the lake waters. It was formed back in 1911 when an earthquake blocked one end of the gorge. We end our day with a 4-5 hr drive back to Almaty. O/N Almaty hotel with breakfast provided.
