Classic Kazakhstan Tour

Separated by the Ishim River, Astana is full of paradox. After meeting your driver guide at your hotel lobby, you’ll thoroughly explore the city from its Old Town on the east bank. Narrow streets are lined with the Soviet-era apartments, with cookie-cutter light grayish-white facades. Among them, the pure white Hazrat Sultan Mosque is the attention grabber, whose interior is equally stunning for a towering roof, pillars, and walls decorated with Kazakh ethnic patterns. Ladies can use the robes and shawls provided at the entrance for free.

Head south to the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where armors during the Cold Weaponry Times, cavalry equipment, and yurt restoration models unveil the country’s centuries-old nomadic life. Besides, large exhibits relative to Genghis Khan illustrate that this great conqueror is highly revered among locals. After incorporating Kazakhstan into the Mongol Empire (1206 - 1368 AD), he united various tribes that had long competed for resources, which paved the way for a peaceful and stable rise.

Crossing the river to the west bank, your driver guide will show you around those ambitious buildings, each of which screams: Kazakhstan has a bright future! The first one is the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, a ‘pyramid’ supported by stainless steel grids and light grey granite. On its west stands the Bayterek Tower, often called ‘The Tree of Life’, an apt name stemming from a Kazak legend: the mythical bird Samruk hatched a golden egg among its branches. 

Then, let’s continue our way west to the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center. This huge tent-like glass greenhouse keeps out Siberian cold currents, enabling locals to shop, socialize, and enjoy family time as usual when the temperature plummets to -40 to -30℃ (-40 to -22 ℉). Today’s last stop is the Nur Alem Future Energy Museum. Apart from witnessing the country’s efforts to sustainable development, you can walk onto the tiered terrace to overlook the city’s fringes seamlessly blending into expansive steppes. 

After all visits, your driver guide will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Ibis Hotel Astana (3 stars) or similar

Morning! Today, your driver guide will escort you on a 3-hour journey to the Burabai National Park after the hotel meet-up. According to local legend, the Creator initially left only arid grasslands to Kazakh nomadic tribes. Expressing their grievance through continuous prayers, locals thereby were gifted with the Burabai National Park, which is charming for many things: mountains, forests, lakes, and rivers…

Upon arrival, you’ll find pine forests and birch trees weaving a green sea, and 14 lakes scattering among them like shimmering gems. Follow a firs-lined path to the shore of the central Lake Borovoe, where one of the best things is that simply be still. Want more experiences? Maybe rent a boat on your own, about USD 5-10 per hour, and cruise towards the Zhumbaktas Rock, which resembles a reclining woman or a Sphinx from different angles. If you’re still energetic after that, consider climbing the steep Okzhetpes Rocks nearby for stunning panoramic views.

After a day of exploration, you’ll enjoy a private car transfer back to your hotel in Astana.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Ibis Hotel Astana (3 stars) or similar

After breakfast, your driver guide will escort you to Astana Airport to fly to Almaty. 1.5 hours later, your Almaty-based driver guide will pick you up and escort you to your hotel downtown.

★ Falconry Demonstration: Natural Hunters’ Kill Time

Spend an exciting afternoon at Sunkar Raptor Center for a falconry show (available from Apr. to Oct. except for Monday & Tuesday), where experienced falconers will parade their loyal partners. The few-month owl’s chubbiness will bewitch everyone at first, followed by a vibe shift when apex predators like peregrine and golden eagle take up the baton. During real hunting simulation, their diving speed at 320 km/h (199 mph) and 3-meter (10-foot) wingspan show the extreme visual oppression as ‘the King of Grassland’. A front-row seat offers chances to take photos with them, feeding, or feeling their weight on your arm. Later, your driver guide will escort you back to your hotel. 

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Renion Park Hotel, Almaty (3 stars) or similar

Today, you’ll leave Almaty for Basshi Village with a 3.5-hour road trip accompanied by your driver guide. After hotel check-in, refuel yourself for the afternoon visit to Altyn Emel National Park. The 1-hour way to the park unfolds like a pastoral: horses splashing water by the lake and reeds swaying in the endless grassland. 

Once there, you’ll notice that the Singing Dunes take the center stage. Immerse yourself into the desert concert when climbing, preluded with a wind-blowing murmuring and amplified to a cello playing when billions of sand particles vibrate in unison and harmony. That resonance from feet to spine cannot be restored by any hi-fi audios! Though there are various scientific explanations for the singing secrets, locals are more inclined to believe that they are unyielding convictions of the Khan, who rests here forever and tells cruel power struggle to passers-by.

After enjoying the sweeping views of the Ili Valley, the lavender-hued ridges, and snow-clad peaks from the summit, your driver guide will escort you back to your hotel in Basshi Village.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Basshi Hotel

This morning, your Altyn Emel National Park exploration will extend to the Aktau Mountains after the hotel meet-up with your driver guide. Given that washboard road conditions, be sure to have carsick pills in advance. White vistas of the mountains hint at their Cretaceous origin from 145 million years ago, while the overlooking perspective uncovers a ‘Tiramisu’ with rich fillings, consisting of rock strata in milky white, caramel, and ochre red hues. If lucky, you may encounter running gazelles navigating through hills.

Later, return along the coming route to the Basshi Village for lunch. When enjoying traditional dishes like Lagman, stir-fried noodles with lamb or beef and vegetables, having a cup of tea is a must, a custom passed down since nomadic period for refreshing and better digestion. Interestingly, the host often serve guests with half a cup of tea, so that they have an excuse to pour more tea and keep guests stay longer.

Following that, a two-hour drive will lead you to our handpicked resort in Chunja Hot Springs. Hope you an unwinding night!

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Kara Dala Hot Springs Resort or similar

Ready for two spots that are worlds apart today! After hotel pickup, you’ll enjoy a 1.5-hour private car transfer by your driver guide to Moon Canyon in the Charyn Canyon National Park first. The sunbaked sandstone fades into ash-like tones, with deep ditches evoking the ‘test fields’ of spaceship in ancient civilization. If aliens truly appeared here, they would be hard to resist the temptation to take photos with ‘their hometown’. 

Continue driving 1.5 to 2 hours to Saty Village, and settle the luggage at your guest house. Rest for a while and then let’s embrace the Lower Kolsai Lake, which shifts from light blue to rich emerald under sunlight. The wooden boardwalk is surrounded by lush pine forests and alpine meadows, promising an oxygen-rich and extraordinary hike experience. By the way, waterproof jackets or thin down jackets will be lifesavers for chilly mountain air even if in summer.  

At the end of the day, we will return to Saty Village.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Saty Village Guest House

After breakfast, your driver guide will pick you up at your guesthouse for a 30-minute drive to Kaindy Lake. Your eyes will be glued to the turquoise water, with enigmatic spruce trunks that were submerged by the 1911 Earthquake. Their existence serves a testament to the truth that nature can transform the tragedy into beauty. Yet, it is not eternal; according to estimation, the lake will be thoroughly desolate after 50 years. So, seize time before its main attraction loses!

Next comes the well-known Valley of Castles in the Charyn Canyon National Park, which epitomizes the core red sandstone landscapes. The valley is flanked by soaring cliffs, with every turn resembling towers, fortresses, and silhouettes of spires. You’ll have ample time hiking there to taste details. If you visit between July and August, when the temperatures reach astonishing 40-50℃ (104-122℉), be sure to bring plenty of water and slather on the sunscreen.  

Then, your driver guide will escort you to Bayseit Village for dinner and continue driving 3.5 hours to your hotel in Almaty.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Renion Park Hotel, Almaty (3 stars) or similar

Today is all about Almaty’s iconic sights. After a hotel morning greeting, your driver guide will accompany you to the Central Mosque of Almaty first, followed by the Park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen, where the Ascension Cathedral, also called Zenkov Cathedral, captures its heart, an Orthodox sanctuary survived from the 1911 Earthquake thanks to its stable mortise and tenon bones. 

Then, touch the soul of Almaty at Green Bazaar (Zeleny Bazaar). The hottest item here is definitely the apples, with various types and colors piled like mountains in the spotlight, echoing the city’s name in Kazakh as ‘a place rich in apples’. If you’re itching to try, go downstairs to find stalls on the basement floor with clear price tags.

Jostling out of crowds, your driver guide will escort you to the Medeu Gorge in the southeastern mountainous area. Hop on the cable car to the Shymbulak Ski Resort Area at an altitude of 2,260 meters (7,400 feet), during which Almaty bustling cityscape gives way to dense fir forests and snow peaks of the Heavenly Mountains.

Later, we’ll drive to the suburb of Almaty for a sunset at Kok-Tobe Hill. Once atop via the eco-friendly electric bus, you can absorb in the 360-degree view of Almaty and take photos with the giant apple sculpture. After the cable car down the hill, your driver guide will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Renion Park Hotel, Almaty (3 stars) or similar

Today marks the end of your trip, and your driver guide will pick you up at your hotel and escort you to Almaty Airport according to your departure flight. Wish you a safe onward journey!

Meals: Breakfast