What to See Around Almaty in One Day: 10 Day Trip Ideas

How far: three rings of day trips

It’s handy to group all day trips from Almaty by travel time. The first ring is the mountains right above the city: 15 to 25 km away and less than an hour’s drive, so you can head out even after lunch. The second is lakes and waterfalls within 40 to 120 km and an hour and a half to two hours on the road: a full day with a morning start. The third is the distant canyons and lakes 200–300 km away, worth getting up at dawn for.

• Medeu: about 15 km, 30 minutes. The dam and the valley (the skating rink is under reconstruction until ~2027), half a day.
• Kok-Zhailau: about 20 km, 40 minutes to the trailhead. An easy hike with city views, a full day.
• Shymbulak: about 25 km, 1 hour. The cable car and Talgar Pass, half a day.
• Big Almaty Lake (BAO): about 40 km, about an hour to the barrier. A turquoise lake in the mountains, a full day.
• Lake Issyk: about 70 km, 1.5 hours. A mountain lake, often combined with Turgen.
• Turgen waterfalls: about 90 km, 1.5 hours. Seven waterfalls and trout, a full day.
• Tamgaly-Tas: about 120 km, 2 hours. Buddhist rock carvings on the Ili River, a full day.
• Charyn Canyon: about 215 km, 3 hours. The Valley of Castles, a long day.
• Kolsai Lakes: about 300 km, about 5 hours. Mountain lakes, a very long day or an overnight trip.
• Kaindy Lake: about 290 km, 4.5 hours, the last stretch in a local off-road vehicle. A sunken spruce forest, best with an overnight stay.

The closest mountains: Medeu, Shymbulak and Kok-Zhailau

If you’re short on time or in Almaty for the first time, start with Medeu — the mountains closest to the city, just 15 km up Dostyk Avenue. Above the famous high-altitude skating rink stands a mudflow protection dam with a staircase of 842 steps, which opens up a panorama of the gorge and the city. The rink itself is closed for reconstruction until roughly 2027, but the valley, the dam and the viewpoints are open all year round. A good fit for an unhurried trip with kids and older relatives.

From Medeu, a cable car takes you up to Shymbulak, a ski resort in the Small Almaty Gorge. In winter people come here to ski and snowboard; in summer, for the cable car to Talgar Pass at about 3,200 meters, where the snowy peaks feel close. An option for those who want to get high into the mountains without a long uphill hike.

Active travelers will like Kok-Zhailau — a green plateau between the Small and Big Almaty gorges and the most popular easy hike near the city. The trail climbs about 600 meters and is manageable without training, and from the plateau you can see all of Almaty. The road goes only as far as the start of the trail, and from there you walk: the minibus drops the group at the trailhead and picks you up after the descent.

Mountain lakes and waterfalls in a day: Big Almaty Lake, Turgen, Issyk

Big Almaty Lake is a turquoise reservoir at about 2,510 meters, roughly 40 km south of the city. The color of the water shifts from emerald in early summer to a deep blue-green by fall. The lake is a drinking-water reservoir, so swimming and going down to the shore are not allowed. The main catch is transport: the upper section of the road is closed, vehicles can only go as far as the barrier in the gorge, and from there you walk to the lake. The views are worth it, but it’s a full-day hike, not a half-day outing.

Turgen Gorge is the longest in the Trans-Ili Alatau, and seven waterfalls lie along its river. Most people head to Bear Falls, about 30 meters high, and to Kairak Falls; along the way there’s conifer forest and trout farms. Next door, in the Issyk Gorge, lies Lake Issyk, and the two are often combined in one day: in 1963 a mudflow almost completely washed the lake away, after which it was restored, and today it’s a calm turquoise bowl surrounded by Tian Shan spruces. It makes for a family day with a walk, lunch and beautiful views without a long climb.

Canyons and rock art: Charyn and Tamgaly-Tas

Charyn Canyon is a trip for those ready for a long day. The main part is the Valley of Castles: a gorge about two kilometers long where wind and water have carved towers and “fortress walls” out of red sandstone. The canyon is about 215 km and three hours away one way, so it’s worth leaving at dawn to walk the Valley of Castles before the midday heat.

Closer and quieter is Tamgaly-Tas, the “written rocks” on the bank of the Ili River about 120 km north of the city. The riverside boulders still carry Buddhist rock carvings with images of the Buddha and Tibetan inscriptions, and nearby there are petroglyphs from earlier eras. There’s no scheduled transport here, and the road goes via Konaev (formerly Kapchagay), so it’s hard to get there without your own vehicle. It suits those who want quiet, a steppe river and history instead of tourist crowds.

A long day farther out: Kolsai and Kaindy

The Kolsai Lakes are a chain of mountain lakes among spruce-covered slopes at 1,800 meters and above in the Kungey Alatau range. Lower Kolsai is about 300 km away, and doing it in one day is only realistic with a very early start — so many people book an overnight trip and add Kaindy Lake with its sunken spruce forest.

People often ask about the Assy Plateau, and our answer is always the same: you can’t get up there in a minibus. A long dirt road leads to the top that only off-road vehicles can handle, so we don’t take or promise such trips. For high mountains, head to Turgen Gorge instead or, with an overnight stay, to Kolsai.

When to go

The best months for trips around Almaty are late spring and early fall: roughly from late April through May and from late August to October. The roads are dry, there’s no snow on the slopes, and the heat either hasn’t arrived yet or is already gone. In summer, in July and August, it’s best higher up in the mountains — at Big Almaty Lake and in Turgen Gorge, where it stays cool even in a heat wave.

In winter the choice narrows but doesn’t disappear: Shymbulak comes into its own as a winter destination — skiing, snowboarding and the cable car from Medeu. Charyn is open all year, but in winter the canyon is windy and in summer it’s hot, so it’s best to set off early in the morning. Mountain roads get icy in winter, and a driver with more than 20 years of experience matters more than in the warm season.

What to pack for a day trip

Mountain weather changes quickly, and up by a lake it can be 10–15°C colder than down in the city. Pack a small backpack, even if you’re going “just for the day.”

• Layers and a windbreaker — it’s always cooler up high than in Almaty.
• Comfortable non-slip shoes for trails and stairs.
• Water and snacks: many lakes and waterfalls have no cafés.
• Sun protection — sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat: the sun is stronger at altitude.
• Cash for national park entrance fees (Ile-Alatau, Charyn).
• A power bank and an offline map downloaded in advance — there’s no signal in the gorges.

How much a trip costs and what’s included

The cost of a day trip depends on the destination and travel time: short trips to Medeu, Shymbulak or Kok-Zhailau start from roughly 30,000 ₸ for the whole minibus, lakes and waterfalls from 50,000 to 70,000 ₸, and faraway Charyn from 80,000 ₸. The price is for the whole 13-seat Toyota Hiace, not per passenger, so for a big group it works out noticeably cheaper than taxis or an organized tour.

The price includes pickup at your door, the drive there and back, waiting time on site, the driver’s work, fuel and toll sections — the rest of our hire rates work the same way. You pay separately only for personal expenses — park entrance fees, lunch, cable cars and souvenirs. We’ll give you the exact amount for your route, group size and date on WhatsApp: describe your idea, and we’ll work it out.

Meeting a group at the airport and taking them to the hotel is a separate short trip, an airport transfer: from 20,000 ₸ per vehicle, with the driver waiting with a name sign in the arrivals hall.