Where to Go from Almaty: 17 Destinations for Every Season

Where to go from Almaty for one day

If you only have a day, pick destinations within a hundred-odd kilometers — you’ll have time to get there, walk around and be back by evening. It is the most common way Almaty residents spend a day off.

• Medeu (~15 km, about 30 minutes) — the dam, its 842 steps and the gateway to the mountains; the valley is open year-round, the skating rink is under reconstruction.
• Shymbulak (~25 km) — a ski resort in winter, and a cable car with views of the Trans-Ili Alatau in summer.
• Big Almaty Lake (BAO) (~40 km) — a turquoise mountain lake surrounded by peaks.
• Kapchagay, now Konaev (~70 km) — a reservoir with beaches, fishing and lakeside resorts.
• Turgen waterfalls (~90 km) — a chain of waterfalls in a green gorge; a full-day trip.
• Tamgaly-Tas (~120 km) — Buddhist rock carvings on cliffs above the Ili River.

Where to go from Almaty for a weekend

Two days open up destinations more than two hundred kilometers away: Charyn can still be done in one long day, while Kaindy, Kolsai and Altyn-Emel are more relaxed with an overnight stay. This is where most lists of “weekend trips from Almaty” start, and many places along the way are easy to combine into one route.

• Charyn Canyon (~215 km) — the famous Valley of Castles, called the Grand Canyon’s little brother.
• Altyn-Emel (~250 km) — a national park with the Singing Dune, which hums in windy weather, and the chalk Aktau Mountains.
• Chundzha (~250 km) — a village with hot springs, especially pleasant in the cold season.
• Kaindy Lake (~290 km) — a sunken spruce forest whose bare trunks stick straight up out of the water.
• Kolsai Lakes (~300 km) — a chain of three mountain lakes in the Kungey Alatau range, often combined with Kaindy.

Lakes for a vacation: Balkhash and Alakol

When you have several days and want big water, head to the distant lakes. The drive takes almost the whole day, but you get a proper summer vacation with beaches and swimming.

• Lake Balkhash (~470 km) — a huge body of water: the western half is fresh, the eastern half brackish. Sandy beaches and fishing.
• Lake Alakol (~600 km) — a salt lake whose water and black pebbles are considered healing. The season runs from June to September.

Intercity trips and neighboring countries: Issyk-Kul, Bishkek, Turkestan

Almaty is also a convenient starting point for going farther — to other cities in Kazakhstan and to neighboring Kyrgyzstan. These are intercity trips, and a minibus with a driver is especially helpful on long drives.

• Taldykorgan (~260 km) — the administrative center of Zhetysu Region and a convenient stop on the way to Alakol.
• Issyk-Kul (~450 km, Kyrgyzstan) — a big mountain resort lake and a classic summer destination. You’ll need a document to cross the border.
• Bishkek (~240 km, Kyrgyzstan) — the capital of Kyrgyzstan; a day trip or an overnight stay.
• Turkestan (~870 km) — the country’s spiritual capital, with the UNESCO-listed Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. A long drive, best with a stop on the way.

When to go: The seasons

The region’s big advantage is that there are destinations for every season — only the lineup changes. In winter people go to hot springs and ski slopes, in summer to the big lakes, and in spring and fall the canyons and plateaus are at their best, without heat or crowds.

By season:

• Winter — the Chundzha hot springs, skiing at Shymbulak, skating on frozen Kolsai; the Medeu rink is under reconstruction.
• Spring — green foothills and the Turgen waterfalls in full flow.
• Summer — Balkhash, Alakol, Issyk-Kul, Kapchagay and the high-mountain lakes.
• Fall — Charyn Canyon in golden tones and Altyn-Emel without the summer heat, soft light for photos.

How to go: Your own car, a group tour or a minibus with a driver

Good highways lead to most places on this list, but the last kilometers to canyons, lakes and plateaus are often dirt roads. Your own car gives you freedom, but on long trips it is tiring, and some roads call for confident driving.

A 13-seat Toyota Hiace minibus with a driver solves both problems: the whole group or family travels together, nobody gets tired at the wheel, and the driver knows the roads and the turnoffs. It works well both for a large group and for a family with kids.

If you are flying into Almaty as a group, you can start right at the airport: the driver will meet you in the arrivals hall with a name sign — an airport transfer is from 20,000 ₸ for the whole minibus.

• One minibus for your whole group of up to 13 — no need to arrange several cars.
• The driver knows the routes, the dirt roads and the best places to stop for photos.
• Air conditioning, reclining seats and a luggage area — you notice them on the long drives to Balkhash or Turkestan.
• Flexible schedule: you can combine several destinations in one trip.

How much a trip from Almaty costs

The exact cost depends on the destination, the route and the number of days: a short trip to Medeu and an overnight trip to Issyk-Kul cost different amounts, so there is no single price for all routes, and our rental rates are only a starting point. Several factors affect the final amount.

• the route and travel time: a mountain road, a border crossing and the driver’s overnight stay count for more than kilometers;
• how many days the trip takes and whether the driver needs to stay overnight;
• the season and how busy your dates are;
• extra stops and combining several destinations.