Trip to the Gunny Ethno-Village from Almaty by Private Minibus
A nomad village in Soldatskoe Gorge near Talgar: yurts, horseback games, golden eagles and beshbarmak an hour from Almaty. Your own 13-seat Toyota Hiace with a driver brings guests, colleagues or family to the village gates and takes you back after the program.
from 30,000 ₸ for the whole Toyota Hiace minibus, round trip
Pickup at your address · passenger insurance · available 24/7
Our drivers don’t speak English. Phone calls are in Russian or Kazakh, so WhatsApp works best: write in English and we’ll reply using a translator. Need an interpreter? We can arrange one for an extra fee, agreed in advance.
How the trip works
Pickup at your door in Almaty
You choose the address and time: home, office, hotel or airport. When you book, we name the vehicle and give you the driver’s phone number; the driver arrives early and helps with the luggage.
The minibus is yours
The 13-seat Toyota Hiace travels with your group only. The price is for the vehicle, so the bigger the group, the less each person pays. If there are more than 13 of you, you can book a second minibus, or we do two runs in a row on a short route.
Driver, fuel and road included
The driver’s service, fuel, toll sections and pickup in Almaty are all in the quoted price. Paid separately, if your route needs them: national park entrance fees, ski passes, a local off-road vehicle, paid parking and pickup outside the city.
Round trip
The round trip is one price. The driver waits for your group on site for as long as you said when booking; if you stay longer, you pay only for the extra hours.
Luggage: 13 traveling light, up to 9 with suitcases
Bags and gear go in a separate compartment. If everyone has a large suitcase or a stroller, we take up to 9 people; with skis and snowboards, 9–10. Tell us what you’re bringing when you book.
Payment: cash, Kaspi or invoice
Trips in the city and nearby are paid after the trip. Long intercity trips and trips of several days need a partial prepayment to hold the date, the rest before departure. Companies get an invoice, a contract and closing documents.
A trip to the Gunny ethno-village from Almaty costs from 30,000 ₸ for a 13-seat Toyota Hiace minibus with a driver, round trip. We pick up guests at their hotel or colleagues at the office, bring you to the village and wait while the program runs.
The Gunny ethno-village stands in Soldatskoe Gorge near the village of Ryskulovo in Talgar District, about 40 km from Almaty, around an hour’s drive toward Talgar. It has been running since 2009 as an open-air museum of nomadic culture: yurts you can also spend the night in, horseback game shows such as kokpar and kyz kuu, falconry displays, workshops and national cuisine. Most often people bring visitors to the city who want to see nomadic life in a single day, and corporate teams on an off-site celebration.
Programs usually take half a day, and the group leaves when the feast is over. You book tickets and the program with the village itself, and we take care of the road.
How to get to the Gunny ethno-village from Almaty
The road heads east toward Talgar, then from Talgar up to Ryskulovo and into Soldatskoe Gorge. It is about 40 km from Almaty, roughly an hour on the road. The last stretch is a mountain road along the river, and the minibus handles it in any season.
The pickup point can be anywhere: most often it is a hotel in the center, where tourists set off from, or the office when a team is heading out. We bring the minibus at the agreed time and drive you back to the same address or somewhere else, for example, to dinner in the city.
What the village shows you
The core of the program is horseback games on the field in front of the yurts: kokpar, audaryspak, kyz kuu and trick riding (dzhigitovka), plus falconry displays. Then come the furnished yurts, workshops, music and a feast of beshbarmak, baursaks and kumys (fermented mare’s milk). There are formats lasting a few hours and full-day ones with a night in a yurt. Agree on the program and its price with the village in advance, especially for large groups.
The village is easy to combine with nearby places in one trip: Talgar, with its view of the peak, is close by, farther along the same road is Lake Issyk, and in winter there are the Tabagan and Ak-Bulak resorts. If you want to build a full-day route, tell us when you book; we will price it as a whole.
Who this suits best
Hosting delegations and guests: one vehicle for the group along with its interpreter and escort, pickup times matched to the visit schedule, luggage and gifts in a separate compartment. For companies: a team outing for a celebration or team building, where none of your colleagues ends up behind the wheel after the kumys.
For families: a day with the kids that doesn’t turn into a convoy of several cars.
Gunny Ethno-Village: how the trip works
Nomadic life in one day
Yurts, horses, golden eagles and traditional food an hour from the city: you can show visitors Kazakhstan without a long drive.
From the hotel to the village gates
We gather the group at one point (a hotel, office or home) and drop you at the entrance, with no changing vehicles and no searching for the way into the gorge.
We wait through the whole program
The driver stays in the parking lot during the games and lunch: you leave when you are done, not when a car finally shows up.
Contract and invoice for companies
For delegations and corporate outings we work under a contract and provide a bank invoice and all the accounting paperwork.
Gunny Ethno-Village: trip price
from 30,000 ₸ — for the whole Toyota Hiace minibus, round trip
The driver and fuel are included. We quote the total before departure; it only goes up if you decide to extend the waiting time.
Only your group is on board, and you decide how long to stay at each stop.
All day trips from Almaty →Customer reviews on 2GIS
“Efficient and fast — a clean bus with a driver arrived on time.”
“Excellent — they provided a minibus with a driver very quickly.”
Toyota Hiace: cabin and luggage
All photos
- 13 passenger seats
- Air conditioning and heating
- High roof
- Soft reclining seats
- Electric door
- Luggage compartment
These photos show a 13-seat Toyota Hiace with a high roof and a wide aisle between the seats. We took them ourselves: the cabin, the seats and the luggage compartment.
13-seat cabin
Luggage compartment
Gunny Ethno-Village: frequently asked questions
How much does a trip to the Gunny ethno-village cost?
From 30,000 ₸ for the whole Toyota Hiace minibus, round trip. The total depends on how long the program lasts: the driver waits for the group the whole time. Village tickets and the program are paid separately, on site or when you book with the village.
How long is the drive from Almaty to the ethno-village?
About 40 km and roughly an hour on the road, via Talgar to Ryskulovo and Soldatskoe Gorge. From hotels in the city center it is best to leave in the morning to catch the daytime program.
How many people fit?
Up to 13 passengers: just right for a typical group of guests or a company department. If your group is larger, we can do two runs or you can book a second vehicle for the same date.
Can we stay the night in a yurt and leave in the morning?
Yes: we can bring you in the evening and pick you up in the morning, or the driver can stay with you. We charge by the actual hours, so tell us your plan when you book.
Can you handle the paperwork for a company trip?
Yes, for corporate outings we work under a contract, issue a bank invoice and provide the completion documents your accounting department needs.
Tell us where and when
We’ll bring a Toyota Hiace minibus with a driver to any address in Almaty at the time you need. Available 24/7.
Our drivers don’t speak English. Phone calls are in Russian or Kazakh, so WhatsApp works best: write in English and we’ll reply using a translator. Need an interpreter? We can arrange one for an extra fee, agreed in advance.