Kolsai, Kaindy Lakes, and Charyn Canyon: A Two Day Tour Worth the Drive

If you’re weighing options for exploring the natural wonders east of Almaty, the two day tour to Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes and Charyn Canyon is the one I’d point you toward first. I booked this trip through Viator while in Kazakhstan, and after seeing how rushed the single day version looked in comparison, I was glad I chose the longer route. Two days gave me the time to actually stand still at each stop, which mattered more than I expected once I saw the landscape in person.

Day One: Almaty to Black Canyon, Yellow Canyon, and Kolsai Lake

The drive out of Almaty takes close to four hours, broken up by a halfway stop for snacks and a bathroom break. Cell signal thins out fast once you leave the city, and there is no Wi Fi on the bus, so bring something to read or download ahead of time if you don’t want to stare out the window the whole way (though honestly, the scenery makes that an easy way to pass the time too).

Black Canyon is the first real stop, and it functions mostly as a photo opportunity rather than a hike. There’s a viewing platform and areas for photos opps. If you want an experience here, you can swing over above the canyon (paid attraction) and feel the wind in your hair.

From there, the group moves on to Yellow Canyon, which is where the more physical part of day one happens. There is a narrow walk along the canyon rim here (if you choose), and the trail is loose gravel and sand with sharp drop-offs right at the edge.

I would not recommend walking this section for anyone with mobility limitations. If you are traveling with teens who are steady on their feet and comfortable with heights, this is one of the more memorable parts of the day. The views are different than Black Canyon and this tour gives you more time here to take a walk about that long drive.

Between Yellow Canyon and Kolsai Lake, the group stops for lunch, served at the lodging in Saty village on the way through. My plate was a simple rice pilaf or Plov with Baursak, small fried dough, hearty and filling ahead of the afternoon at the lake. It’s a good midday break before the walk along Kolsai, since you’ll want the energy for the extra time on your feet if you choose to walk the shoreline like I did.

Kolsai Lake is the final stop of day one, and this is where you get to choose how you want to experience it. Visitors can walk along the shore, ride in a Soviet era truck, or go by horseback. I chose to walk, and I’m glad I did.

Walking gave me extra time to cover a section of the lake at my own pace, take a long stretch of photos, and hike up to a small coffee shop above the water that turned out to be one of my favorite views of the entire trip.

There is also an option to rent a boat and take it out on the lake, which I skipped simply for lack of time, but it’s worth mentioning for anyone who wants that option. A handful of restaurants and coffee shops sit near the parking area if you need food or a drink before heading to overnight accommodations.

One thing worth knowing if you’re deciding between Kolsai and Kaindy and only have one day to spare: the two lakes offer genuinely different experiences. Kolsai leans toward calm, walkable mountain scenery where you can spend hours along the shoreline. Kaindy, which you’ll see on day two, is something else entirely. If you can manage it, seeing both over two days beats picking just one.

It’s also worth knowing that Kolsai itself is a system of three lakes, not just one. This tour, like all one-day and most two day itineraries, focuses on the lower lake rather than all three, so don’t expect to see the full cascade unless you’re doing a longer independent trip and renting a car in Almaty.

I found Kolsai to be the less crowded of the two lakes on this tour, mostly because the developed visitor area is fairly large, multiple trails to walk around the lake, multiple outlooks available to look out over the water, and several recreation areas to enjoy the area.

Note: If you are traveling to this area independently (not on a group tour), I would recommend added a few days here and staying in a Saty yurt or guesthouse.

Overnight in Saty Village: Guesthouse or Yurt

Once the group arrives back in Saty village for the night, we settled into our accommodations. When booking this tour, one has a real choice to make. The standard tour price of $120 per person includes a shared guesthouse room with a shared bathroom.

I opted to upgrade to the yurt experience for $170 per person, which felt a bit like tent camping: a canvas tent, electric light, and a platform bed, with the shared bathroom in its own building nearby.

Staying in a yurt was a fun novelty and worth trying once. Each yurt slept 4-6 people. My guest and I shared the yurt with two other women from the Philippines. The property’s other yurt was shared by 4 men. So if a yurt stay isn’t high on your personal priority list or you are uncomfortable with a shared hostel experience, I’d actually recommend going with the private guesthouse instead. It’s simpler, likely more comfortable for a full night’s sleep, and the yurt’s charm is more about the experience than the comfort.

Dinner that evening was a traditional meat and potatoes dish called Kart, served with a side of pickled vegetables, hot tea, and cookies. Everything was clearly homemade and tied closely to the region’s food traditions rather than anything adjusted for tourists.

Day two: Charyn Canyon and Kaindy Lake

Breakfast started the second day: fried eggs, sliced cheese, sausage, and a plate of sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, all simple and satisfying before a full day back on the road.

The first stop of day two is Valley of the Castles at Charyn Canyon, often compared to a smaller version of the Grand Canyon, and once you see the scale of the rock formations, it’s easy to understand why.

Here you have two options. You can take a shorter walk around the upper canyon area, or you can hike down into the canyon itself to a creek at the bottom.

I chose to hike down, and it really did feel like a miniature version of the Grand Canyon, complete with layered rock walls and a dramatic drop to the canyon floor. The creek at the bottom is extremely cold, so don’t plan on wading in for long, if at all.

Getting back up is where a little insider knowledge helps. Rather than hiking back out, I took the Soviet era taxi that shuttles visitors up from the canyon floor. There is a wait involved: you buy a ticket, then wait for your number to be called before boarding. If you want to skip that wait entirely, buy your return ticket at the same time as your ticket down. The round trip fare is simply double the one way price, with no additional discount for buying both together, but the time you save by not waiting in line on the way back is well worth it.

From Charyn Canyon, the group heads to Kaindy Lake, the most unusual stop on the whole trip. Kaindy is known for its submerged forest, where the bare tops of drowned trees still rise up out of turquoise water, a genuinely surreal sight that doesn’t look like much else you’ll see in the region. The last stretch to the lake typically requires either a 4WD style vehicle or a hike on foot, and I opted for the horseback ride both to and from the lake.

Our group was given a fairly short amount of time once we arrived, and several of us asked the horseman leading the ride for a bit more time at the lake. He agreed without much pushback, so don’t be afraid to ask if you find yourself wanting longer than what’s initially offered. Compared to Kolsai, Kaindy has far fewer food and drink options nearby. Visitors can walk up to a coffee shop that also serves food, or stop at a smaller coffee shop closer to the parking area, but that’s the extent of it.

Lunch on day two happened at a local roadside stop on the way back toward Almaty, and it was one of the best meals of the trip: stewed meat, a noodle dish called Lagman, Manti dumplings, and a cabbage salad, all traditional dishes served family style.

Good to know before you go

A few practical notes worth packing around.

• Bring coins, since the toilets at each stop are pay to use.
• Carry small tenge bills as well, since horsemen leading the rides at Kolsai and Kaindy don’t always have change on hand for larger notes.
• There is essentially no cell signal and no Wi Fi on the bus for long stretches of the drive, so download anything you want to read, watch, or listen to before you leave Almaty. I downloaded Veritay from Audible and a video series on improving photography from Masterclass.
• Bring wet travel wipes. Between the dust at Charyn Canyon and the general dirt of two full days outdoors, you’ll want them more than once.

Is this tour a good fit for families with teens?

If your family includes teens who are reasonably fit and comfortable with some elevation and uneven terrain, this tour offers a lot to like: a real hike at Charyn Canyon, the option to ride horseback at two different stops, and the novelty of a yurt overnight if that appeals to your group.

That said, the narrow rim walk at Yellow Canyon, with its loose sand, gravel, and sharp drop offs, is not a spot I’d bring younger children to, and the tour itself notes it isn’t suited for travelers with mobility limitations or certain health conditions. For teens who can handle a long day of driving followed by real physical activity, though, this is a strong option for showing them a part of Kazakhstan that most travelers never see.

Final take

I loved this tour from start to finish, and the two day version is the one I’d recommend over the single day option every time. The single day tour covers the same five landmarks, but it turns into a very long day in the vehicle with far less time to actually enjoy any of them. Given that the first stop alone is nearly four hours from Almaty, rushing through everything else afterward just isn’t worth the time saved.

What to Expect on a Two Day Kazakhstan Lakes and Canyon Tour FAQs

Note: I am a Viator partner and earn a commission when you book via my affiliate links. Viator provided this experience in exchange for promotion. All opinions are my own.