3-day road trip itinerary: Almaty to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai Lakes and Kaindy Lake

Wondering how to visit Charyn Canyon from Almaty? We decided to make it part of a 3-day road trip from Almaty to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai Lakes and Kaindy Lake in the Tian Shan mountains. After seeing these breathtaking places with our own eyes, we’re amazed they’re not better known: they should be on every bucket list! But they deserve more than a rushed visit, which is why we took our time rather than cramming all three into one long, hot and sweaty day trip.

The contrast between an ancient dusty red-rock canyon, crystal clear lake waters and the unique site of a dead forest submerged by an earthquake is sure to leave you mesmerised.

Does this sound like the kind of adventure you’d be down for? Here’s everything you need to know about taking a road trip from Almaty to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai Lakes and Kaindy Lake.

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What you will see on a road trip from Almaty to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes

On this 3-day road trip from Almaty you will see some of Kazakhstan’s greatest natural wonders.

Charyn Canyon, about 200 kilometres from Almaty, is a labyrinth of 12-million-year-old red-rock walls and formations, some reaching 300 metres high.

Kaindy Lake features a remarkable sunken forest, formed in 1911 when an earthquake triggered a landslide that dammed the valley, submerging a forest of spruce trees. Their silvery trunks still rise from the turquoise lake water.

Kolsai Lakes are a chain of three beautiful mountain lakes, beginning at around 1,800 metres above sea level. The first, where you can take pedalo rides, is a short walk from the car park. The second can be reached on foot or horseback, while reaching the third requires a longer hike and overnight camping. This road trip only includes the first lake, although you could continue to the second with a more ambitious schedule.

Independent road trip or guided day trip from Almaty: which is better?

When planning our visit to Almaty on our Kazakhstan trip, we knew we wanted to see Charyn Canyon and the lakes of Kolsai and Kaindy. Everyone who had visited the region was raving about these places, and the pictures looked epic.

So, we looked into day trips and found that it is possible to visit the canyon and the lakes in a single day on an organised tour. This is an extravaganza of a day trip combining all three highlights.

But this looked like an extremely long and crammed experience. Indeed, we spoke to people who tried it, and heard exactly that. You are picked up as early as 4:30am, spend 10+ hours of the day on a coach, and whizz through a fast schedule when you arrive at the sites, with limited time at each.

Wanting a slower and more adventurous experience, we decided to go independently on a self-driven road trip. This would give us the space to take it at our own pace, absorb the sights and experiences more deeply, and also have time left over for little side quests and random village meals – the kind of authentic local adventures that you just won’t get on an organised tour.

Also, it just seemed a lot more fun and adventurous!

Our friend Tanya was in Almaty for the same conference as us and wanted to visit the canyon and lakes, so she joined us for the road trip. Having three of us in the car made the cost difference much smaller, as we could split the car hire and petrol between us. So, if you are travelling as a group of three or four, an independent road trip may not cost much more than taking organised tours.

If you’re still unsure whether you want to go on an organised trip or independent road trip, here are some pros and cons of each:

Comparison	Organised day trip	Independent road trip
Time needed	One very long day	Ideally two or three days
Transport	Coach travel, and everything is arranged for you	You need to hire a car and navigate, but get much better views of the scenery
Time on the road	10+ hours on a coach	Driving spread across several days into shorter stretches
Attractions	See all three sites quickly	Spend longer at each stop
Price	Fixed price covering most essentials; usually cheaper	Separate costs for car hire, fuel, food, entrance fees and accommodation; usually more expensive, depending on how many people are going
Flexibility	Fixed itinerary and timings	Stop whenever and wherever you like
Comfort	No driving, but a long and crowded day	More relaxed, with overnight stays
Local experiences	Limited time beyond the main sights	More opportunities for village meals and unexpected stops
Best for	Travellers on short time	Travellers who value freedom and a slower pace

A happy medium option could be to take a 2-day organised tour to the canyon and lakes that includes an overnight stay in Saty. This combines the convenience of having everything arranged for you with the comfort of going at a gentler pace.

But that still doesn’t replicate the freedom and adventure of going independently. If a self-drive trip sounds like the right option for you, then read on as we share the practical details of how to take a road trip from Almaty to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai Lakes and Kaindy Lake.

Road trip itinerary for Charyn Canyon, Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes

This is the 3-day road trip itinerary at-a-glance:

• Day 1: Charyn Canyon. Collect your car from Almaty International Airport, drive to the canyon with a lunch stop on the way, then travel onwards to Saty, the overnight base for visiting the lakes. Local BBQ restaurant for dinner in the village.
• Day 2: The Lakes. Visit Kolsai lower lake in the morning and have lunch before driving to Kaindy Lake in the afternoon. Choice of local restaurants for dinner in Saty.
• Day 3: Back to Almaty. Return to Almaty with a stop the Black Canyon. Option to take a detour on the way back to Almaty for a local village lunch.

Optional extra: you could dedicate the full day 2 to Kolsai, allowing you to include the second lake, and then go to Kaindy Lake on the morning of day 3 instead, with a slightly later return to Almaty.

What to pack for the road trip: the essentials

These are a few essentials you should pack for your road trip from Almaty to Charyn Canyon, Kaindy and Kolsai Lakes:

• Water and snacks: bring enough for the long drives and walks.
• Sun protection: sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
• Comfortable shoes with grip: for uneven canyon paths and woodland trails. We used hiking sandals, perfect for walking in the heat.
• A light warm layer and waterproofs: for cooler mornings and the potential for sudden showers.
• Cash in small notes: for entrance fees, transfers, toilets and smaller cafés. Read on below for how much you may need.
• Passport: particularly if you plan to explore beyond the lower Kolsai Lake. You might also need to show it if stopped by a police checkpoint on the road, as we were.
• A power bank and charging cable: especially if your phone is also your map. Make sure you charge up fully before you set off.
• Toiletries: toilet paper or tissues and hand sanitiser.

Car hire in Almaty

We used DiscoverCars to find and compare car rentals in Almaty through trusted providers. It was quick and easy to sort a car hire for our road trip.

There are no rental firms in Almaty city centre, so you will need to collect your vehicle from the airport, either when you first arrive or by taking a Yandex Go back there (which is what we did).

When you hire a car in Almaty, even when the provider is a recognised firm like Hertz, it’s quite likely the firm will get in touch with you via WhatsApp and ask for documents to be sent in advance. Make sure you reply to these and confirm that you will go ahead with the booking, even if you don’t want to send documents in this way.

For an 8am car pickup at the airport we took a Yandex Go ride from our Almaty apartment at 7:30am. Be prepared for a little bit of waiting around before you get the keys to your car; we weren’t on the road until 9am, and heard similar stories from others.

Driving in Kazakhstan: some useful tips

You might be nervous about driving in Kazakhstan. We were too, it’s only natural when you’re in a new country! But honestly, it didn’t take long for us to feel at ease once we were on the road.

The standard of driving is decent, and much less erratic than some countries we’ve driven in. And aside from one accidental foray onto a dirt track, we found that the roads were mostly very good quality on this route.

These are some tips to help you navigate driving in Kazakhstan:

• Look out for potholes. The main highways are generally well paved, but smaller roads can have some treacherous potholes, such as the final 10-kilometre road to the Charyn Canyon Visitor Centre. Be careful around these, as you don’t want to end up with a bust wheel or tyre.
• Watch your speed. There are frequent speed cameras on some routes, particularly through smaller villages. We passed several along the A351 when returning to Almaty instead of taking the main highway.
• Stock up well and take breaks. Driving distances on a sightseeing road trip can be long, so allow plenty of time, stop when you need to, and keep enough food and water in the car.
• Look out for livestock! On rural roads in Kazakhstan, you will meet wandering horses, cows, donkeys, you name it. Be prepared to stop and wait for animals crossing the road.
• Fill up when you leave Almaty. There are several petrol stations along the highway during the first hour out of the city, but they become less frequent after that. Start with a full tank and top up when you have the opportunity.
• Filling up can be confusing at first (it was for us!). At many petrol stations, you’ll need to tell the attendant how much fuel you want before they fill the car for you. Have a translation app ready in case you have trouble communicating.

How much cash do you need to bring on the road trip?

Fees for tourist attractions in Kazakhstan are constantly changing as the country becomes increasingly popular and continues to build more visitor infrastructure. So, make sure you look up current rates before you set off.

Excluding accommodation, we suggest carrying around 40,000–50,000 tenge per person for this three-day trip, plus a little extra as a buffer.

How does that break down? From our experience you should bring at least the following cash with you:

• Any cash you might need for your accommodation. Check with your host how much you owe and which currency they accept. Some accept US dollars, but don’t assume this without confirming beforehand.
• Entrance fees for Charyn Canyon, which you pay on arrival. We paid a general admission per person as well as a set fee for our vehicle, which came to about 5,000 tenge total for three of us and a car. Make sure you check the latest rates and have enough set aside.
• Entrance fees for Kolsai Lake. We paid 750 tenge per person and a further 1,000 tenge for our car to enter the Kolsai Lakes area.
• Pedalo hire at Kolsai Lower Lake (optional). Lisa and I paid 10,000 tenge to hire one for 40 minutes.
• Entrance fees for Kaindy Lake. In this instance you just pay a fee for your car to access the national park, approximately 2,500–2,750 tenge.
• You will also need spare cash for the local 4WD transfer to Kaindy Lake, for which we paid 1,000 tenge each way per person. You can drive a normal hire car part of the way, but the final section requires a local 4WD. Prices vary depending on whether the vehicle is full, so carry at least 10,000 tenge per group as a precaution.
• Spare cash for meals and sundries. At the time of writing there are no ATMs in Saty, the base village for visiting the lakes. Many restaurants and shops now take card in the village, so you won’t be stuck, but it’s still a good idea to bring perhaps 10,000 tenge per person per day. This should include some small change for using toilets.

Note that when withdrawing cash in Almaty, many ATMs have a limit of around 100,000 tenge per transaction. You may need to make more than one withdrawal, and your own bank may charge a fee each time.

Day 1: Charyn Canyon and the drive to Saty village

The first leg: driving to Charyn Canyon from Almaty

If it’s your first time driving in Kazakhstan, the first few minutes will be the trickiest as you navigate from the airport out to the highway while getting used to the vehicle, roads and rules. Take this part steadily and you’ll be ok.

Once you’re out onto the main highway – which takes around 40 minutes in usual traffic – it’s then a pretty straightforward drive all the way to the canyon’s visitor centre.

In total, the drive time from the airport to the canyon is around three hours.

Stop for a local lunch in Shelek

Depending on what time you were able to set off from the airport, you might want to make a random little side quest for lunch. It’s one of those great little advantages of having your own vehicle!

We were getting hungry by the time we were half way to the canyon and so we took a little detour into a town called Shelek.

These little towns outside the city give you a different glimpse of life in Kazakhstan. Think dusty sidewalks, busy little marketplaces and no-frills roadside restaurants.

It’s easy enough to park up at the roadside, and we did so in the town centre, a short little walk from a restaurant called Dos кафесі.

This air-conditioned place with marble floors and a karaoke machine in a corner seemed popular with locals and, like many eateries around here, can’t be found on map apps. There are many other places to eat you can try, no bookings necessary, all with a friendly welcome.

You’ll probably need to get your translation app out at this point, because local menus do not come in English. Be ready for very basic bathroom facilities as well! We’re talking holes in the floor.

We managed to order some laghman, a tasty traditional noodle dish, and paid a fraction of what we did for meals in Almaty. The perfect local lunch before continuing to the canyon.

Exploring the magnificent Charyn Canyon

When you arrive at Charyn Canyon you will see why it is known as “the Grand Canyon of Central Asia”. With some of its walls reaching 300 metres high, it is the kind of natural phenomenon that photos cannot do justice; you need to see it with your own eyes to appreciate its sheer scale and drama.

As you come off the main highway onto the road that leads directly to Charyn Canyon, you will see the sign telling you that it’s 10km away. This is a popular photo spot, so you might want to hop out and take some selfies with the sign.

Before you reach the visitor centre, as the canyon opens up before you, there is a brief stop to pay the entrance fee before you proceed to the car park. Right next to this is a centre with a shop, restaurant, kiosks and bathroom facilities.

Allow 1–2 hours to explore the canyon. The routes are exposed and there is not much shade, so you will need to take plenty of water and sun protection with you.

You can follow the 1km trail along the top, giving spectacular views across its red-rock landscape, or descend to walk the path along the bottom, the “Valley of Castles”, and gaze up at the surrounding stacks and walls. If you do both, you may need a little more than 2 hours.

The next leg: driving from Charyn Canyon to Saty

The drive between Charyn Canyon and Saty takes roughly two hours (including a brief stop), and it is probably the most scenic stretch of this road trip.

The road traverses towards the Tian Shan mountains across a great plain known as the “Yellow Field”, where golden grassland stretches to the horizon. Once you are across, the road weaves through sleepy little villages along the valley against a backdrop of towering green peaks.

This is also the stretch where you are most likely to encounter herds of horses or cattle crossing the road, so be prepared to stop and wait. When driving back across the Yellow Field we also saw a beautiful Kazakh eagle perched on a wooden frame.

Your GPS might direct you along a gravel road that looks like a shortcut on the map. If this happens, ignore it and stick to the main road! We took the diversion and found that it only slowed us down as we drove our hire car cautiously over the rough, stony surface.

Make time to pull over and enjoy the scenery at the viewpoints along the way. It really is an incredible landscape and worth taking in before you settle in for the night in Saty.

Two nights in Saty, Kazakhstan: the base for exploring the lakes

Saty is a rural Kazakh village that sits in the valley close to the lakes of Kolsai and Kaindy. It makes the perfect base for exploring the lakes and surrounding scenery, with the main access points for both within a 30-minute drive from the village.

Saty’s proximity to the lakes has made it a growing draw for tourists, but it still has the charm of an authentic Kazakh countryside village. You will see animals roaming along dusty roadsides, and breathe in the crisp fresh air as you walk past simple, quiet family houses, being careful to step over piles of dung as you go.

There is a large and striking blue mosque at the heart of the village, its minarets visible for miles around.

At our time of visiting there were only three restaurants in the village and a couple of shops, but times are changing quickly. It was clear that building work was scaling up to cater for the growing number of visitors. You might find a different story when you arrive.

Where to stay in Saty, Kazakhstan

Saty has an established selection of family-run guest houses, which are friendly and welcoming places to stay. Our friend Tanya stayed at Kolsai Terrassa Guest House, which she said was a bit like staying in a spare room at a family home.

Owners of the local guest houses are always hospitable and will help you arrange tours or transfers to the lakes if you need it.

A lot of the new building work happening in Saty is focused on accommodation. New hotels are on the rise, while a particularly popular new style is the wooden A-frame cabin. Several of these have sprung up in and around the village and near Kolsai Lake.

Lisa and I stayed in one of these for our two nights in Saty: UYA A-Frame. It’s such a cute and romantic place to stay! The cabins are built in the shape of a letter A, as the name suggests, and ours had two bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area, a bathroom and lounge space.

It’s a bit more expensive than a room in a guest house, but gives a unique way to experience the village that feels closer to nature while still being very comfortable. We could see the stars outside through our little bedroom window.

Using money in Saty

Saty has already changed a lot in recent years. Before we visited, we read some blog posts that had been written or updated just a year or two earlier, which said the village was pretty much cash-only, with no local shops or restaurants accepting card.

Our experience was very different to that, and it is clear the village is modernising quickly. We found a shiny new air-conditioned mini-supermarket that has card machines. And the restaurant where we ate on both nights took card payments too.

Other shops in the village are still cash only, but you’re not going to be completely stranded if you run out of change.

Similarly, the visitor centre complex at Kolsai Lake has a lot of new facilities, and the restaurants, shops and tour providers there all take card.

There aren’t any ATMs around Saty at the time of writing, so it’s still a good idea to bring a decent reserve of cash with you, including anything you need to pay for accommodation. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see an ATM pop up in the village before long. Maybe look that up before you go.

BBQ dinners in Saty at Kolsay Shanyraq

Both nights in Saty we went for dinner at a fantastic local BBQ restaurant called Kolsay Shanyraq.

There are a couple of other options in town, including an Indian restaurant and a local fast food place, but we loved our first BBQ dinner so much that we came back for more on the second night.

Kolsay Shanyraq is popular with locals, with a good mix of villagers and tourists when we went. It serves almost street-food style BBQ food. Outside the restaurant there is a sheltered hut with a flaming BBQ where two chefs stand flipping fish and turning skewers of meat.

On our first night there we shared a selection of different lamb and chicken skewers between the three of us, and the second night we shared a large barbecued fish, both with traditional Kazakh veggie and salad dishes on the side. The food was some of the best and most authentic we had during our entire time in Kazakhstan.

Day 2: visiting Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes

Visiting Kolsai Lakes from Saty

The main visitor centre for Kolsai Lakes is a little over 10 kilometres from Saty and it took us about 20 minutes to drive there. On the way into the national park you need to stop and pay the fees for entry.

The visitor centre is close to the lower lake and features a huge car park, alongside which there are several restaurants and bathroom facilities. Here at the lower lake you are already 1,800 metres above sea level.

From the car park it’s a gentle downhill walk to the edge of the lower lake, which takes about 15 minutes or so. The view of the lake surrounded by the Tian Shan mountains as you descend is absolutely gorgeous.

You will pass a shop on the way down and more bathroom facilities. And if you don’t fancy the walk, you can choose to hop in a shuttle van instead, which run a few times every hour.

When you reach the bottom, the view from the water’s edge gives you another stunning perspective of the mountains around the lake.

Then, you can cross a little bridge and follow a boardwalk around to the spot where you can hire pedalos. It’s lovely to do this if you have time, as you get yet another very different perspective of the scenery from the far side of the lake.

Kolsai Lakes 2 and 3 (if you’re staying longer)

In this itinerary we suggest visiting the lower lake in the morning, which is easy to reach by foot from the car park, and then head to Kaindy Lake in the afternoon.

But if you want to see more around Kolsai, you could dedicate the whole day here and head up to the second lake as well. You can do this by hiking or horseback, with either option requiring around 6–7 hours round trip. Bring your passport if you do this and check the latest border-zone requirements before setting off, as you’ll be getting pretty close to Kyrgyzstan.

The third lake, higher up in the mountains, is a much more adventurous undertaking which requires a tougher hike, overnight camping and at least two spare days.

Lunch at Kolsai Lake Visitor Centre

If you follow our itinerary and visit Kolsai Lower Lake in the morning and Kaindy Lake in the afternoon, then it works out perfectly to have lunch at one of the local restaurants by the car park at Kolsai.

There is a bit of a tourist-trap premium on the prices, but it’s still not too expensive, and we had a tasty meal of dumplings and fried aubergines.

Visiting Kaindy Lake from Saty

Kaindy Lake is a unique experience, and one of the most memorable sights from our travels in Central Asia. Some tours skip past it and just go to Kolsai, but we really suggest you don’t miss this place. It’s one of a kind, and one of our best memories of Kazakhstan.

You can also learn from our mistakes when it comes to visiting Kaindy Lake! We weren’t sure from the information available whether the road from the village to the visitor centre would be ok for a regular car. We paid over the odds for a transfer to be on the safe side, but we soon saw that a slick new paved road had been laid all the way into the national park.

So, if you have a hire car, you do not need to hire a transfer all the way from Saty to Kaindy Lake. You can do the first leg in your car, driving about 20 minutes into the national park to the parking lot. From there, you need to hop in a 4WD for the final leg to the lake (remember to have 2,000 tenge per person in cash for the round trip).

The 4WD drive: strap in for a rough ride!

The transfer from the parking lot to the lake is done in Soviet-era UAZ vans, which are locally nicknamed bukhanka (meaning “loaf of bread”) because of their shape.

These are rickety-looking vans and you will be packed in tightly with a group, but they are surprisingly robust, and you need to remember that these guys do this drive dozens of times every day. It’s a rough ride, and you will see some steep drops to the side, but you’re in experienced hands!

Kaindy Lake and its stunning sunken forest

The 4WD drops you a very short walk from the lake’s edge. For us, arriving at the shore was one of those rare “wow” moments. The sight of the serene sunken long-dead trees rising out of the still azure water was like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

The famous sunken forest at Kaindy Lake was created by an earthquake in 1911 that caused a landslide, forming a natural dam across the valley, flooding the forest as the water rose. So, the tree trunks that you see now have been submerged in the water for more than a century. It’s a beautiful sight.

Following this itinerary you should arrive around mid-afternoon. Alternatively, you could come early on the third day for a totally different experience in the tranquillity of the morning.

By the lake you will find a little café and a short woodland trail. There’s no rush to take the 4WD back to the parking lot, as they go regularly and you can hop on a return flexibly.

Another dinner in Saty

As mentioned above, we went back to Kolsay Shanyraq for another BBQ dinner on our second night in Saty. But there are a couple of other options if you want to mix things up a bit:

• Taj India Restaurant: a pleasant sit-down curry house serving traditional Indian food with generous portions.
• Fortuna Cafe: more of a fast food vibe, serving Asian dishes along with burgers, pizzas and the like.

Day 3: driving back to Almaty via the Black Canyon

Stock up for the drive in Saty

The final day of our itinerary is mostly the long drive back to Almaty, which takes about four hours in total. You could spend more time around Saty and the lakes in the morning, but we set off early, as we had to return our hire car to the airport by 4pm and we wanted to fit in a couple more side quests!

Before you start the drive, you can hit up the mini-supermarket in Saty on the main road and stock up with snacks, water and any other essentials for the drive.

A stop at the Black Canyon

On the stretch of the route between Saty and Charyn Canyon, you will pass the Black Canyon. We decided to stop here on the way back rather than on day one, when we were a bit pressed for time. It’s also a nice way to break up the return journey.

The Black Canyon is a deep section of the Charyn River gorge and is named after the dark volcanic rock that forms its steep walls. This makes for a dramatic sight, which you can enjoy from a roadside viewpoint that looks down into the canyon, with the Charyn River winding along the bottom.

If you’re of an adrenaline-seeking persuasion, there is also the option to ride on swings at the top of the canyon, giving you an even more spectacular, if terrifying, perspective.

You don’t need long at the Black Canyon, but it’s well worth stopping for 15–20 minutes here to enjoy the view and take some photos.

Lunch at Sad Fish: another side quest!

You will probably want to stop for food on the way back, and there are lots of places you can have some authentic Kazakh food. Once you’re into the last hour of the drive towards Almaty, there are several little towns and villages where you can take detours and find local restaurants or cafés.

Instead of staying on the main highway, we took the A351 back towards Almaty, which passes through a series of residential areas. You’ll often see places to eat that are not marked on map apps.

Just before a town called Teskensu we found a little restaurant called “Sad Fish”, set inside a pristinely decorated yurt. It was remarkably cheap, and the food was delicious – we had quite a little banquet of dumplings, garlic-chive chebureki and salads. This place also had the best bathrooms we had experienced so far in Kazakhstan!

Returning your hire car to the airport

When you arrive back at Almaty International Airport, take time to find a space to park up the hire car. The signs can be confusing so you may need to be patient – we narrowly avoided a fine from a local police officer for accidentally going in the wrong direction!

General tips for the road trip

You now have pretty much everything you need to plan your road trip from Almaty to Charyn Canyon and the lakes of Kolsai and Kaindy.

Before we wrap up, here are a few quick final tips to help you have a smooth road trip:

• Take it slowly in the heat. Daytime temperatures in rural Kazakhstan can roar over 30 degrees Celsius depending on when you are travelling. Take time for shade breaks and don’t feel you need to follow every trail. You’re doing this over three days so you can enjoy it!
• Keep the itinerary flexible. If you linger somewhere, you can move Kaindy to the third morning, as we have covered. Just make sure you leave enough time for the drive back.
• Download maps before setting off. The signal isn’t always reliable once you leave the city. We use maps.me. Have your accommodation and the main stops saved for when you lose mobile signal.
• Check arrangements locally. We’ve shared all the information we know and what we experienced on our trip, but things can change. Ask your host in Saty about lake access and transfers, and make sure you confirm return fares and the last departures with drivers before heading off.
• Leave time for little side quests. This is one of the most fun parts of the journey! Some of our favourite moments were those unplanned stops for village meals and scenery on the way.

Have you visited Charyn Canyon, Kaindy and Kolsai Lakes from Almaty? Let us know about your experiences in the comments below.

Thinking of planning an epic round-the-world trip? See our travel planning 101 guide for everything you need.

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