Tailor-made Kazakhstan Tours 2026, 2027 & 2028

The former capital is 800 metres beneath the 4,979-metre Talgar Peak. Soviet-era mosaics and the all-wood Zenkov Cathedral line boulevards leading to the Green Bazaar, where vendors sell kazy (horse sausage) and mountain honey. The city’s apple heritage is preserved in the surrounding hills—the genetic birthplace of the Malus sieversii—while a cable car connects the centre to the Medeu high-altitude ice rink.

East of Almaty, Charyn Canyon features the 2-kilometre Valley of Castles, a red sandstone gorge carved by the Charyn River. Further into the Tien Shan foothills, the Kolsai Lakes form a turquoise trio at varying altitudes, while nearby Lake Kaindy is famous for its sunken forest of Schrenk’s Spruce, with silver trunks rising from the water. These alpine ecosystems provide a critical habitat for the Tien Shan brown bear and the snow leopard.