Tour to Almaty, the City of Thousand Colors5 Days | Almaty, Charyn National Park, Kazakh Ethno Village

Arrival to Almaty International airport.
After passing border control and collecting luggage, you will meet local guide holding your nameplate.
You are going to the hotel for check-in (14:00)
Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel.
Sightseeing tour in Almaty, 09.30 – 19.00. This day you will visit the city’s old center and cover one of the main sites that best highlight Almaty’s history. The first stop is Park of 28 Panfilov soldiers – named after the division during WWII, formed of men from the Almaty region under command of General Ivan Panfilov. The park itself is popular among locals and guests of the city. Inside the park visitors will find the eternal flame, memorials of different heroic characters, the Ascension Cathedral – Russian Orthodox wooden church that magically withstood a strong earthquake in XX century, and Museum of musical instruments, where you can admire the collection over 1000 exhibits including rare exhibits dating back to XVII century.
Just in a walking distance, you can enjoy another touristic attraction of Almaty – “Green Bazaar” or Green market. This is a perfect way to experience the true Eastern market, where you can find main delicacies of different nations living in Kazakhstan.
Then we stop for lunch at local restaurant.
After lunch, you are going to explore the city’s main attraction – the Ili Alatau mountains.
The National Park of Ili Alatau was founded in 1996, the park extends for 120km and the total area is 202,292 hectares. The altitude varies from 600 to 5,000 meters.
Medeo is an essential part of the Ili Alatau Park and it is a historical object of Almaty’s development as a city. Located at the height of 1,690 meters, the Medeo skating rink is the highest rink location in the world. However, our main purpose of visit is Shymbulak – a mountain resort located at the elevation of 2,260 meters above sea level. In 1950s, ski lovers used to climb the mountain for 3 hours for a 15 minutes’ descent. Nowadays, it is a developed resort with high-level equipment and infrastructure. Today’s last stop is Kok Tobe, a park located at an altitude of 1,100 meters on the green hill, this place is very popular among locals and tourists. Take a ride on comfortable cable car and within 10 minutes, you are admiring the magnificent panoramic view of the city.
Once we come down from the hill, we are going back to the hotel.
Meals: breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel.
07:30 Departure from Almaty to Charyn Canyon (200 km).
Why is it so early? It allows maximum coverage of both canyons and the viewing platforms. Regular bus tour includes visit to Valley of Castles only, whereas our Jeep tour covers, at least, four more breathtaking places that capture your imagination in the canyons.
Panoramic site - Valley of Castles at Charyn Canyon.
We leave the cars in the parking lot at the descent into the canyon of Valley of Castles. Take a bottle of drinking water and let’s walk down into the gorge. It is a leisurely trek with some stops (50 minutes) at the Charyn river (2 km one way). The tour guide tells you about the differences of Charyn. A short stop (15 minutes) at the river in the shade of trees, you can photograph there and then we return back to the cars (1 hour since it is uphill). 10 min. break beside the cars and then leaving to discover other fascinating landscapes.
Lunch boxes included.
Departure to Lunar Canyon.
Lunar canyon abounds with streams and small waterfalls. The road to the river is full of small rocky obstacles. After visiting the canyon, we visit a view point - Lunar Canyon panorama, top view. Passages are carried out on dirt roads, sometimes there are obstacles, surmountable by car with large clearance only.
Descent inside the Canyon and 20 min. stop to walk around.
Visiting the location - Stone shelf (12 km), location - Napoleon (4 km), location - Austrian view (2 km).
After exploring the area, we head back to the parking and drive back to Almaty city.
Meals: breakfast, lunch

Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure to Kazakh Ethno Village “Huns”.
The ethno-village is a perfect place for those willing to plunge into and experience the nomadic past of Kazakhs. The village, about 35 km from Almaty in the Talgar district, is also a great way to escape to the mountains for fresh air, horseback riding and to discover Kazakh traditional games and rituals.
From the moment of entrance and welcome ritual “shashu” to the horseback riding in the mountains, you will be surrounded by the Kazakh’s culture, hospitality and traditions.
You will enjoy the entertaining program. This includes:

• Show of felt craft and a close look at the yurts with every detail described;
• Performance of “Besikke salu” or “Tusau kesu” rituals, which are still actual in Kazakh families;
• Horse games like “Kyz kuu” – when young man is chasing a girl to kiss her while riding a horse, and “atpen audaryspak” – wrestling of two young men on horseback;
• Traditional dances and music, where guests will be shown moves and take part in group flash mob;
• Master class of cooking “baursak” – traditional Kazakh pastry.

Lunch in national way.
Optionally: guest can request a horseback riding tour for 30 minutes or 1 hour to explore the area and enjoy the nature.
At 16.00, you return to the city. The rest of the day is free.
Overnight at the hotel.
Meals: breakfast, lunch

Early morning transfer to Almaty International Airport to take your flight back home or to continue your journey through Central Asia:
10:20 → 10:50 Air Astana 127 M Tue W Thu F Sat Sun ALA-TAS
13:50 → 14:30 Uzbekistan Airways 762 - Tue W - - - - ALA-TAS
17:40 → 18:35 Air Astana 109 M Tue W Thu F Sat Sun ALA-FRU