Almaty Lake Tour: Scenic Mountain Escape

50 Ratings

Almaty

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Embark on a private tour to Big Almaty Lake, a breathtaking natural wonder near Almaty, Kazakhstan. Explore the lake, its history, and the surrounding mountains on this flexible and customizable tour. Book now and experience a 100% guaranteed adventure!

Duration: 6 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Big Almaty Lake - We will visit Big Almaty Lake and its surrounding mountains. Discover the lake’s history and its location. Stroll around and view the lake from various vantage points. The total tour duration depends on city traffic. Additionally, we can include Shymbulak or Almarasan in this tour upon request.

What's Included

Landing and/or facility fees
In-vehicle air conditioning

Additional Information

Read before booking! Discover the best sights around Almaty!
For last-minute bookings, inquiries, or special requests, please contact via WhatsApp at +77012110150 BEFORE booking!
Explore the stunning Almaty Lake, situated 2,500 meters above sea level, and learn about its history and the surrounding mountains.
Choose between driving to the lake or hiking….

Location

Abay Kazakh State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater

Kabanbay Batyr Street

We meet near theatre fountain.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.2

(50 Ratings)

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Mohammadsheikh73

Apr 15, 2026

Excellent tour with a professional and friendly guide 🌄 - I had a wonderful experience on the Big Almaty Lake tour, and it was truly one of the best days of my trip 🌄 Everything was very well organized from the beginning. The car was very clean and comfortable, and the driver arrived exactly on time at 7:00 in the morning, which made the start of the day very smooth. Our tour guide, Dmitry, was excellent. He was very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, and he shared a lot of useful information during the trip. He was also very kind and even gave us his phone number in case we needed help while staying in Kazakhstan, which I really appreciated. During the tour, we also visited a hot spring and saw a beautiful waterfall along the way, which made the experience even more enjoyable. At the end of the tour, he dropped each of us off exactly where we wanted in the city, which was very convenient. Overall, it was a fantastic day, very enjoyable and well organized. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Almaty 🌄✨

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Clara_w

Apr 2, 2026

Winter wonderland - We had a nice experience visiting Big Almaty Lake. Our guide/driver Dmitriy picked us up at our hotel, drove us to the area near the lake where we were transported on another vehicle to the lake. We had about an hour to explore the lake. It was a short but beautiful visit.

Review provided by Viator

Vinthunair_h

Dec 12, 2025

Hiking guide - My friend and I had a wonderful hiking experience with our guide, Victor. He was very friendly and shared a lot of interesting information about Big Almaty Mountain. Highly recommended.

Review provided by Viator

Kate_s

Dec 6, 2025

Great hike and guide, thank you Viktor! - Went by myself at the end of a work trip to Almaty. It was a beautiful hike and Viktor, our young guide, was knowledgeable and you can tell he loves to do this job. I am so glad I did this, because going alone would be impossible. Totally worth it!! BUT a tip: the hike is close to 18km, it's not 6km. It will take you between 5-7 hours to hike in total with steep ascent. Come prepared!!!! The tour company was communicative when reaching out via WhatsApp, but did not make the distance clear 🌟😂 It was still worth it. Once in a lifetime experience.

Review provided by Viator

Xcrsland

Nov 2, 2025

Big Almaty Lake Experience - Doing this tour is 1000% recommended! I am glad I booked with Dao Travel. Dmitri was super helpful and provided with a lot of historical and useful information involving not only the Lake but the city as well. The Lake was unreal, I had plenty of time to admire it and take all the photos, we then head back to the city and he gave some good tips for some great local cafés. It is worth mentioned that the tour was done on the best possible time to see the lake in full glow with perfect sunlight, after sunrise, at around 8 AM.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Charloteeak

Jan 28, 2026

Beautiful - 10km walk along road to and from lake, best conditions underfoot in snowy conditions. Vlad the guide was very kind and informative about the area and Kazakhstan generally. Please ensure you treat this like any other hike, snacks and water etc. Lake is in a border zone, ensure you take passport. Breathtaking views and an incredible amount of snow !

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Bevin_h

Jan 8, 2026

Early start. Ask for... - Early start. Ask for hotel collection. You transfer near the lake after a 300 metre walk. Incredible lake and you have about 40 minutes. If you are doing the Canyon and two lakes then no need to do this lake as well. It is actually more expensive than the Canyon tour.

Review provided by Viator

Natalysf9809bl

Nov 24, 2025

I'd love more of it - The trip was extremely short, which may be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the situation. We were talked into taking this tour instead so in case of bad weather we don't get stuck during a longer excursion. But the weather was just perfect, so cutting the mountain experience short was a disappointment. During our tour there was an emegency but the guide handled it so we wouldn't know if not told. Props to him! During our off-season visit there were no crowds and our own group was comfortably small. The sight itself is a thing to see, mountains are beautiful, the lake water turquoise and nice spots on the slope to take pictures. Besides going by the asphalt road to it on foot that locals do, there's pretty much nothing else to do, as the lake shore is guarded by the military. So, it's a quite brief and harmless experience for people who would like to see the nature but don't go hikes or don't want to spend much time doing it.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Reginald

Dec 6, 2025

Amazing view , rushed trip, overpriced - Big Almaty Lake is beautiful and definitely worth seeing — the view is amazing. But the tour itself felt rushed. They only gave us about 40 minutes at the lake, which wasn’t enough to really explore or enjoy the area. It was also just one destination for the whole trip, so overall it felt a bit overpriced for the time given.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

232gastond

Mar 3, 2026

Get a taxi better - I paid 100usd for a guide , hiking , explanation of the lake and history... There was nothing , just a taxi to arrive , 40 minutes there , a taxi to come back ... No guide at all, couldn't even have time to get a coffee

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Check Availability

From $65

up to 13 guests

1 - Adult