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Treasures of Almaty Lakes and Canyon
4.3
109 Ratings
Almaty
Explore Kazakhstan’s Charyn Canyon, Kolsai, and Kaindy Lakes. Discover grand cliffs, crystal waters, and lush meadows. Perfect spring adventure!
Explore Kazakhstan’s Charyn Canyon, Kolsai, and Kaindy Lakes. Discover grand cliffs, crystal waters, and lush meadows. Perfect spring adventure!
Duration:
17 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Kolsai Lake - This is a lake of amazing beauty, surrounded by mountains and pine forests. If you wish, you can take a boat or catamaran ride around the lake. There is also a cafe where you can have lunch. The menu includes pilaf, lagman, manti, shish kebab, and salads.
- Қайынды - The water here, due to its purity, is almost invisible, and the…
- Kolsai Lake - This is a lake of amazing beauty, surrounded by mountains and pine forests. If you wish, you can take a boat or catamaran ride around the lake. There is also a cafe where you can have lunch. The menu includes pilaf, lagman, manti, shish kebab, and salads.
- Қайынды - The water here, due to its purity, is almost invisible, and the surrounding landscape with mountains and green meadows will complement the charm of this place. We will travel to the lake from the village in UAZ vehicles and, at your request, on horses with experienced escorts.
- Charyn Canyon - Charyn Canyon is one of the most impressive natural attractions in Kazakhstan. You will admire its grandiose cliffs, gorges and bright red formations created by nature millions of years ago. In addition to the Valley of Castles, you will enjoy such locations as: the Charyn River, the Black and Moon Canyon.
What's Included
- Waterproof shoe covers for your shoes (in case of rain or mud on location)
- Entrance ticket to Charyn Canyon National Park
- Entrance ticket to Kaindy National Park
- Professional guide
- Entrance ticket to Kolsay National Park
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- All fees and/or taxes
- UAZ
- Waterproof shoe covers for your shoes (in case of rain or mud on location)
- Entrance ticket to Charyn Canyon National Park
- Entrance ticket to Kaindy National Park
- Professional guide
- Entrance ticket to Kolsay National Park
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- All fees and/or taxes
- UAZ
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- UAZ taxi fee to get further to Lake Kaiyndy (one way) KZT 500.00 per person
- Horse riding to get further to Lake Kaiyndy (round trip) KZT 6.00 per person
- Lunch
- UAZ taxi fee to get further to Lake Kaiyndy (one way) KZT 500.00 per person
- Horse riding to get further to Lake Kaiyndy (round trip) KZT 6.00 per person
Additional Information
Our Advantages
• The company boasts its own fleet of vehicles, each equipped with USB and TYPE-C chargers at every seat.
• During the summer season, every tourist receives a complimentary neck fan with cool air, ensuring comfort and refreshment in hot weather throughout the tour.
• In the winter season, tourists are provided with complimentary warm…
Our Advantages
• The company boasts its own fleet of vehicles, each equipped with USB and TYPE-C chargers at every seat.
• During the summer season, every tourist receives a complimentary neck fan with cool air, ensuring comfort and refreshment in hot weather throughout the tour.
• In the winter season, tourists are provided with complimentary warm touch gloves and a cozy blanket, with the option to purchase extra warm socks for an additional fee.
• Our guides are informative, experienced, energetic, and cheerful, possessing an in-depth knowledge of their country’s history.
• We offer the most competitive prices for a variety of tours and excursions in Kazakhstan.
Enrich your spring with vibrant adventures! Join us on a journey through the stunning natural landscapes of Kazakhstan. Marvel at the majestic cliffs of the Charyn Canyon and witness the lunar-like terrain on Earth. Delight in the crystal-clear lake waters and lush green meadows.
- We recommend taking cash in the amount of 5.000-10.000 tenge per person for pocket money
Location
Zyliha Hotel
Baytursynova Street
We will be waiting for you at Baitursynov 104 with a van with Panda stickers.
Opposite the Astana International Hotel (large bus stop). There will be a Barbero hairdresser near the bus stop.
Bus will be waiting from 04.30 a.m. until 05.00 a.m. ❗️
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(109 Ratings)
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Диас
Jul 23, 2025
Best choice - High recommend. All guides very professional and polite 👍🏻👍🏻 The tour was smooth and well organised. Big thanks for Panda company
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ali_c
Jul 17, 2025
Almaty must do trip - Long exhausting daytrip but worth it, better than big almaty lake
The tourguides nurtas and aysultan were very helpfull and enjoyable
Must do in almaty
Review provided by Viator
Philipo4968va
Jul 6, 2025
Great full day experience - The tour with 6 locations was great, the locations awesome and the guides, Karina and Ice, did a great job in managing the large group (even working as waitresses at the restaurant). They explained everything in detail including the program for the day and the different activities. What can be improved: Collect payments in advance! mandatory fees (like the soviet bus, which was 4.500 and not 4.000 as advertised) should be paid while booking to simplify the guide's job of collecting money one by one. Also for lunch, since the price is fixed it should be paid in advance as today someone "forgot" to pay.. Oh, and make sure you book on their website and not from getYourGuide, as the price there is double.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Faraway65350328967
Jul 2, 2025
Extraordinary day with Panda Travel - I booked the tour of the lakes and canyon with Panda Express on the BookYourGuide website and it was an extraordinary day.
Everything was visited as planned and schedules respected. We had enough time at each stop to fully visit the place (about 2h at the canyon and 1h30 at each lake). Each visit is very physical but the bus rides (very comfortable) allow you to rest, plan what to do because there will be a lot of road.
Especially the guide Nurtas has been fantastic and takes great care of his guests, he is passionate about his country and his profession and his feelings.
Please note, however, that the additional costs of lunch and the UAZ bus ride are not really optional as there is no alternative on offer.
I highly recommend to trust this tour because it is worthwhile and allows to visit in one day the natural wonders of Almaty for a more than competitive price
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Traveler47592498849
Jul 17, 2025
Great tour with a awesome guide. - Tour was excellent and well organised. But the best thing about the tour was our guide KARINA. She was very kind, knowledgeable,funny n really very good human being. She made this tour memorable n special. 5 ⭐ to her.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Georgeka958rq
Aug 13, 2025
Really disappointing experience - This was by far the most unprofessional tour I have ever experienced. To begin with, the van’s air conditioning was not functioning, despite outdoor temperatures reaching around 40°C. This made the ride unbearably uncomfortable. Lunch was both of very poor quality and served at 6:00 PM which is 13 hours after the tour began, this is unacceptable for any day-long excursion. Finally, while the tour guide was polite and friendly, her role amounted to nothing more than accompanying us physically. She provided no meaningful information about the country, the people, the city, or any of the places we visited. She only collected money and never responded professionally to the feedback of the group for both the air conditioning or the lunch being served extremely late, the reply was something in the lines of ‘oh really?’ Overall, the experience was extremely disappointing and far below any reasonable standard of professionalism.
Not to mention that the overall duration of the tour was from 5am until 12:30am the next day, this is not 17 hours as advertised.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
368ranjeetac
Aug 31, 2025
PANDA TRAVEL CHEATERS - CHEATERS.......We booked a vip tour on 24 Aug 2025 for couple with full 48000 tenge payment in advance and reached the venue in the morning....after some time they told us to sit on a big bus (which is not a vip tour) and go to the gas station a few km away from the venue from there we were supposed to change our vehicle ( from big bus to vip small luxury vehicle) but they said that driver is not coming so we have to continue our trip on same big bus ( big bus tour cost 22000 tenge for couple) ..so middle of nowhere they don't left us any choice and after so much of arguments we had to continue our trip on the same.....at the end of our trip we ask the to return the balance amount bt they refused and said we don't have money talk to the management...we send msgs to the manager who booked our tour bt no reply we called him bt didnt pick up our call....after 2 days he replied that he will send the balance amount to our bank account which we used to pay ....bt till the date haven't received any refund....31 Aug 2025.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bauhinia8
Aug 25, 2025
You participate on your own risk! - Worst tour i have experienced in my life.
Very disappointing and unsafe. The guides barely explained anything about the sights, bus was old with no seatbelts, and the driver drove dangerously fast. We visited only 4 out of 7 promised sites. When we gave feedback to the guide during the tour, she started to avoid us. On the way back the tire burst on the highway, which could have ended tragically— we had to dangerously hitchhike back to make our flight. Would not recommend and you participate on your own risk!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Guide13850913794
Aug 22, 2025
DON’T GO FOR PANDA TRAVEL - I had booked a tour with them and pay the deposit for 6D5N tour and after paying the deposit USD370 they are no attending my phone call or message when tour time nearby. PLEASE DO NOT BOOK ANY TOUR FROM THIS AGENT. NO REFUND AT ALL 😡😡😡
Review provided by Tripadvisor
414ane
Aug 10, 2025
Panda Travel—Deceptive, Unreliable, and Unresponsive. Do Not Book! - I had a very disappointing experience with Panda Travel and feel compelled to share it to help save others from a similar ordeal.
I booked two tours with them. The first went fine, so I was optimistic about the second. However, everything fell apart on the day of the second tour. Despite confirming my booking multiple times over WhatsApp and even in person with Panda Travel staff after the first tour, they assured me that the WhatsApp confirmation was all I needed.
To my shock and embarrassment, I was turned away at 4:30 AM by rude staff who insisted I show a physical ticket, which I obviously didn’t have. I showed them my payment receipt, clearly displaying Panda Travel’s details, along with the WhatsApp messages. Instead of resolving the issue, they left us standing there, shocked, humiliated, and embarrassed in front of other tourists.
We continued trying to reach out to Panda Travel, but it wasn’t until 2:30 PM, nearly 10 hours later, that they responded, offering me the tour I had already missed. This was completely unhelpful, as I had to leave the country the next day and had already made alternative arrangements. To make matters worse, they never apologized for the confusion and stress they caused.
Since then, I’ve been trying to get a refund and have been completely ignored. They are not responding to any further messages, which shows a blatant lack of some shame, customer service, accountability, and basic decency.
While some tourists may have had a good experience (I did on the first tour), I strongly advise anyone considering Panda Travel to reconsider. The company is unreliable, unprofessional, and has no regard for your time or plans. It’s not worth the risk or stress if you’re not looking for unpleasant surprises and value your time and peace of mind.
Save yourself the trouble and book with someone else.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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