Travel deep dive
Charyn and the Lakes: Red Rock and Mountain Water East of Almaty
East of Almaty the land drops from the Tian Shan to a dry plain, and the Charyn River has cut a canyon of red and ochre rock into it, often compared with the Grand Canyon on a smaller scale. Beyond it, in the forested valleys of the mountains along the Kyrgyz border, lie the Kolsai lakes and Lake Kaindy. The canyon and the lakes together make the classic trip of two or three days from Almaty.
Updated 2026-10-09
The Valley of Castles
The most visited stretch of Charyn is the Valley of Castles, where wind and water have carved the canyon walls into towers and turrets of soft red rock. A path leads down through it to the river, where a grove of ash trees grows on the banks, a survivor of far older forests. The walk down is easy; the climb back up is hot in summer, when the canyon floor holds the heat.
The Kolsai Lakes
The Kolsai lakes are a chain of three mountain lakes in a valley of spruce forest above the village of Saty. The road ends at the lowest, on its meadows by the water, and a trail climbs through the forest to the second, a walk of several hours for those who stay the night.
Lake Kaindy
Lake Kaindy formed when an earthquake in 1911 brought down a mountainside and dammed a stream, drowning a spruce forest. The bare trunks still stand out of its clear blue-green water. The lake lies up a rough track from the Saty road, usually driven in four-wheel-drive vehicles from the village.
Getting There and When to Go
The south-east is travelled by car with a driver or on a tour from Almaty, since the canyon and the lakes lie far apart: Charyn alone fills a long day, and the lakes need a night in Saty or a guesthouse nearby. Late spring to early autumn is the season; summer days in the canyon are hot, and snow lies in the mountains in winter. Cash machines are rare beyond Almaty, so cash is drawn in the city before leaving.