Tour Time: 8 Days / 7 Nights
Departure:
Return:
Location: Kazakhstan
Age: 16 - 60+
Group size: Minimum 2 persons
Themes: Cultural, Historical, Archaelogical, Adventure, Eco tours, Photography tours,
The itinerary of this classical tour of Kazakhstan includes visits to the country’s main cities, remarkable historical and cultural places and the most beautiful natural attractions.
The travellers will explore the south and north of Kazakhstan, visit the country’s two capitals - the phenomenal modern city of Nur-Sultan and the ‘southern capital’ Almaty - and discover Kazakh nomadic culture in a traditional Ethno village, where they acquaint themselves closely with the local lifestyle and customs and partake of some authentic Kazakh food.
This Kazakhstan tour will contain elements of a jeep tour and outdoor activities, as the only possible means to get to the Charyn National Park is in an off-road vehicle, while a walk amidst the grandiose canyons in the Valley of Castles will grant you with plenty of unforgettable impressions. The historical cities of Turkistan, Otrar and Shymkent in the south of Kazakhstan are famous for their ancient fortresses and archaeological sites, old mausoleums, medieval architecture and sacred religious places, while Tian Shan mountains around Almaty are rich in most beautiful natural objects and unique panoramas.
This optimally designed itinerary comprises the most significant things to see in Kazakhstan for 7 days!
05.25 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 and rest after flight.
Sightseeing tour in Almaty, 10.00 – 20.00
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 the XVII century.
Just in a walking distance, you could enjoy another touristic attraction of Almaty – “Green Bazaar” or Green market. This is a perfect way to experience the true Eastern market. Here you might taste the food, bargain and, obviously, buy local tasty goods for a very nice price.
Then we stop for lunch at local restaurant.
After lunch, you are going to visit the city’s main attraction – the Ili Alatau mountains.
The National Park of Ili Alatau was founded in 1996, the park is spreading 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.
Today’s last stop is Kok Tobe park – located at an altitude of 1100 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.
Today you will have early breakfast as we are taking a long ride to the “must-see” place when visiting Kazakhstan and Almaty, in particular.
08.00 – 20.00 Bus tour to the canyon. Lunch boxes included.
Charyn canyon is one of the popular and magnificent natural attractions of Kazakhstan, located 220 kilometers from Almaty city. Charyn is also called a “small brother” of Grand Canyon in the USA, as, comparably, the length of Kazakhstan canyon is only 154 kilometers, but beauty of Charyn is unique and cannot be compared to any in the world. Besides, the canyon has many mysteries related to legends about “witches”, “red wolves” or “road to hell”. Nobody knows why local people made all these stories, but indeed, the place is very extraordinary: you can feel it once you approach majestic rocks of the canyon and when walking inside of it.
After leaving the hotel in Almaty, within 3-4 hours of driving, we turn from the main road to the off-road that leads to “Valley of castles” – the main touristic point of Charyn.
Panoramic site - Valley of Castles at Charyn Canyon.
We leave the cars in the parking lot at the descent into the canyon 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 min.) to the EcoPark village (2 km one way). The tour guide tells you about the differences of Charyn canyon.
After enjoying the fascinating panoramic views of the canyon, we are ready to drive back to the city.
Transfer to the airport.
08:15 Flight to Turkestan
09:40 Arrival to Turkestan Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel
After check in, enjoy breakfast at the hotel.
This day you visit the main historical site of the region: The Mausoleum of Khodja Ahmet Yassawi, which is part of UNESCO HERITAGE. The mausoleum was built in the end of XIV century and since then it has become one of the main places of worship in Islam.
After excursion, we drive further to visit ruins of the ancient city Sauran.
In historical records, the city is described as a powerful fortification that is surrounded by gardens and cultivated land. A 7 meters high and 3 meters wide wall was erected
around Sauran, which partially remains to the present day. In the best years, Sauran’s population was about 15 thousand people, but in the XVII century, the city was almost abandoned. Finally, people left it in the middle of the XIX century. Thanks to this fact, the ancient city is well preserved until now.
Overnight at the hotel.
After breakfast at the hotel, check out and Transfer to Otrar, an ancient city.
Otrar (also known as Farab) was an important trading center in the history of Central Asia, situated at the intersection of the caravan ways of the Great Silk Road.
On the way to Shymkent city, tourists also pass the Museum in the Shaulder village and the Mausoleum of Arystan - bab of XII century - one of Muslim shrines in Central Asia that is also famous as pilgrimage place.
14.00 Arrival to Shymkent city and transfer for lunch.
Short city tour
17.00 Check in and free time. Overnight at the hotel
After breakfast, check out and transfer to the airport for flight to Nur-Sultan at 11.15
13.00 Arrival to Nur-Sultan. Transfer to the restaurant for lunch.
After lunch start sightseeing in Astana:
Sightseeing tour in Nur-Sultan from 15.00 to 20.00. The tour includes:
This day you will visit the city’s main attractions.
The Hazret Sultan Mosque – 2nd biggest mosque in Central Asia that can accommodate 10,000 people at one time. The building is designed as an Oriental palace.
Then you are going to visit another fabulous work of Mr. Foster, the Baiterek Monument. This is a main symbol of the capital. The height of the tower is 97 meters and visitors can go up by lift and experience the panoramic view of the city.
After the tour, we visit Khan Shatyr – one of the new symbols of capital, the first and only lifestyle center of Astana. The center unites shopping and entertainment under one roof. The building itself is the world’s biggest tent– shaped installation, which makes it unique.
Transfer to the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.
Breakfast at the hotel.
Sightseeing tour in Nur-Sultan from 10.00 to 19.00
Our first stop is Independence Square, where you can admire modern buildings – masterpieces of architects, including:
Palace of Independence – this 18,000-m2 building mainly consists of big halls for conducting important international and national events. Here tourists can watch a general layout of Nur-Sultan and find many archeological and other sites that relate to Nur-Sultan and Kazakhstan.
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation – a pyramid that was designed by a famous architect Norman Foster. The uniqueness of this building is its golden section proportion: 62 meters of length and 62 meters of height.
The National Museum – opened in 2014, currently the museum is the biggest in Kazakhstan and consists of 10 thematic halls, including ancient and medieval history, ethnography, history of Kazakhs and other.
We continue our tour by visiting “Nur Alem” center, the world's largest spherical building, 80m in diameter and 100m tall, it is the first scientific/ hi-tech museum in Kazakhstan. The complex is a legacy of EXPO 2017, which was held during summer 2017 in Astana. It takes around 3 hours or even more to cover all eight floors of the Museum of Future, where the basic types of energy will be demonstrated: those of the space, sun, biomass, wind, water and kinetics.
Transfer back to the hotel. Overnight.
Early morning transfer to Nur-Sultan International Airport.
2,5 nights’ Hotel accommodation on BB (DBL/TWN shared) in Almaty
1,5 nights Hotel accommodation on BB (DBL/TWN shared) in Turkestan
1 night in Shymkent city on BB (DBL/TWN shared)
2 nights’ Hotel accommodation on BB (DBL/TWN shared) in Nur-Sultan
Meals: Breakfasts at the hotels, 1 lunch at Charyn Canyon
All airport transfers
Private A/C transport with driver as per program:
Locals English - speaking guides
Entrance fees to sites listed
Ecological fees
Mineral water 0.5L p/p daily
Souvenirs
International air tickets
Domestic Air ticket Almaty – Turkestan, Shymkent – Nur-Sultan (exact fare is guaranteed after 100% of prepayment and air ticket is issued) – from 120 USD p/p (subject to change)
Please note that flights operated by FlyArystan are non-refundable
Meal: full board: + 5 lunches and 6 dinners: 150 USD per person / Half board: 5 lunches: 70 USD per person
Any services not included in the above itinerary
