Explore the wildest nature of Kazakhstan with this guided trek in the stunning valley of Turgen. The Turgen belongs to a greater mountain range known as Ili Alatay in the Northern Tien Shan.
Views are dominated by gorgeous glaciers, mountains lakes, fast rivers and alpine pastures.  The focus of this trip is trekking off the beaten track immersed in the amazing landscape of the headwaters of the Turgen and Chon-Turgen Rivers.

Join us on this 6-day trek to discover Kazakhstan’s unique lands with pristine nature and rich wildlife: remote valleys and magnificent lakes, fascinating mountains, beautiful rivers and waterfalls of the Ile Alatau National Park.
Accomodation: 5 nights camping
Grading: moderate-challenging 🙂
Hiking is a great way to experience the mountains of the Tien Shan. Trekking can be as gentle or as hard as you want it to be. There are peaks over 4000m for adventurous souls which can be easily added to the standart route and gentle-sloped mid-mountain meadows for nature lovers.
Timing: June to September. Best months: July and August

*We’re happy to organise the programme on dates to suit your group – please contact us for more information.

Day 1. Almaty – Turgen Gorge- Batan village- Kairak Waterfall- Oi-Karagay forest

Today we’re going to one of the amazing places of Kazakhstan- the Turgen Gorge located in the Ile-Alatau Natural Park 90 km from Almaty (about 2 hours drive). The Turgen is known for its beautiful waterfalls. The most easily accessible one is Waterfall Medvezhiy (Bear waterfall). If you’d like we can take a walk to a 30 meters high waterfall (about 2 km) on the way back from the trek. Today we’re going to see the highest of seven waterfalls of the valley which is called Kairak. Trekking starts from the Batan Village (1700 m a.s.l) and goes by the Turgen river up to the confluence with the Kairak river. Here we stop for lunch enjoying the view of the 50 m high Kairak Waterfall. Our camp site will be at a height of about 2300 meters in the Oi-Karagay forest.
Distance: 10km, Duration: about 5hrs, Elevation Gain: about 600 m.

Day 2. Oi-Karagay forest- Oi-Karagay Plateau – 4 Sphagnum Lakes of Turgen

Today we we’re going to cross a big Oi-Karagai plateau. We’ll enjoy the views of the vast old high-altitude pastures (Zhailau in Kazakh) with green meadows and dense juniper thickets. Our today’s goal is to reach four small lakes surrounded by the green meadows and Sphagnum “carpets”.  Magnificent views of snow capped peaks and vast glaciers will come into your sight. Our camp site at just over 3200 meters allows an impressive view of “Three Lakes” peak (4150 m) reflected on the lake’s surface.
Distance: about 10 km, Duration: about 7 hrs, Elevation Gain: 1100 m.

Day 3. Sphagnum Lakes of Turgen – Upper Turgen Gorge – moraine of Mountain Institute glacier – Chon Turgen Gorge- Blue Lakes of Chon- Turgen

Today a full day of adventure awaits us. It’s going to be quite challenging but rewarding. We trek to the highest and most beautiful lakes of the Chon Turgen Gorge. The first lake we’re going to see is the lake surrounded by the Mountain Institute Glacier. We keep on moving along the high altitude plateau and get to the upper stream of Turgen River. We will hike along the glacier moraine before reaching the Mountain Institute lake. Once at the lake, enjoy spectacular bird eye views of glaciers, snow capped peaks most of which were never climbed before. During the active ice melting season you can see the ice blocks floating on the surface of the lake like icebergs. Then we’ll leave the Upper Turgen Gorge and move to The Upper Chon-Turgen Gorge to see the magnificent blue lakes of Chon-Turgen. Our route through 2 unnamed passes takes us to a stunning viewpoint, where we will be rewarded with views of the high alpine plateau of Chon-Turgen crowned by the main summit of the gorge- Chon Turgen peak (4277 m). We’ll enjoy a well earned rest on the shore of Lake Chon Turgen at 3720 m.
Distance: about 12 km, Duration: about 9 hrs, Elevation Gain: 1200 m.

Day 4. Chon-Turgen Lakes – Big Issyk Peak (optionally)- Chon Turgen Valley

The valleys and mountains are all very individual in their beauty and we aim to contrast these views during our trek. The Upper Chon Turgen gorge looks like a piece of Greenland in the wilderness of Kazakhstan. This
canyon-cut place is called Kazakh Greenland for a reason: once you see this outstanding view, you’ll understand why.
The hike today can be relatively easy or more difficult depending on group preference. We can hike to Big Issyk Peak (4250 m) where we’ll enjoy spectacular views of Talgar Peak and the whole valley of Turgen.
There is also a less demanding option of exploring the surroundings of the moraine lakes and hiking to VLKSM pass with the lakes and the glaciers in the background. We can spend several hours wandering the paths that offer different vantage points of the Chon Turgen canyons.
Short descent to the lower Chon Turgen valley where we will spend the night (at about 3400 m).

Day 5. Chon Turgen Valley –  Panoramic Ridge – the Turgen River Gorge

Today we start our decent to the Lower Turgen River Gorge. We’re going down the ridge from where we get a great panoramic view down into the canyon of Chon Turgen and gorgeous peaks around. After a short rest at the Bozkol Pass and time to take in the spectacular views of the high-altitude Turgen Plateau, Oi-Karagai pastureland and Temirtas Gorge we descend into the Turgen River gorge. We follow the river course towards the confluence of the Kairak River  and arrive to our campside at the forest beside the river. Enjoy a well earned rest after walking approx 15 km with a vertical drop of about 1500 meters.

Day 6. Turgen River Gorge- Batan Village – Waterfall Medvezhiy (Bear waterfall) – Almaty

Today we return to civilisation and no doubt there will be earnest celebration of our beautiful and satisfying trek. We descend to the confluence of the Turgen and the Kairak Rivers. Then following the course of the Turgen river we get to the start point of our trek (about 7 km). After a rest we’ll take an easy walk to a 30 meters high Waterfall Medvezhiy (about 2 km) starting from the Batan village.
Then we’ll be heading down the Turgen gorge straight to the Trout Farm (optionally). You can catch the trout from the pond by yourself and bring the newly caught fish for cooking in the restaurant (paid additionally). Then we’ll go down to the Golden Man’s statue (8 meters high). The Golden Man was the Scythian warrior who lived in IV century B.C. His tomb was found in 1969 near Issyk city and the Golden Man has become a Kazakh national symbol. Optionally we can visit a historical and cultural museum “Issyk”.  It’s also possible to visit an Ostrich Farm and Arba Vine Vineyard on the way to Almaty.
It takes about 2 hours (80 km) in total to get from the Batan Village back to Almaty.

We’ll choose our day routes based on the weather conditions and the ability of the group.

Days 7-8 (optional). We’re happy to organise a 1-day sightseeing tour in Almaty (visiting the most popular attractions of the city) / a sightseeing tour in Almaty region (visiting the best nature spots around Almaty such as Big Almaty lake, Charyn canyon etc).

6-day tour cost:

€650 per person (for a group of 3 people)
€590 per person (for a group of 4 people)
€520 per person (for a group of 5 people)

The cost includes:

The services of a mountain guide;
Return transfer from Almaty (80 km one way);
All the environmental/ecological fees (National Parks);
Camping outfit for overnights (tents, camping stoves, gas etc) except sleeping bags (if you have your own sleeping bag, we’d recommend to bring it with you. If you don’t have a sleeping bag, it can be rented);
Full board (lunch and dinner in Day 1, full board in Days 2-5, breakfast and lunch in Day 6)

The cost doesn’t include:

Accommodation in Almaty (we can help with recomendations or booking a hotel for you);
Meals not indicated in the programme (breakfast in Day  1, dinner in Day 6), alcohol drinks, individual snacks;
Personal expenses and other expenses not indicated in the programme;
Lunch in the Trout Farm. Additional excursions to the Issyk Historical Museum, the Ostrich Farm and Arba Vine Vineyard;
Insurance policy

Please contact us to find out more detailed information and request additional services or locations.

You will need to be:

In good physical shape (able to walk for long distances uphill). You should be prepared to walk for 6-8 hours per day and more. You should be experienced in hiking in rugged terrain. The highnest point of the route is 3830 m (the glacier of Mountain Institute).

You will need:

– clothing: sporty clothes, warm clothes (waterproof outer shell, fleece, down jacket in case of cold weather);
– hiking boots, headdress;
– extra set of warm clothing for nights in tent, extra warm socks;
– gloves, extra warm gloves or mittens;
– trekking poles;
– thermos, water bottle;
– head torch;
– sunglasses and sunscreen, swimming suit (if you’re brave enoungh to swim in a mountain lake;);
– personal backpack (minimum 45l);
– sleeping bag -5° C comfort (if you don’t have a sleeping bag, it can be rented);
– personal medical kit;
– personal mug, spoon, bowl;
– energy bars or other special mountain snacks (optional).