Nomadic transhumance (high lambing season)

^from$ 795

Duration	7 Days
Category	ETHNICAUTHENTIC
Season	May - June

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live as a nomad, surviving off the land caring for flock of sheep and goat and horses? Join for once in a lifetime experience participating in the bi-annual transhumance from desert to mountains with Kazakh nomad families

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live as a nomad, surviving off the land caring for flock of sheep and goat and horses in the middle of the steppe? From the end of May till mid June nomads leave their lower villages and move to pastureland called Zhailau (summer pasture). Join for once in a lifetime experience participating in the bi-annual transhumance from desert to mountains with some of the remaining Kazakh nomad families. To make your tour more attractive we included a half day trips to singing dune and Charyn canyon.

Singing sand (also called whistling sand or barking sand). The dune is composed of light-colored sand and has a length of about 3 km and a height of 150 m. In dry weather sands emit a sound similar an organ melody. Since ancient times this place was considered supernatural. The legends explained the sound by the activities of the desert spirits, mythical animals, the bells of buried towns, underground rivers etc.

Charyn Canyon is a canyon of 154 km long. The canyon is located 195 km east of Almaty, not far from the border with China. The canyon isincluded into the territory of the Charyn National Park.
Charyn Canyon -is a natural monument, built of sedimentary rocks, the age of these rocks is about 12 million years. The height of the steep canyon mountains reaches 150-300 m.
The most interesting place for tourists is the so-called Valley of castles, which is about 2 km long and 20–80 m wide.
In the bosom of the canyon there is a grove of relict species of ash, which survived the epoch of glaciation - Sogdian ash. There is another similar grove only in North America. Since 1964, Ash Grove has been declared a natural monument.

1 Day	Altyn emel national park KAZAKHSTAN 08:00 departure to Tamgaly on Ily river (165 km from Almaty). 10:00 Arrival. Tamgalytas – written cliffs, on the Ili river. Located 170 km from Almaty, natural boundary consists of huge cliffs. It was a place where beautiful images of Buddha were found. On the bank of the Ili River, on the other side of the famous rocks of Tamgalytas, the “city of nomads” is located. This medieval city was built specifically for the filming of the "Nomad" in 2004. Free time. Departure to AltynEmel National Park. 13:30 lunch at the yurt camp on the way to Singing dune. 15:00 arrival to so-called Singing dune (also called whistling sand or barking sand). The dune is composed of light-colored sand and has a length of about 3 km and a height of 150 m. In dry weather sands emit a sound similar an organ melody. Since ancient times this place was considered supernatural. The legends explained the sound by the activities of the desert spirits, mythical animals, the bells of buried towns, underground rivers etc. Sunset viewing 17:00 departure to shepherd's village. 18:00 arrival, dinner. Overnight
2 Day	Staying with a local shepherd family offers some unique insight into the daily lives of modern nomads and gives you an authentic taste of Kazakh culture. The locals will teach you how to ride horses, herd animals. 08:00 Breakfast. 09:00 experience the life of shepherd. Today after breakfast you will go to the winter pasture and team up with a local shepherd. Tent the sheep, gather them, bring them food and water. 13:00 Lunch. After lunch we will prepare the migration. Kazakh nomads two times a year from winter pasture to the summer. During this tour you will be able to follow a transhumance from inside, follow shepherds on horseback to zhailau (summer pasture) and set up their summer yurt camps. 18:00 Dinner. Free time. Overnight
3 Day	Bi-annual transhumance 04:00 early breakfast. Today we will go with shepherds for transhumance. Packing the yurt and belongings on truck and moving to the summer pasture. It takes three days to move all the 700 sheep, 100 cows and 40 horses to summer pasture from winter pasture with stop every night. You will ride 75-80 km on the horseback in total. The shepherds expect from you to help them guide the herds. Also May is high lambing season, shepherds invite you to witness and share with you this unique time of the year with them, and even participate to some of the lambing duties.
4 Day	Bi-annual transhumance 04:00 early breakfast. Today we will go with shepherds for transhumance. Packing the yurt and belongings on truck and moving to the summer pasture. It takes three days to move all the 700 sheep, 100 cows and 40 horses to summer pasture from winter pasture with stop every night. You will ride 75-80 km on the horseback in total. The shepherds expect from you to help them guide the herds. Also May is high lambing season, shepherds invite you to witness and share with you this unique time of the year with them, and even participate to some of the lambing duties.
5 Day	Bi-annual transhumance 04:00 early breakfast. Today we will go with shepherds for transhumance. Packing the yurt and belongings on truck and moving to the summer pasture. It takes three days to move all the 700 sheep, 100 cows and 40 horses to summer pasture from winter pasture with stop every night. You will ride 75-80 km on the horseback in total. The shepherds expect from you to help them guide the herds. Also May is high lambing season, shepherds invite you to witness and share with you this unique time of the year with them, and even participate to some of the lambing duties.
6 Day	Zhailau (summer pasture) KAZAKHSTAN Arrival and settling the camp. Yurts assembling. Rest of the day free. Exploring the area and hiking or horse riding around the yurt camp. Dinner, overnight at the yurt.
7 Day	Charyn canyon KAZAKHSTAN Breakfast and departure to Charyn canyon. The canyon has been described as the Grand canyon’s little brother and is considered to be the floor of the ancient ocean Tethys. The erosion made by the river Charyn below and the elements created a dramatic and impressive landscape. Lunch. Valley of castles and canyon exploring. Hiking. Free time. Departure to Almaty. Dinner at the local café on the way back to Almaty. Arrival to Almaty and transfer to the hotel

Accommodation in guesthouse on sharing basis (2 nights), camping (3 nights), yurt – 1 night.
Meals: day 1 LD, day 2-3-4-5-6 BLD, day 7 BL
English-speaking guide-driver services
Horseback riding
Transport with professional driver
Entrance fees for all mentioned national parks (except photo and video charges).
Photo and video charges
Alcohol + Beverages
Portages at airports and hotels
Warm clothes and equipment for horseback riding (helmets, gloves)
Tips and gratuities
Any personal expenses
Any services not included in the above itinerary

Cancellation policy

Payments & Cancellations

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The standard cancellation policy for Customers is:

a 90 % refund for cancellations made at least 15 days in advance of the start date of the experience. (Except for the tours to Baikonur Cosmodrome, see point 1)
a 60% refund for cancellations made later than at least 15 days in advance of the start date of experience. Unless the Customer could not inform the Steppe and Sky travel due to the force-majeure reasons.
Cancellations made within 48 hours of the start date of the experience will receive no refund.
In case of no-show the Customer will receive no refund.
For the tours to Baikonur Cosmodrome the following penalties apply:

1 a 90% refund for cancellations made after the payment is made before the permission from Roscosmos State Corporation is received.

2. a 80% refund in case of cancellation of the tour after receiving permission to visit the Cosmodrome Baikonur by Roscosmos , regardless of the time.

3. a 0% refund for cancellations made 14 days prior to the tour start.

4. a 80% refund in case when Roscosmos refuses the Customer in permission to visit the spaceport (Cosmodrome Baikonur),

5. a 80% refund is applicable when Roscosmos either transfers or cancels the launch of the spacecraft, unless the Customer chooses to use the tour package of ‘between launches’ period, in this case the cost of the tour is recalculated and the difference is transferred to the account of the Customer.

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