Undiscovered Zhetysu – from desert to snow peaks of Tien Shan

^from$ 2100

Duration	7 Days
Category	HIKING
Season	May - September

Explore Undiscovered Zhetysu – from desert to snow peaks of Tien Shan. During this tour you will visit Altyn emel national park, Charyn canyon and Kolsay and Kaindy lakes and moraine lakes (Akkol and Karakol). You will be able to observe amazing landscapes "Martian hills" and relic willows.Here is history as well, with ancient burial mounds and petroglyphs. You may also see the wild animals living in national park: persian gazells, argali, Przewalski's horses. You will see unique singing sands, chalk Aktau and volcanic Katutau mountains.

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.

The mountains of Aktau belong to the chalk type of the mountains, they were formed from sediments belonging to the era of Cenozoic, which began about 60 million years ago, which makes these mountains historically important. Basically, the composition of the mountains is plastered clay, without any vegetation. Due to this feature, you may feel at the different planet. For a huge amount of time nature cut these mountains, forming canyons with rock layers of white, red and orange colors across the range.

Katutau mountains: The mountains consist mainly of lava and volcanic rock, many dikes can also be seen here, these are cracks that were formed as a result of an earthquake or volcanic eruption, and then were filled with magma. The length of such dikes reaches up to 8 kilometers.

1 Day	Almaty – Altyn Emel national Park KAZAKHSTAN Early breakfast at the hotel. Departure. 08:00 Tamgaly on Ily river (165 km from Almaty). Tamgaly tas – 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 and Burhans were found. Visit Bes Shatyr. Free time. Departure to Altyn Emel National Park. Arrival to "Basshy" village. Check-in at the guesthouse (DBL/Standard accommodation). 14:00 Lunch at Baschy village. 15:00 departure to so-called 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. 19:00.Returning to the guesthouse. Dinner & night stay at the guesthouse (Baschy)
2 Day	Altyn Emel national Park – Chundzha Hot Springs KAZAKHSTAN Breakfast at the guesthouse. Check out of the guesthouse. 09:00 early breakfast and trip to Aktau and Katutau mountain range. Aktau mountains are located 80 km from the village that takes approximately 1,5 hours to reach them. The Aktau hills look supernatural. You will observe rock layers of white, red and orange colors across the range, known as a unique paleontological deposit with an estimated age of 25-30 million years. Katutau hills are less spectacular, but certainly interesting since it’s a good place to see argali. Ancient willow visiting. 14:00 Return to the guesthouse and lunch. 15:00 departure to Chundzha hot springs (250 km). After exploration of Altyn Emel National Park you will visit famous radon hot springs in Chundzha to have a pleasant bath and swim in natural thermal water. Chundzha Hot Springs are well known for their healing water. Bathing and swimming in our thermal pools contribute to the process of self-regulation of the whole body, which in turn increases its resistance to various diseases. 18:00 arrival. Check-in the guesthouse (DBL/Standard accommodation). Dinner & night at the guesthouse (Chundzha)
3 Day	Chundzha Hot Springs – Narynkol KAZAKHSTAN Breakfast at the guesthouse. Check out of the guesthouse. Departure to Narynkol town. After reaching frontier post and checking the documents we will stop at the small place during the Soviet time used to be camp for climbers located at the bottom of Khan Tengri (2300 m above the sea level). After lunch we go trekking along the Akkol river, along the forest scenic zone to the moraine lake Akkol, where the height is 3080 m above the sea level. Return, dinner & night at the camp.
4 Day	Narynkol KAZAKHSTAN Breakfast at the guesthouse. This entire day dedicated to another moraine lake - Karakol. After breakfast we move along the gorge to Karakol lake. Here you can see all the diversity and beauty of The Tien Shan. You can see famous Khan Tengri peak – the highest mountain in Kazakhstan located on the Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan – China border and belongs to Tien Shan mountain range, it is 7010 m (23000 ft) high. A lot of brave men attempt to ascend Khan Tengri, despite the dangerous rock and almost vertical slopes. During this tour you will see how the landscape changes at different altitudes, how conifer forests and alpine meadows pass to tundra and to a zone of permanent snow Return, dinner & night at the camp.
5 Day	Narynkol – Kolsai kolderi national park KAZAKHSTAN Breakfast at the guesthouse 10:00 Departure to the Saty village 13:00 Arrival and Check-in the guesthouse (DBL/Standard accommodation). Lunch. 14:30 Transfer to Kaindy lake (11 km off road). Kayndy lake was formed in 1911 after a huge earthquake that resulted in a big landslide from the eastern slope. The rockslide “place of origin” can still be seen today, because it has not been overgrown yet. The uniqueness of the lake is that after the rise of natural dam that blocked the gorge, water that filled a basin has formed a lake but has not destroyed the spruce that had been growing in this place along the river. 19:00 dinner. Night stay at the guesthouse (Saty village)
6 Day	Kolsai kolderi national park KAZAKHSTAN Breakfast at the guesthouse 10:00 transfer to Kolsay lake1. Kolsay Lakes – one of the most beautiful places in Kazakhstan. These lakes are located at heights 2250 and 2700 meters above sea level. They are distinguished by the unique mountain watershed consisting of three natural zones and amazing variety of rare plants and animals. Free time. 13:00 lunch (outdoor picnic). Hiking to Kolsay lake 2 (or horse riding – not included into the cost, horse riding price around 40 USD per person). Hike back. 19:00 Dinner. Night stay at the yurt (Saty village).
7 Day	Charyn canyon – Almaty KAZAKHSTAN 09:00 Breakfast at the guesthouse 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. The Charyn canyon itself is approximately 150 km and in some places up to 300 m deep. Free time 14:00 departure to Almaty. 15:00 late lunch on the way back to Almaty in Baiseit village. 19:00 arrival and transfer to the hotel. End of services

Accommodation in guesthouse on TWIN / DBL sharing basis (6 night)
Meals: full board
English-speaking guide-driver services
Transport with professional driver
Water – 1L per person per day
Entrance fees for all mentioned national parks (except photo and video charges)
Photo and video charges
Alcohol + Beverages
Portages at airports and hotels
Tips and gratuities
Any personal expenses and any services not included into the tour program

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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