What You Will Do
We will admire the unbelievable vast landscapes of the Great Steppes – the cradle of the nomadic civilization.
We will get to know the peculiarities of the nomadic way of life, who and how invented the Steppe Calendar and what are the main values of the Kazakh shepherds.
We will speak about the religions of The Great Steppe and how dogs were transformed from the sacred animals to the devil servants.
We will find out about the main product of local farmers of the USSR time.
At the end of our journey through the steppes we will reach the kingdom of canyons that created mysterious castles and towers, home for the witches and magic red wolfs, – the heroes of Charyn canyon legends that kept in fear local people for centuries. Our guide will help you to separate the truth from the myths and we will try to guess how and why the legends were born.
The visit of the canyons that are millions years old with their mysterious stories will not leave anyone indifferent!
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Itinerary
1
Almaty
5 hours
Our way will go along the Kuldjinskiy route, where the caravans of the Grate Silk way went towards the Chinese border centuries ago. We will have time to speak about the history of the Grate Silk way, the nations that inhabited this lands, their traditions and religions.
To the left along our way we will admire the horizons of the Grate Steppe – the cradle of the nomadic civilization, where the herds still graze and the web of the wild paths leads to the farms of the local shepherds. To the right we will be seeing the snow-covered peaks of the ancient Tian Shan mountains. Then we will drive through the Kok Pek gorge, Sugatinskaya, and Zhelanashskaya valleys and see the villages where they used to plant tobacco for the Soviet Union in the past and now they live the quiet life of private landowning.
2
Charyn Canyon National Park
7 hours
Charyn canyon is considered to the be the smaller brother of the famous Grand Canyon in the USA, its length is more than 150km and its depth at some places reaches 300m. We will visit the most interesting part of the canyon that is called “The Valley of castles”, the most effectively “The Valley of Castles” looks from the bottom, where the tourists path is made.
The walking part of our tour is 2,5km long with a stop for a snack. On the way we will speak about the history of the canyon, its legends, flora and fauna. Walking down towards the Charyn river we will see different historical layers that are millions of years old.
The end of the path is the picturesque Charyn river bank. The way back on the local “taxi” to the parking is also an adventure: in the specially equipped Russian off-road opened small track we will drive with the wind along the natural stone towers and arches of the canyon.
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