Explore Kazakhstan

Name of the tour: Explore Kazakhstan

Duration:  6 days & 5 nights

Day 1: Almaty
Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met by our driver. He will take you to the city and you will start visiting sightseeing of Almaty. First, you will go to Almaty Museum, Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen- one of the oldest parks in Almaty and where one of the most beautiful wooden building in the world - Zenkov Cathedral is located. Next place which we are going to visit is the popular Green Bazaar, where every person is interested and buy something. After that you will have lunch and start the second part of your tour in Kazakhstan going to Medeu Gorge. It is well known skating rink in the world. You will have some time for walking, taking mountain-view pictures and breathing the fresh pine-tree air. Then we will take a cable car and go to Shymbulak ski resort area. On the continuation will be Kok-Tobe hill,  where the tallest TV tower in the world is located. There it is possible to stroll along the winding paths of the park, admire the magnificent panorama of the city from the special observation deck. The tour ends with the short ride from the top of the hill to the center of the city by the famous Almaty cableway. You will spend the night in the train going from Almaty to Taraz.

Day 2: Almaty – Taraz – Sairam – Shymkent
After arrival to Taraz, you will be met by our driver at the railway station and he will transfer you to Taraz, one of the oldest cities in Kazakhstan. This day you will get acquainted with sightseeing. First, you will visit History Museum, then Karakhan and Dautbek Mausoleum, Tekturmas Historical Complex, Akyrtas antient palace complex. You will continue the tour to Sairam district of Shymkent (160 km).  There you will have sightseeing at Ibrahim-Ata Mausoleum, Karashash-Ana Mausoleum, and medieval minaret. Sairam is located at the edge of Shymkent, at the place of former Ispidzhab - one of the largest centers of the Great Silk Road in the Middle Ages. This place is also known as the birthplace of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. He was the great enlightener of XII century. You will also visit Mausoleums of his father and mother, which are also located here. After all you will be transferred to Shymkent city and spend the night in the hotel.

Day 3: Shymkent – Otrar Settlement – Turkestan – Shymkent     
After breakfast you will depart to Otrar Settlement (220 km) and then visit Khoja Ahmed Yasawi’s teacher and spiritual mentor’s Mausoleum Arystan-Bab. It is the archaeological site of the ancient settlement of Otrar.  Next destination will be Turkestan (70 km). There you will have a sightseeing at "Azret-Sultan" historical and architectural complex, Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi. Turkestan was founded around 500 AD at the crossroads of caravan routes from Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva in northern Kazakhstan. The city was known as the spiritual and political center of the Turkic-speaking people in the XVI-XVIII centuries, and was the capital of the Kazakh Khanate. Farther your transfer will take you to the hotel in Shymkent.

Day 4: Shymkent – Aksu-Zhabagly Reserve – Shymkent
Today you will go to Aksu-Zhabagly Reserve (125 km) and visit Aksu Canyon. Aksu-Zhabagly is located at the spurs of the Western Tien-Shan Mountains at an altitude from 1000 to 4280 meters above sea level and considered as the oldest natural reserve in Kazakhstan. The basic high-altitude zones are represented here: semi-deserts substitute dry motley grass of steppes; luxurious plots of meadows give way to thickets of creeping juniper. Patchwork of colorful alpine flowers adorns the base of rigorous peaks with dazzling snow and bluish tongues of glaciers. The reserve is a rich treasury of rare, endangered and endemic species of animals and plants. It is home for argali and ibex, deer and roe deer, lynx and snow leopards, wolves, foxes, bears, porcupines and ermines. Bearded vultures, griffons and golden eagles are flying high in the sky.  You will have an unforgettable moment for your whole life. After that we will return to Shymkent where you will spend the night in a hotel.

Day 5: Shymkent
Today you will have an amazing tour in Shymkent city, in the third megapolis of Kazakhstan. The city since ancient times ran along one of the branches of the Great Silk Road along with the most famous cities of medieval Kazakhstan and Central Asia. This entire day is dedicated to sightseeing tour of Shymkent. It includes visiting Walk of Fame, Monument "Jer Ana", Ordabasy Square, Park “20th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan”, Obelisk of Glory, Eternal Fire to the Fallen in WWII, Dendropark, regional historical – museum, visiting the ruins of the citadel of ancient Shymkent, walking on pedestrian street "Arbat". Then you will come to the hotel and spend the night there.

Day 6: Chernyaevka
You will have your breakfast at the hotel and then transfer from Shymkent to Zhibek Zholy (Chernyaevka) border, where your tour in Kazakhstan will come to the end.