Calendar of Tours from Almaty 2026

Planning a trip to the mountains? The tour calendar from Almaty by toor will help you choose a route for any schedule. We have compiled a schedule for the season, prices from 3,263 KZT per day, broken down the weather by month, and provided a gear checklist. Choose your date and book your tour directly with the organizer.

Choosing a tour by format: one-day, two-day, or multi-day trek

The main question for a tourist is how many days are needed to see the main sights. Our tour calendar from Almaty is broken down by month and difficulty — you can immediately see available dates for each route. We break down three formats: one day, a weekend, and a full trek. To find tours by day in Almaty, simply open the calendar on the website — each route is linked to a specific date.

One-day tours from Almaty: routes and what's included

We conduct one-day tours to the Charyn Canyon (200 km from the city, depth 300 m), Kolsai Lakes (altitude 1800–2800 m), Big Almaty Lake (2511 m), and the Turgen Gorge with waterfalls — the duration of each route is 10–12 hours, price from 3,263 KZT per person. We publish the full schedule of Almaty hikes for the season at the beginning of each month — dates are fixed 2–3 weeks before departure. The price includes transfer from the Palace of the Republic or a hotel within the city, a picnic lunch, trekking poles, a raincoat, and the accompaniment of a certified guide; groups of up to 12 people depart at 7–8 am and return by 7–8 pm — the schedule is tight to fit in viewpoints and photo stops. The Turgen Gorge is best for beginners — it's an easy walk without a serious elevation gain, while the Charyn Canyon requires good physical fitness due to the descent and ascent along the trail.

Two-day and multi-day programs: 3–5 day trekking

Weekend tours from Almaty — two-day combinations of the Charyn Canyon and Kolsai Lakes — start every Friday and Saturday from May to October. We organize two-day combined tours (Charyn Canyon + Kolsai Lakes) from 18,900 KZT and multi-day treks for 3–5 days with overnight stays in tents or guesthouses from 61,900 KZT, including full board and transfer. In the two-day format, departure is on the morning of the first day, overnight stay at the Kolsai base camp, returning the next day with a picnic lunch — the route covers two main locations without rushing. Multi-day programs include an ascent to Peak Almaty (3600 m, gear required) or trekking through the Turgen Gorge to hot springs — tents and sleeping bags are provided free of charge. The two-day format is the optimal choice for those who want to see the two main canyons without rushing: departure in the morning, overnight stay at Kolsai, and return the next day with a picnic lunch.

Comparison of formats: price, time, difficulty

Seasons and weather in the Almaty mountains: when is the best time to go

The weather in the foothills of the Zailiysky Alatau can change in a day from +20°C to frost at the pass. We publish the current Almaty tour schedule for each month on the toor.kz website — dates are updated as groups fill up. Let's break down the available routes by season and the weather nuances of each month.

Spring and summer (May–August): waterfalls, lakes, and trekking

From May to June in the Turgen Gorge and Charyn Canyon, it's the peak of waterfalls and blooming — daytime temperature +15…+25°C, and from July to August, the window opens for trekking to the Kolsai Lakes and Big Almaty Lake (+20…+30°C at the bottom, up to +10°C at an altitude of 2800 m). In May, on easy routes (difficulty 1–2), there is still snow on passes above 2500 m, so we recommend trekking poles and waterproof shoes. June is the greenest month: the alpine meadows near the lower Kolsai (1800 m) are covered with edelweiss and poppies, while the ice on Big Almaty Lake (2511 m) only melts by mid-month. July–August is stable warmth with rare afternoon thunderstorms, the water in the lakes warms up to +14…+18°C. It's best to go to the upper Kolsai Lake (2800 m) in July–August, when the snow melts and the water becomes suitable for swimming — in June there is still an ice crust.

Autumn and winter (September–March): golden autumn and jeep tours

From September to October, we lead trekkings into the golden autumn of the Zailiysky Alatau (+5…+15°C), and from November to March we switch to jeep tours and ski trips — the temperature in the mountains drops to -5…-15°C, but the snow makes the routes picturesque. September is the velvet season for challenging routes (level 4–5): Peak Almaty (3600 m) no longer has summer heat, but snow hasn't fallen yet, and the larches in the gorges turn yellow. October is the last month for easy hikes: the Charyn Canyon warms up to +15°C during the day, but there are already frosts at night. From November to March, only jeep tours operate — the wheels take you to Charyn, Big Almaty Lake, and the Turgen waterfalls, where winter water freezes into intricate icicles. November is the most deceptive: it's still +5°C in the city, but at an altitude of 2000 m, there is already snow with temperatures down to -10°C, so a down jacket and waterproof shoes are mandatory for jeep tours.

Monthly tour calendar: what to see and when

It's convenient to plan Almaty excursions using our calendar — the table below shows which route is available each month.

The Almaty excursion calendar is already available for booking — dates for July–September are snapped up 3–5 days before departure.

The shoulder season (May and September) offers groups of 4–6 people — almost a private tour at the price of a group tour, as the influx of tourists is minimal.

Prices for tours from Almaty: what's included in the cost

The price of a tour from Almaty often seems like a mystery — sometimes the transfer is separate, sometimes lunch is not included. Let's break down what is actually included in the cost of each format.

What's included in the cost of a one-day tour

• Transfer: from the Palace of the Republic or your hotel within the city and back — included in the price.
• Guide-instructor: a certified specialist who leads a group of up to 12 people and is responsible for safety.
• Picnic lunch: hot tea in a thermos, sandwiches, fruit, and cookies — we prepare it ourselves, no need to buy food on the road.
• Trekking poles: provided free of charge, reduce the load on your knees when descending rocky trails.
• Raincoat and first aid kit: provided free of charge — a raincoat is mandatory due to the changeable weather, the first aid kit includes a band-aid, bandage, painkiller, and antihistamine.

Prices for multi-day tours: full board and gear

Our multi-day tours for 3–5 days cost from 61,900 KZT per person and include full board (breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner), transfer, tents and sleeping bags, trekking poles, raincoat, first aid kit, satellite phone, and guide-instructor services for the entire route. Unlike one-day tours, here we cook hot food over a campfire or gas burner — full soups, porridges, and meat dishes, not just dry rations. The tents and sleeping bags are double-layer, designed for night temperatures down to -5°C, which is relevant for overnight stays at Kolsai (altitude 1800–2800 m). A satellite phone is mandatory on routes of difficulty 3–5, where cellular signal disappears already at the first thousand meters of ascent. By ordering a multi-day tour with full board, you don't waste time buying food and gear before departure — everything is already packed in the guide's vehicle.

Gear for the hike: what toor provides and what to bring yourself

One of the main reasons for discomfort in the mountains is improper gear. Let's break down what organizers provide free of charge and what you must bring yourself.

Free gear: what we provide

We provide each participant with trekking poles, a raincoat, and a first aid kit — this covers 80% of needs on a one-day hike; for multi-day trips, we additionally provide double-layer tents with wind protection up to 20 m/s and sleeping bags. Poles reduce the load on knee joints by 30% when descending with an elevation change of more than 500 meters — on the Charyn Canyon (depth 300 m) or from Peak Almaty (3600 m), knees start to hurt within an hour of descending without them. The raincoat is a full poncho with a hood: in the Turgen gorges, a downpour at an altitude of 2000 m can start within 15 minutes, without protection, getting soaked is guaranteed within 10 minutes even in July. The guide's first aid kit contains a tourniquet, painkiller, antihistamine, and band-aids — on the rocky screes of Kolsai, blisters appear after an hour of walking. It's worth adjusting the trekking poles to your height right before departure: incorrect height shifts the center of gravity and, instead of unloading, puts extra strain on your shoulders.

What to bring with you: a checklist from the guide

• Footwear: trekking sneakers or boots with a deep tread — on the screes of the Charyn Canyon, a sole without it slips on sandstone; on the wet trail of Kolsai, it guarantees a fall.
• Clothing: synthetics or merino (thermal underwear + fleece + windbreaker) — cotton gets wet from sweat and doesn't dry; with a change from +25°C during the day to +10°C at the pass, this leads to hypothermia within an hour.
• Water: at least 1.5–2 liters per person — the air is drier in the mountains, dehydration sets in after 2–3 hours of walking without noticeable thirst, especially on routes to Peak Almaty.
• Sun protection: a hat (cap/panama) and SPF 50 — at an altitude of 2000+ m, UV is 20% more aggressive than on the plains; you can get a burn even in cloudy weather on the open sections of Turgen.
• Backpack: 20–30 liters for a one-day hike, a model with a hip belt removes the load from the spine on distances from 10 km — without it, your shoulders get tired by lunchtime.

Safety in the mountains: protocols and guide tips

The mountains always involve risk, especially for beginners without experience. We tell you how safety is organized on routes from Almaty and what you need to know before the trip.

Safety protocols: satellite phone, first aid kit, insurance

On every tour, our guide-instructor has a satellite phone for emergency communication (cellular signal is unstable in the mountains), a first aid kit with basic medications, and recommends that participants take out medical insurance covering active recreation. In the guide's backpack is a set for stopping bleeding, antihistamines, bandages, painkillers, and motion sickness medication, which will be useful on the serpentine road to Big Almaty Lake at an altitude of 2511 m. Routes are designed so that if the weather worsens, the group can descend to the nearest shelter in 30–40 minutes — for the Turgen Gorge, these are guesthouses near the waterfalls; for the Kolsai Lakes, these are the national park ranger stations. The satellite phone is not a formality: in the gorges of the Charyn Canyon and at the altitude of 2800 m of the Kolsai Lakes, cellular signal disappears completely, and only a satellite phone guarantees calling emergency services within 15–20 minutes.

Route difficulty: scale 1–5 and recommendations for beginners

We rate the difficulty of routes on a scale from 1 (easy, walk on a flat trail) to 5 (extreme, technical ascent of Peak Almaty 3600 m) — we recommend routes of difficulty 1–2 for beginners without experience, for example, the Turgen Gorge or Charyn Canyon. Level 1 is paved and dirt trails without elevation gain, suitable for walking in sneakers; level 2 is trails with a drop of up to 300 m, trekking shoes are needed (provided free of charge). Level 3 is routes like the Kolsai Lakes with an elevation gain of 600–800 m and an overnight stay in a tent, requiring basic physical fitness and hiking experience. Groups of up to 12 people are not just a limit, but a safety standard: the guide can physically monitor each participant, and during evacuation, 12 people is the maximum number that can be taken out in one transport run.

Tours with children: from what age and which routes

We accept children from 7 years old on easy routes (difficulty 1–2, e.g., Turgen Gorge) and from 12 years old on moderate routes (difficulty 3, e.g., Kolsai Lakes) — for families with children, the guide chooses a leisurely pace with frequent stops. On routes of difficulty 1–2, the elevation change does not exceed 200 m, and the distance is 5–7 km, which matches the endurance of 7–10-year-olds; for teenagers 12+, routes up to 12 km with an overnight stay in a guesthouse are available. For children 7–10 years old, the Turgen Gorge is best: there is a flat trail, waterfalls at every step, and hot springs at the end — children don't have time to get tired, and parents get a full excursion.

Common mistakes tourists make when booking and preparing

In five years of work, we have seen hundreds of tourists who make the same mistakes. We break down the top 5 — so you don't repeat them.

Mistake 1: unsuitable shoes and clothes

The most common mistake is coming to the mountains in sneakers or ballet flats: on the rocky trails of the Charyn Canyon and Kolsai Lakes, the sole slips, and stones injure the foot without a rigid tread. Sneakers with a flat tread on wet boulders near the Turgen waterfalls turn into an ice rink — the risk of an ankle sprain triples, while trekking boots with a high top fix the ankle and maintain grip on screes of sharp shale. Even in July at an altitude of 2000+ m, it can be +5°C in the morning and +25°C during the day — clothing should be layered (thermal underwear + fleece + windbreaker) so you can take off excess layers instead of freezing or sweating in one jacket.

Mistake 2: too little water and late departure

The second most common mistake is taking less than 1 liter of water per person: in the mountains during physical exertion, the body loses moisture 2–3 times faster than in the city, and dehydration sets in after just 2–3 hours of walking. On the route to the Charyn Valley of Castles, there are no springs, and water from streams in the foothills contains a clay suspension — drinking it without a filter is risky, so the norm is 1.5 liters for an easy route and 2–2.5 for an ascent above 2500 m. A late departure (after 9 am) guarantees a return in the dark: a one-day tour lasts 10–12 hours, and every hour of delay at the start pushes the finish to late evening, when it is already dark and cold in the mountains.

Mistake 3: last-minute booking and ignoring the weather

The third mistake is booking a tour 1–2 days before departure: during peak season (July–September), groups fill up 3–5 days in advance, and in rainy weather, the guide may reschedule the tour to another day — but only if there are available dates. In May–June, the weather in the Zailiysky Alatau changes within an hour: clear morning, downpour with hail by lunchtime, and a guide on the Kolsai Lakes once turned a group back halfway due to a mudflow threat, although the forecast promised sun. If the weather sharply deteriorates (thunderstorm, strong wind, rockfall), the guide makes a decision to change the route to a safer one or return — this is not a "ruined tour," but a safety standard, and we allow you to reschedule the tour to another date without a penalty.

How to book a tour on toor.kz: dates, cancellation, and rescheduling

Having chosen a route and packed your backpack, the organizational issue remains — how to secure a date and not lose money if plans change.

How to book a tour on toor.kz: dates, cancellation, and rescheduling

To book a tour for a date in Almaty, open the calendar on toor.kz — the system will show available slots and the price per person. On toor.kz, the tour schedule is updated in real-time: you select a date, see available spots, and book the tour in 2–3 clicks, and if the weather worsens, the guide reschedules the departure to another day without a penalty. All Kazakhstan tour dates for 2026 are already loaded into the system — you book a spot in 2–3 clicks. The system shows up to 12 available slots for the selected date — if fewer than 3 remain, the algorithm highlights the route with an "Only a few spots left" label, which is especially noticeable for July departures to the Kolsai Lakes and Charyn Canyon, where groups fill up in 2–3 days. After payment, a confirmation is sent to your email with the guide's contacts, a packing list, and the exact meeting time at the Palace of the Republic — a standard one-day tour starts at 7:00 am, return by 7:00–8:00 pm. If you book 7+ days in advance, the service locks in the price and your spot in the group — even if the tariff on the website increases on the day of departure, you pay the old rate.

What to do if the date doesn't work: rescheduling and refund

If you can't go on the selected date, we allow you to reschedule the tour to another one for free 48 hours before departure — this is a standard condition for all routes, from one-day walks to the Turgen waterfalls to five-day treks to the foot of Khan Tengri Peak. Rescheduling is done with one message in the support chat on the website or in the WhatsApp bot — a new date is selected from the current schedule, and the system automatically recalculates the occupied slots in the old group. For cancellations 48 hours in advance, the service returns 100% of the cost to the card within 3 business days without commissions or hidden fees, unlike aggregators where refunds take up to 14 days.

Conclusion

One-day hikes from Almaty open up the main natural attractions of the region but require a conscious choice of route and preparation.

Key takeaways

• Choose a route according to your experience: Charyn Canyon and Big Almaty Lake are suitable for beginners; Kolsai Lakes and Turgen Gorge are for experienced hikers.
• Plan your trip for May–October: during this period, the weather is stable, roads are open, and daylight lasts 12–14 hours.
• Bring at least 1 liter of water and warm clothes: the temperature in the mountains is 5–10 °C lower than in the city, and dehydration sets in quickly.
• Book your tour 3–5 days before departure: groups fill up quickly during peak season, and early booking gives you a choice of dates and locks in the price.
• Check the cancellation and rescheduling policy: reliable organizers return 100% of the cost for cancellations 48 hours in advance and reschedule tours in bad weather without a penalty.