Big Almaty Lake - azurblått öga av Alatau (+ Ayu ravin) halvdagstur

Big Almaty Lake was one of the highlights of my trip. The deep bluish water, mountain views, and quiet atmosphere made it unforgettable. It’s easy to reach, and the view is beautiful at every angle. Definitely worth visiting. Special thanks to our tour guide, Nursultan. He was very knowledgeable, patient, and made the whole experience smooth and comfortable. Highly recommended!

We started our day with the Ayu gorge and hot springs site. The walk here is very scenic with lush greenary around and water from the falls flowing in between.. There are steps to climb which makes it a bit easy , but with gradual inclination . The steps end near the hot springs were you can take a dip in the rich mineral waters.. Our tour guide Mina was very informative and helpful. The second site was the Big Almaty lake .. To reach the lake one can walk for around 7 km one way . There are cars which take you up the lake . The costing is included in the tour price. Almaty lake is gigantic lake with turquoise water surrounded by snow capped mountain range and the water colors change with the intensity of Sun rays and weather change .. It is spectacular and should not be missed. We spent a good 45 minutes gazing the beautiful lake and mountains..

Really great experience. The Natural resort is so close to the city, the landscape is amazing. Just half a day, but you experience a totally different world. Nursultan was a wonderful guide, calm, knowledgable and kind; everything went smoothly.

Such a great and seamless experience to Almaty lake. A very friendly and knowledgeable tour guide too!

Nursultan is our guide for this trip. He communicated all the details with us and make sure everything is running smoothly. The big Almaty Lake is a monderful point to visit. We saw the snowy capped mountain form lake. Really chill and nice place to spent few hours. We do love this trip.

They were very accommodating and changed time for us! Our guide was so sweet and very informative! We got to see the lake and a falcon show !

Due to some unexpected reason, Nursultan suggested visiting Issyk Lake instead. It is a beautiful place with amazing views, and we love it so much. Nursultan is a very nice, knowledgeable, and caring person. We enjoy the time with him very much. Thanks for your tea and chocolates.

Excellent tour. Very professional guide in mr nur sultan . The lake was beautiful and nur explained everything about it so well. The tea he made for us made it all the more special. The gorge trek was amazing. Special mention to the professionalism of nur and his attention to detail.

Nur was amazing as our host, for the entire day. - Was in regular touch over whatsapp, before the tour day - Picked us up on the day of the tour right on time (we were 11 in all), in a clean, comfortable Mercedes van - Briefed us on the day and planned it out well - Shared everything he knew about Kazakhstan, about the Big Almaty Lake, the Ayu Gorge - patiently as we bombarded him with questions - Took stunning drone shots at the lake! - Took us to a lovely cafe (Tary) at the visitor center (expenses extra) - Brought along tea for all of us, which we had while overlooking the beautiful waterfall - And most importantly, was warm, cheerful, polite all through. Absolutely stunning experience. Highly recommended!

Nursultan was great. He was a very friendly, knowledgeable, understanding, and accommodating tour guide. The evening before, he contacted me via whatsapp and answered all my questions. The morning of our tour, he was on-time and explained the reason for the early start. The tour itself was easy-going and at just the right pace. At the end of the tour, he offered to drop us off back at our hotel, or elsewhere in the general vicinity... The cost is $160 pp, but, as he explained it, and as was also quite obvious to us, the accessibility to Big Almaty Lake is very much restricted these days, and that fee is reasonable. By the end of the tour, my wife and I were more than satisfied with paying that much. (Thanks Nursultan! All the best to you.)