Trip to Charyn Canyon – Temirlik river – Kolsai lake – Kaindy lake

Kolsai lakes: three mountain lakes, which are often called the jewel of northern Tien Shan with steep, pine-covered slopes, located on the spurs of Kungei Alatau. These unique lakes are called Kolsai-1, Kolsai-2 and Kolsai-3, located respectively at 1700, 2252 and 2650 meters above sea level.

From Kazakh language “Kaindy” means “abundant with birch trees.” Lake Kaindy was named because of the large birch grove, located five kilometers away. There are several theories about the origin of the lake Kaindy. One of them says that the young Kaindy lake was formed about a hundred years ago either in 1911 or 1938, and the other version is that it was formed during Zhalanash earthquake in 1978. Similarly, we can only say that the lake was formed by a landslide caused by an earthquake.

Castle Valley – is a wide, 3 km long dry Canyon, adjacent to the main river channel. The river itself is now flowing the other way, and millions of years ago this place was a giant ancient sea bay, stretching from modern Alakol lake to the Caspian Sea. This explains the relatively soft texture of canyon walls – rocks tightly compacted with clay, which easily change their shape under the influence of wind and water.

Route: Almaty – Kapshagay – Sary-Ozek – pass Altyn-Emel – Basshi vilage – “Singing Dunes” – mountains Aktau – Chunzha – Zhalanash village – Saty village (lakes Kolsay, Kaindy) – Bayseit village – Shelek – Almaty.