We booked a 2-day tour to explore the canyons and lakes, and it was an unforgettable experience! There were four of us, and the car was incredibly comfortable, making the long drives enjoyable. The food was delicious, and we were pleasantly surprised by the quality and variety of meals.

Our guide, Max, was exceptional — gentle, attentive, and knowledgeable. We felt completely at ease traveling with him for two days. He shared fascinating insights about each location, adding depth to our adventure.

The entire trip was flawlessly organized, and we didn’t have to worry about a thing. From logistics to meals, everything was taken care of, allowing us to fully enjoy the stunning landscapes and make lasting memories.

Highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for a well-planned, stress-free, and enriching experience!

Maxim is a great guide. Safe and knowledgeable and caters to the abilities of who’s on the tour. I’ve done 2 tours with him and I’m looking forward to doing more.

It was surreal. Guide was very professional and knew her way around pretty well. It felt like she spent a lot of time in the mountains that she’s knows it like her back yard. She’s very good at dealing with people with all levels of fitness.

Me and a friend had Max organize a full week of activities in and around Almaty.

Part of it was this beautiful two day trip to Charyn canyon and Kolsai lakes with Ramil.

What a beautiful way to start your Kazakhstan adventure!

We spent a lot of time in the car, since the distances are very long. But seeing so many amazing landscapes in just two days makes it absolutely worthwile.

You spend the night in a small village and will have the most delicious Kazakh meal. Ramil was a very reliable driver and always ready to tell us about his country.

Also the rest of our week was greatly taken care of by Max and Katya.

We went skiing, sightseeing, snowbiking. We got picked up and brought to our Hotel very reliably every day. We always had the freedom to adapt our plans if the snowconditions werent right for skiing.

Max has been very helpfull all the way.

All of them recommended us very good places to eat in the evening, we had just amazing meals while staying in Almaty!

It was a beautiful experience to explore such a big country in such a convenient way. If you dont have too much time, letting people like Max, Katya and Ramil take care of your trip is a big plus. You will have a great trip with nothing to worry about and lots of memories to bring back!

Jonas and Christa

December 2024

I had wanted to visit the Almaty mountains for quite some time, and then I received a tour there as a birthday gift.

Katya was our guide. On the first day, we climbed some rocks with magnificent views of the Small Almaty Valley. We were complete novices, so Katya showed us the basics of rock climbing and belaying. The day went by quickly, and I didn’t even notice when it was time to go back to the camp and prepare for our mountain climb.

The next day, we climbed a mountain. Katya suggested we aim for the summit named after Valery Khrishchaty. I had to climb a rocky ridge for the first time in my life, but seeing Katya do it so easily made me believe in myself. A competent guide really does bring you confidence! We made it to the summit! We were exhausted but so happy. Under Katya’s watchful eye, we quickly and safely descended to the warm huts of the alpine camp. It was an amazing birthday!

Katya was an excellent guide for me, so when I returned to the alpine camp later as a student, I really wanted her to be my mountaineering instructor. I was lucky—for the next two weeks, she patiently taught our team how to climb mountains safely and efficiently.

I had the chance to travel to the Almaty region for a week solo guided by Max in May 2024. I loved this trip and I'm starting again next year on a new route! I really appreciated Max's professionalism and kindness. Discovering exceptional landscapes and taking good photos, that’s my definition of paradise.

Trip was amazing! Demand Max as a guide :) I did two trips with him, so highly recommended! Weather was pretty good in September, probably the best time to do it.

I've been skitouring (snowboard) with Max for 2 seasons and certainly going to continue this season. Max is definitely a safety-first guide with great skills and knowledge. But he also great at finding and exploring superb slopes and lines, helpful for the beginners (as we are) and more experiences riders.

Had the great mountaineer Max as a guide to the most amazingly picturesque spots around the National Parks! To all fellow nature lovers, the raw beauty of these spots are breathtaking. Bring a good camera

Went skitting with Max a few times. Picks great lines based on physical fitness and rider level. She lays down comfortable skintracks. Had a lot of fun with the gurney+gained additional skills. I recommend it!

Our trip with Katja was unforgettable!

My boyfriend is quiet experienced with alpine climbing. I am less experienced. Katja found a great way to make the trip a good experience for the both of us. She organised evertything very well, from the food and tent till the different routes to the summit that were around there. She took us to a beautifull area with a lot of different options to climb. Katja is very good at teaching and explaining how thinks work, she keeps an eye on you and checked how you are doing during the trip. I am sometimes a little bit scared, so that worked very well for me. She gave me the trust I needed sometimes. Also for morge experienced people Katja wil be a very good climbing guide.

I had an excellent time on this tour! Katya was an expert guide and new the mountain well. She also speaks English very well and there were no problems with communication. Katya gave me several options to pick from and helped me pick a good route for my prior experience. We decided to climb to the summit, but there were options to simply hike as well. The trip went smoothly and I had lots of fun. I'm very glad I was able to get into the mountains for this excursion!

Katya at Silk Road introduced me to mountaineering with a week-long course back in January 2024. Under her watchful eye I learned basic rope management for climbing proper pitches as well as moving together on difficult terrain. I had my first experience using crampons, received instruction and got practice using cams and other gear for climbing protection and to build belay stations. And best of all we climbed two peaks of nearly 4000m. For all of this I felt like I was in the hands of a real master in the mountains.

More recently we did a version of the two-day trip that’s listed here on tripadvisor. We climbed a multi-pitch route on a vertical wall, and on the second day submitted two 4000m peaks with a traverse between them. It was an amazing day.

The bottom line is that she knows her stuff in the mountains, she does a great job of reading the expertise, fitness, and fear level of her clients, and with all of this is able to arrange and manage a truly epic and memorable experience for you.