Reviews

Max the guide was extremly attentive and patient. He bring the groupe to fresh deep snow every day !! He is experimented and he have a very good knowlege af the terrain. Lodging in Jyrgalan's guest house was perfect and the staff working there are super frendly and welcoming.

Max made the entire trip so amazing!!! I had no idea what to expect. He was so responsive, patient and knowledgeable leading up to the trip, answering all our questions. The skiing was awesome. Max knew how to plan the perfect day of skiing and always ensured safety was a top priority.

Beyond that, he imparted so much history of the area making everything so interesting. He can do anything. Very enjoyable person to spend time with as well! Highly recommend!!

This was my second ski touring trip with Max and all expectations were truly exceeded! This year we did 5 days ski tour in Jyrgalan village. Max is an excellent guide - super knowledgeable of

the local area, safety conscious, and top athlete - a real expert of his craft. Max’s guiding abilities were paired with a seamless organisation of our trip - a top end-to-end service. I couldn’t reccomend Max more highly for anyone looking to get out there and explore. Thanks Max, and see you next year!

My friend and I did a week ski touring with Max in Jyrgalan (Kyrgysztan). Max is an excellent guide and planned a great trip for us. His knowledge of the area was impressive and he found us some of the best backcountry skiing we’ve ever done. He was an all round great addition to our trip and surprisingly good at Monopoly Deal for his first time playing! Thanks Max.

Max went above and beyond throughout our trip to ensure that we were safe in the backcountry, had tons of fun, and experienced the local culture. He was extremely knowledgeable and flexible, adapting the trip’s plans to our needs. He has a deep understanding of the local terrain and avalanche conditions, so we knew we were safe in challenging situations. He has a knack for finding good snow too — it was over 2 weeks since the last storm but we still skied deep powder!

Yet another trip with Max and Katya has finished tremendously well. This time we've traveled to Jorgalan, Kirgizstan for 7 nights on a skitouring trip. Despite practically no new snow for two weeks we were able to ski fresh powder every single day. Max and Katya are, as always, extremely professional, adaptive and friendly, and that makes every journey with them remarkable. Highly recommended both for experienced riders seeking new experiences in Central Asia, and for novice who want to try off-piste skiing. Thanks!

It was our first time ice climbing and it was amazing! Big thanks to Katya!

We had a group of three people and everyone climbed twice.

Katya was super friendly and nicely taught us everything we need to know. And even made some photos and videos from drone. And of course it was very beautiful out there! =)

My partner and I had an amazing ice climbing experience with Silk Road Guiding! It was our first time and our wonderful guide Katya was very informative and taught us all the basics and provided us with all the necessary equipment. Since the tour was private we got to climb the frozen waterfall a couple times each which was great!! We used a top rope climbing system as well for the climb so always felt safe. 10/10 experience!!!

Katya was an amazing guide, friendly, extremely knowledgeable and was thorough with her ins and outs of teaching me safety, equipment, techniques and anything else I was asking. We ticked off everything I wanted from the trip and I had an absolute blast! Will highly recommend to any friends if they’re ever in need of a guide.

My son and I did a 6-day customised tour of the national parks near Almaty. At short notice, Max organised and English speaking guide who provided extra insights because she worked with national parks. We had a great trip touring around and doing day-hikes. Fantastic diversity of scenery and we were lucky to see a good variety of wildlife. Thanks to Max for a great itinerary.

Did a 3D2N climbing guide with Katya around Tuyuksu alpine camp! Katya was super knowledgeable and patient with her teaching! felt super safe with her as well :) I'm a total beginner in outdoor climbing but with Katya's guidance i was able to try out different climbing types (lead climbing and multi pitch climbing!!)

For the second year in a row, I had the chance to travel with Maxim to Kazakhstan, and especially to Kyrgyzstan, for two weeks. I was able to appreciate Maxim's professionalism and kindness, who combined his in-depth knowledge of the region with weather forecasts. As a result, we had a wonderful trip, avoiding getting stuck in the snow or rain. Thank you, artist!

It was a 7 days biking tour in East Kazakhstan ( near Zharkent ) with Max biking with me and Oleg driving car and taking care of us. Wonderful panoramas, unknown places, some nice challenges on the bike and a very good / efficient detox from life/business life ( mostly without internet ). In-between we did some hiking.

It was my 8th trip with Max and I can only recommend him as an excellent person, careful guide and outstanding professional.

Our guide Max was recommended to us by a friend and we are so glad we didn’t look any further.

Our 3 day trip to Saty, lakes and reservoirs was really good.

Max was very informative, friendly, safe driver, took care of our food preferences, helped with local language communication.

He helped designed the trip as per our requirement of hiking and sight seeing with a 3 yr old.

It was 3 days Altyn Emel national park customized tour, my 3rd ride with Maxim, so you can imagine that he and the trip were awesome! )

We had one free day in Almaty, and before the trip, we contacted Maksim in advance to show us beautiful locations for a photo shoot not far from the city.

We wanted to see mountains, nature, and blooming flowers.

Maksim made all of that happen 100%: we visited the beautiful Issyk Lake in the mountains, and then he found a large poppy field where we happily spent several hours)) He also showed us some great spots within the city itself with beautiful views.

We loved everything—interesting stories about Kazakhstan, a comfortable car, and thanks to Maksim, we were able to do exactly what we had hoped for.

Heartfelt and highest recommendations!

We had a free day in Almaty, and Maksim organized a trip around the surrounding areas. We wanted to visit the mountains and see blooming fields—and we managed to do both.

Canyons, lakes, and on the way back, Maksim spotted a hidden poppy field. It turned out to be quite rich and, with the mountains in the background, it perfectly fulfilled our photographic dreams))

At sunset, we made it to a city park and a viewpoint Maksim had scouted in advance, from where you can see the TV tower against the snowy peaks of the Zailiysky Alatau.

Almaty is an incredibly beautiful city thanks to these surrounding mountains, and we definitely want to come back—and we know exactly who to turn to for help!

Huge thanks to Maksim for the comfort, care, and engaging conversations :)

Elena and Anna, 10.05.2025.

It was a great experience. Katya is a really good instructor and she's got an ability to give the knowledge. She is also very nice person so I'm sure you will have a great time.

Amazing immersive experience With Max a real professional guide who care in first for our safety. Everything was perfect from the pick up at the airport till the end of our stay vacation. He dedicated us a fully adventurous program regarding our expectations. Thank you so much for your engagement and your attention. I recommend at 100%. Must have to do with him! See you next time Max.

Great experience of free riding and ski touring with Maxim both around Almaty and in Kyrgyzstan. Very safe guide, I had a wonderful time and definitely recommend him !

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.