An Almaty itinerary for 3, 5 or 7 days in the city and the mountains

This Almaty itinerary is a skeleton for 3, 5 or 7 days: the city first, then the mountains that start right at its southern edge, then the longer trips east. Almaty is the gateway city of south-east Kazakhstan, and the Ile-Alatau range rises directly behind it, so several mountain stops are reachable by city bus. It is a planning order, not a route anyone from this site has checked on the ground.

How to read this plan

Each day groups places that sit in the same direction from the city, so you are not crossing Almaty twice in one day. Distances below are the figures given on each place page; some are road figures, some straight-line, and we could not confirm road times for most legs.

The 3-day plan works without a car, because the main stops have named city bus routes. From day 4 the plan leans on day trips 40–80 km out, and the 7-day version adds a trip of 5–7 hours each way. Where you sleep on that long trip, and how you get there without your own vehicle, we could not confirm.

Almaty itinerary for 3 days: city and the first mountain belt

Three days is enough for the city, one high gorge and one walk or garden day.

The bazaar and Kok-Tobe are about 4 km apart in a straight line, which makes day 1 compact. At Medeu, note that the skating rink closed for reconstruction in 2025, with completion planned for the end of 2028; the 150 m mudflow dam above it, with 842 steps, is still the walk most people come for. Day 3 depends on your legs: Kok-Zhailau has 1,020 m of climbing on the full 14 km traverse and its season runs June to October, while the garden is flat city walking and peaks with spring blossom.

After a mountain day, a two-hour session at the Arasan baths is an option: tickets are on sale until 21:10.

Almaty itinerary for 4 or 5 days: add one day east and one big day up

Days 4 and 5 take you out of the bus zone and into longer day trips.

Day 4, east to Esik. The Issyk kurgan lies 50–55 km east of Almaty, where a Saka burial with more than 4,000 gold items was found in 1969–1970; the museum-reserve is open daily 9:00–18:00. Issyk Lake sits in the gorge above the same town, about 40 km east of Almaty at around 1,714 m, so the two pair naturally. The lake was nearly emptied by a mudflow on 7 July 1963.

Day 5, pick one.

• Big Almaty Lake at 2,511 m: the road has been closed to private cars since 2020 and to motorcycles and electric transport since 30 April 2026, so you walk: 15 km each way and 4–6 hours up. Swimming is banned because it supplies the city’s water. Best in July and August.
• Alma-Arasan hot springs, about 16 km from Almaty at roughly 1,780–1,830 m, with bus 28 to the Olen stop. Water is 20.5–39.7 °C.
• Kapshagay Reservoir and the city of Konaev, about 80 km on the A3, 50–60 minutes on weekdays. Swimming opens on 1 June.

For a 4-day plan, keep days 1–3 and choose either Esik or one of the day-5 options.

Almaty itinerary for 7 days: Kaindy or the high pastures

A week lets you add one trip that is too long for a day, plus a rest day after a hard walk.

Days 6–7, Kaindy Lake. The Kaindy Lake page gives 284 km from Almaty and 5–7 hours each way, with the last 9.9 km on a gorge road under capital repair since October 2025 and a 1.5 km walk to the shore. Spruce trunks stand in the water, left by the 1911 earthquake; the lake is about 400 m long and the summer water is around +6 °C. It is near Saty village in Kolsai Lakes National Park. Treat this as an overnight trip; we could not confirm where to stay.

Alternative for days 6–7. Assy Plateau, about 75 km out and 2–2.5 hours each way, needs an SUV or crossover; herders graze sheep and horses there in summer and an observatory stands on the western edge. Or climb Furmanov Peak from Medeu: 3,053 m, 14–15 km round trip, about 1,360 m of ascent and 7–8 hours, with the Sky Swings halfway.

Khan Tengri and Narynkol, both over 270 km away in a straight line, do not fit a 7-day Almaty plan; Khan Tengri is an expedition peak with no trail.

Matching day trips to the kind of traveller you are

The same week looks very different for a hiker, a family and someone who wants to stay off mountain roads.

If you have no car, build the week around the first four rows and treat the rest as days to arrange with a driver.

How the season changes the plan, including December

Summer, roughly June to September, is when nearly every stop in this plan is open and walkable. Winter shifts the plan to the ski resorts and city sights.

For an Almaty itinerary in December, swap the hiking days for skiing: Shymbulak’s season runs about November to April, Ak-Bulak’s about December to April, and Oi-Qaragai, about 40 minutes’ drive away, is open all year. Ak-Bulak is about 40 km east of Almaty with a 2,351 m gondola. The Green Bazaar is a covered hall, which helps on a cold day.

What is hard without a car or Russian

The city and the Medeu–Shymbulak corridor are the easy part: named buses and lifts do most of the work. Beyond that, the place pages give distances but rarely public transport, so Esik, Issyk Lake, Oi-Qaragai, Assy and Kaindy are, as far as we could confirm, car trips.

Park fees apply in Ile-Alatau National Park, at Big Almaty Lake and on the road to Issyk Lake; they are set in Kazakhstan’s monthly calculation index, so check them before you go. We could not confirm how much English is used at ticket points or eco-posts. Bus lines and the border are set out in Almaty to Bishkek and Karakol.