Kolsai Lakes

Kolsai Lakes State National Natural Park — Almaty Region. Established on 7 February 2007.

Key figures

Entrance tariff

0.2 MCI per pedestrian, 0.7 MCI per car. In 2026 that is 865 ₸ and 3,027.5 ₸.

The tariff is set by appendix 16 to Order No. 232 of 2 October 2024.

The tariff is set in MCI units rather than tenge, so the amount changes with each January budget.

What to see

• three Kolsai lakes
• Kaindy Lake
• mountain trails

Kolsai Lakes in short

The Kolsai Lakes are a chain of three mountain lakes in the Kolsai gorge in the south-east of Almaty Region, about 10 km from the Kyrgyz border. The base is Saty village, 280 to 320 km from Almaty depending on the road you take. The lower lake is reached by paved road, the trail to the middle lake is generally open from April to October, and July to September is the best hiking window.

Since 15 September 2021 the Kolsai Koldery national park has been part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves — a Man and the Biosphere designation, not World Heritage status.

Most visitors plan two days: the drive and the lower lake on day one, then the hike to the middle lake or a side trip to Kaindy on day two. Trekking Club notes that reaching the middle lake as a day trip from Almaty is hard.

The three lakes: altitudes and distances

Numbering is inconsistent — some sources call the lower lake “first”, others the upper one — so go by names and altitudes.

All sources agree on the lower and middle lakes. For the upper lake, Russian Wikipedia gives 2,850 m, while Kolesa.kz and nur.kz give 2,900 m. The middle lake is the largest: over a kilometre long and around 900 m wide.

The trail from the lower to the middle lake

The trail follows the western shore of the lower lake and continues up the valley through spruce forest, crossing streams on small bridges. Trekking Club measured 7.35 km one way; Kolesa.kz gives 7.8 km. Total ascent is about 470 m, with the steepest climb just below the middle lake.

Expect 3–4 hours up and 1.5–2 hours down, 5–6 hours of walking in total. Difficulty is moderate and no technical gear is needed, but proper hiking shoes matter: the path gets slippery after rain.

Trekking Club reports no infrastructure at the middle lake, and nur.kz notes that overnight stays on the two upper lakes are in tents only. If you plan to sleep up there, carry everything in.

From the middle lake to the upper one is another 4–5 km of rocky trail. See the border-zone section below before heading that far.

Getting there from Almaty

The route described by nur.kz and Kolesa.kz: about a third of the way on the Almaty–Khorgos highway, right after Shelek towards Baiseit, then through the Kokpek gorge to Zhalanash and on to Saty. Kolesa.kz mentions a bypass around Zhalanash that saves about 6 km on a rougher surface.

Nur.kz estimates the drive at about 4 hours; Tengrinews described the tourist bus taking a little over 4 hours. According to The Astana Times, the road to the lower lake has been paved in recent years.

Kolsai is often combined with Charyn Canyon and Kaindy into a two- or three-day loop — see building a route around Charyn and getting to Charyn Canyon from Almaty.

Saty: where to stay

Saty sits inside the national park, and almost all visitor infrastructure in the area is here. In 2023 the UNWTO named Saty one of its Best Tourism Villages. The Astana Times reported 90 guesthouses and 30 hotels in the village that year, double the 2019 figure.

Accommodation ranges from family guesthouses and small hotels to yurt camps. The lower lake has recreation areas; the middle and upper lakes only have tent pitches.

Kaindy: the sunken forest nearby

Kaindy Lake is the other reason to come to Saty. It formed after the Kemin earthquake of January 1911, when a rockfall dammed the gorge and flooded a spruce forest; the trunks still stand out of the water. The lake is about 400 m long.

Kolesa.kz describes about 9 km of dirt road with a river ford from Saty to an organised car park, then around 1.5 km on foot or horseback. The walking trail built in 2024 was temporarily closed for repairs in autumn 2025. Full details are on the Kaindy Lake page.

Border zone: do you need a permit?

The Raiymbek district is a border district, but Government Decree No. 356 contains a table of exceptions where foreigners do not need a border-zone pass. It names Saty village, Kaindy Lake, the lower Kolsai lake, the middle Kolsai lake, “the Kolsai Lakes” and the Kolsai Koldery national park. So the lower and middle lakes need no pass, even for foreign visitors. The decree is explained on the border zone permits page.

The exception removes the pass requirement only — carry your passport.

Mobile signal

In October 2026 Tele2/Altel announced improved coverage at several mountain locations in Almaty Region, Kolsai among them, without specifying which parts of the gorge.

Staying safe

• Weather turns quickly in any month; pack a warm layer and a rain shell even in summer.
• Bears live in the gorge — Trekking Club mentions encounters in the evening and in bad weather. Keep food sealed at camp.
• Start the middle-lake hike in the morning: it is 5–6 hours on foot, and you want daylight in reserve if the weather turns.
• Run through what to check before visiting a national park.

What is not allowed

• Swimming. In October 2025 the park administration said swimming in the Kolsai lakes is strictly prohibited under the tourist route passport.
• Fires and camping outside designated sites. The lakes are a protected area; fires and camps only where marked.
• Collecting, fishing, littering. Standard protected-area rules apply: fishing only under fishing regulations, take all rubbish out.

Entry is paid. The rate is shown in the card above; for the current amount in tenge use the national park fee calculator.

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