Trekking in Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve (2 days)

Itinerary

From the first minutes of your arrival to the village you will be met by mischievous children in Kazakh traditional clothes which they usually wear during National holidays, celebration of birthday parties and in front of highly respected guests!

Day 1. Kshi-Kayindy gorge

Early in the morning at 8:00 am our Guide will pick you up from Shymkent (or Tyulkubas station) and drive to Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve.  After 1,5 hours you will arrive to Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve from where you will start our trekking in Kshi-Kayindy gorge.

Landscapes of Kishi-Kayindy gorge are beautiful, the path that you are going to walk, partly goes through juniper forest, whereas the other side of the gorge is represented with more rocky slopes. The whole route in one direction is about 7 km one way, but because of the amazing landscapes, you will not notice the whole distance traveled. At the end of the trekking route we will reach Kishi-Kayindy waterfall where we will have a picnic with beforehand prepared lunch boxes.

In May, mountain goats descend to the waterfall to give birth to offspring. Steep descent reliably protects the cubs from predators. During this period, tourists are not allowed here. 

A little above there is a clean mountain stream, the water in it is so clean and suitable for drinking. All this time before you will be a beautiful vast gorge of Kishi-Kaindy, on steep slopes of which you can trace the change of vegetation belts – from high-altitude juniper to alpine lawns. Canyon is beautiful at any time of the year. In the evening we will arrive to the guesthouse where you will a proper dinner. Overnight in a guest house

Day 2. Aksu canyon

Breakfast in guest house. In the morning after breakfast, our guide will drive to Aksu canyon. We will be driving out to see one of the deepest canyon in Central Asia. Fissure creates an unforgettable impression. This area is interesting for observing predatory birds: the golden eagle, the snake-eagle, the eagle-dwarf, the mound, the vulture, the sip, the griffon, the bearded man, the kestrel and others.  

During the first stop we will observe canyon in location of closest approach to the steep banks of the river Aksu just half a meter. From there on we will descend to the river of Aksu, which takes approximately 1 hour 40 minutes.

Walking tour along the path of the northern slope of the canyon (right bank, southern exposition) from the cordon Aksu to the bridge on the Aksu river. In the spring, on the way to the canyon, you can meet a lot of interesting plants, and in the canyon you can see the  Tulips Greig and Tulips Kaufmanniana, the fields of flowering of the Eremurus lactiflorus, the original bows and other herbaceous plants. You can not go down into canyon, but stroll along its edge, and the canyon opens in a new interesting perspective. You can do about half way along the canyon along the path that descends to the upper terrace of the canyon, and then again rises to its upper edge. You can walk about 5 km along the middle terrace up the canyon and go back down the top edge, or vice versa. Packed lunch during excursion. Dinner in the guest house.

There are two options to arrive Aksu-Zhabagly reserve:

1. from Almaty boarding on an evening train that will arrive at Tyulkubas station located 20 km from the Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve.
2. from Almaty or Astana fly to Shymkent city and from Shymkent driving 1 hour (100 km) to the Aksu-Zhabagly nature reserve

Departure to Tyulkubas station to catch a train back to Almaty or depart to Shymkent from where you can continue your tour to Otrar and Turkestan.

From the first minutes of your arrival to the village you will be met by mischievous children in Kazakh traditional clothes which they usually wear during National holidays, celebration of birthday parties and in front of highly respected guests!

During this journey you will immerse yourself into the life of a truly traditional Kazakh family which you can now hardly meet in big cities. Upon entering Yurta (Kazakh traditional house) you will see women, one of whom will be cooking baursak (round fluffy pastry) and another rolling kurt (salty snack made from cottage cheese). You can join both of these women and test your cooking skills.

After the culinary master-class, you will join our big and sometimes noisy Kazakh family in yurta for a home-made lunch. The main dish that will be served to you is beshbarmak – boiled dough in a square form as lasagna with lots of horse meat, beef and onions. The name of the dish literally means “five fingers” which refers to a nomadic tradition of eating without cutlery. You can also try eating beshparmak with your hands because it tastes better! Before starting your main course you should drink shorpo – mutton broth served in bowls called kese. Drinking shorpo is healthy and simply delicious.

After lunch, head of the house will invite you to join him to take part in Kazakh archery. If you don’t know the art of archery he will teach you! Also, you will hear enchanting sounds of dombra. Dombra can truly be called the queen of Kazakh instruments.

During the visit, you have a unique opportunity to watch Berkut show (Golden eagles). Berkuts are endangered species registered in the Red Book of Kazakhstan. Hunting with golden eagles is one of the most unique traditions of Kazakh people. Eagle hunter is called “kusbegi” or “berkutchi”. Currently, there are few families left who continue carrying the skill and one of them is our host.

After lunch you can try your skills in horse riding. If you have no experience this is a perfect opportunity to learn it from our kusbegi!