About Alatau Routes

Alatau Routes is a small, single-curator guide to fifteen road trips out of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Every itinerary was researched from English and Russian sources, normalised into English prose, and reviewed to flag the practical details that decide whether a first-time visitor actually feels prepared: border permits, vehicle class, road closures, and entrance fees.

The site does not sell anything and does not collect analytics. It is a pet project published primarily for friends and for anyone who stumbles on it and finds it useful.

Selection criteria

The trips chosen are a mix of classic day trips (Charyn Canyon, Big Almaty Lake, Medeu–Shymbulak), longer standalone destinations (Altyn-Emel, Tamgaly, Assy Plateau), family-friendly outings (Issyk Lake, Turgen Gorge, Butakovka Waterfall) and a signature eastern multi-day loop combining Charyn with the Kolsai and Kaindy lakes. Routes that overlap heavily were consolidated; specialty trips requiring expedition vehicles or registered guides are flagged as such.

Images and attribution

Photographs are gathered from public sources — predominantly Wikimedia Commons — with source URL, licence and attribution recorded where available. The full list lives in ATTRIBUTIONS.md at the project root. If you are a rights holder and would like an image removed or credited differently, please get in touch.

A note on accuracy

Distances, driving times and entrance fees change. Border-zone permits in particular have been known to vary by month. Treat every trip detail page as a starting point: call ahead, check the latest road conditions, and carry more water than you think you need.