Kazakhstan by Wander Womaniya (28 Dec - 3 Jan 2025)
 
Day-wise itinerary specially designed by Wander Womaniya for women solo travellers. Kazakhastan is the 9th largest country in the world but very sparsely populated and still remains an offbeat international destination to visit. What that means is that you are more likely to be able to get those perfect pictures without having crowds in them. There are many trekking trails and lakes to lure the nature enthusiasts. So what are you waiting for?
 
Day 1: Welcome to Kazakhstan 
 
We arrive at Almaty International Airport, clear immigration and transfer to the hotel for check-in. As the pickup is late night, rest in your hotel for the night.
 
Day 2: Almaty city
 
Post breakfast we visit Zenkov Cathedral which is a stunning wooden Orthodox cathedral, a masterpiece of Russian architecture, followed by Panfilov Park. At Panfilov Park, you can pay tribute to the heroes of World War II at this historic park. 
 
For lunch time we have free time at Arbat Street where you can find a lot of souveniors, cafes, icecream parlors and live musicians too. 
 
We will end the day by visiting the old square which is also the biggest square for any city wide events. 
 
Overnight at Almaty Hotel
 
Day 3: Shymbulak Mountain Resort
 
After breakfast, we will visit the beautiful mountains that you must have seen before landing at Almaty airport. We will head to Medeu which is a high-altitude sports complex near Almaty, located at an altitude of 1691 meters above sea level. We will take the ropeway and head level 1 where you can enjoy amazing views & quite a few restaurants. Activities like cliff jumping & rock climbing are also on offer (chargeable). However the best thing to do is take the chaircar to the top (2nd level - can be closed due to bad weather & is optional for whoever wants to go). On the top level you are most likely to find narnia like snowland  to get some amazing pictures. Carry a windcheater along with gloves and cap for today.  On the way back we will take the electric bus to Medeo.  
 
Overnight at Almaty
 
Day 4: Day trip to Issik Lake
 
Extremely beautiful place in Kazakhstan is Issyk Lake which we will be exploring today post breakfast. Locals call it "Dzhasyl-Kul", which translates as "Green lake." The name “Issyk” is a distorted Kazakh word Esik, which means “door”. By the way, the town, which is located below the lake, has a name just Esik. Lake Issyk is located at an altitude of 1750 m, in the gorge of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains.In 1939, the lake began to actively develop itself: an asphalt road, a tourist base, and a bus station were quickly built. 
 
Overnight at Almaty
 
Day 5: Charyn Canyon
 
We do an early start today and visit the Charyn Canyon. The Charyn Canyon (or Sharyn Canyon) is part of the Charyn Canyon National Park and stretches 154km along the Charyn River, one of the deepest rivers of the Northern Tien Shan mountains.For more than 12 million years, wind, water and sand sculpted Charyn’s red sandstone to form the wonderful shapes and shades that vary from deep orange to light brown. This is also called the Grand Canyon of Asia, if you have seen the "127 hours" movie this place will remind you of it. Take a 2.5 Km easy hike with so many picture spots that you will literally run out of storage space. 
 
Day 6: Early morning drop to Airport