Today we have a long but exciting driving day ahead. After an early breakfast, we depart towards one of the most famous natural sights of Kazakhstan – Charyn Canyon. The canyon is often compared to the Grand Canyon, although it is much smaller in size with a total length of 80-90 kilometers. The part of the canyon you will visit is known as “Valley of Castles” for its unusual rock formations. It is 3 kilometers long and 100 meters deep. We will walk these 3 kilometers down to the river, where we will have a picnic.
We then walk back up to the car and drive from the stepps into the nearby mountains to the next sight of the day, Kaindy Lake. The name of the lake translates as “birch tree lake”. Rising from its emerald waters are the slender trunks of a forest, drowned in 1911 as the result of a huge flood triggered by a violent landslide caused by the Kebin earthquake. The hot weather will be very inviting to go for a swim in the lake.
We drive about one hour on the road back and reach the village of Satty where we have dinner and stay for the night in a simple family guesthouse. If you are not too tired after the long day you can try out the “banya”, Russian sauna.
Satty Family Guesthouse, (single room cannot be guaranteed, pit toilet outside)