Meet at the group hotel in Almaty. A single timed transfer is provided from Almaty Airport to the group hotel the drive will take around 30mins. Your holiday begins with breakfast at the hotel. We then have some time to rest before lunch. In the afternoon there'll be a 3-hour guided sightseeing tour of Almaty. Almaty is a lively and colourful Soviet-built city with wide tree-lined streets and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. You will hear more Russian than Kazakh spoken here. We will visit the National Museum, giving a fantastic overview of Kazakhstan's history, the central mosque and market and then Pantfilov Park, which is dedicated to the WWII heroes, and the Cathedral. We end the tour with a dusk visit to Kok-Tobe or 'Green Hill' for fantastic views down over the evening lit city. Kok-Tobe (1100m) is the highest point of Almaty and is connected to the downtown district via cable car. We will take dinner at a restaurant overlooking the city, before returning to our hotel.

Our first day hike will take us up to the Kok Zhailau Plateau, which translates as 'sky blue summer pasture', crossing green slopes and through dense forest. We begin with a 1 hour transfer south to Almarasan Gorge. From here, we follow the Kazashka Valley and ascend to Green Pass (1560m). Crossing the pass we make our descent into Medeo Gorge, in the Ile-Alatau National Park, where our transport will be waiting to take us to the cable car that will transport us to our overnight accommodation at Shymbulak Mountain Resort (2300m).

Today's walk begins directly from our accommodation. We first follow the quiet mountain road along the valley until we reach a memorial to lost climbers, surrounded by natural, 250m high, bastions of rock that are popular with rock-climbers. From here, we continue ascending until we reach Tuyuk Su (3200m), an impressive glacial cirque framed by many 4000m plus peaks. We return the way we came and head back to our mountain resort accommodation for a second night.

After breakfast, we head to the cable car station and take the 20 min cable car ride up towards the Talfarsky Pass (3128m). We will have a wonderful panoramic view of the mountains of the northern Tien Shan and their hanging glaciers. Peak Tshkalov and Peak Komsomola (4378m) line the glacier to the east, with Peak Shkolnik (3590m) and Peak Abay (4000m) to the west. From here we hike up through the rocky moraine towards the glacier and then alongside it towards the foot of the impressive Komsomola Peak. We will reach around 3500m before returning back down towards the cable car station. We take the cable car back down towards Shymbulak and then on to Medeu from where we drive for 45mins back to Almaty.

We begin today by driving east for around 3 hours to the Turgen Valley. En route we will stop to visit to reach Kazakh Ethno Aul village where we can watch some traditional Kazakh entertainment, including a demonstration of horseback games such as 'atpen audaryspak' (fight on horses) and 'Kyz Kuu' (pursuit of the girl). We'll also see a traditional Altybakan Swing and watch some national dances. Next, we visit the museum of the 'Golden Man'. Here we can see some of the artefacts excavated in 1969 from a burial mound near the town of Issyk. The person buried in this tomb is believed to have been a young Scythian (4th century BC) prince (or princess) dressed in a warrior's costume fashioned from 4000 pieces of gold. A further hour's drive will bring us close to Batan Village, where our camp crew awaits us. We'll camp tonight in the pine forest near the crystal clear Turgen River. We will take a late lunch in camp and in late afternoon those keen to stretch their legs can enjoy an optional 2-3hr return hike up into the valley.

Today we have a 1hr transfer by 4x4, which will take us up to the Assy Pass (2600m) and down across the green plateau beyond. On the plateau we will encounter many local Kazakh nomads, who will invite you to their yurtas for a cup of tea and (for the brave) fermented horse milk (kumis). We start today's trek from here and today we can home to enjoy sweeping panoramas of the Northern Tien Shan Range to the south-west. We climb from the plateau up and over the Kara Arsha Pass (3200m) in the Sary Tau Range and down into the verdant green valley of the Zhenishke River. Down in the valley there will be several small rivers to cross and we will want to have our water shoes to hand. Our 4x4s will meet us to take us the last distance into camp. Tonight we make camp near to the river (2670m).

The peaceful Zhenishke Valley is a rich bed of flora and fauna and we should enjoy a day of wildlife and flower spotting as we trek out beside the Zhenishke River and in and out of the forest on an undulating track, there will also be several rivers to cross today. Mountain Goats, wild bear, wolves, foxes, hares, wild rams and badgers are all known to dwell here. Our 4x4 will be waiting to meet us at a farmhouse to drive us the last distance to camp. Our last camp is at around 1800m at an idyllic place amongst willow trees.

This morning we must say goodbye to our camp crew as we transfer out across to the north of the Tien Shan Mountains and the Kolsay Kolderi National Park, which is famous for its mountain lakes. On the way we will stop to visit Kaindy Lake (1818m), which is surrounded by alpine meadow and forests. The lake is reasonably new and there is also a forest submerged beneath its waters; it is recognisable by the distinctive, seemingly dry, spruce tree trunks that rise up atmospherically out of the lake. Our vehicles can only take us part of the way to the lake so we will walk the last 200m. The lake is a popular attraction for local tourists and if we are visiting on a weekend we are likely to be joining Kazakh families enjoying picnics beside the lake. Afterwards we transfer to Saty Village (1880m), next to Kolsay Lake, where we overnight in a guesthouse above lake. There are three Kolsay Lakes, ranging in altitude from 1818m up to 2850m above sea level, and they are known as the 'Pearls of the Northern Tien Shan'. Our vehicle cannot take us directly to the lodge, so we'll have to walk the last steep section to the guesthouse (our bags will be transported separately) so it is worth keeping walking poles on hand. From the guesthouse we will have a fantastic panoramic view.

Today we will explore two of the three, trout-filled, Kolsay Lakes. In the early morning we make the short descent from our guesthouse down towards the lowest of the lakes, known as Kolsay I (1818m). From here we will hike up through the pine forest for around 4hrs to reach the second Lake, Munzhylky (2252m). We have lunch at a peaceful spot beside the lake before descending back down the way we came. We spend a second night at our guesthouse accommodation.

This morning we begin with a 2 hour drive to reach the Charyn River National Park. We will spend some time exploring the canyon of the Charyn river, known as the 'Valley of the Castles' due to its imposing red pillars and rock formations. Returning to our vehicle, a further 3hrs drive will takes us to the Altyn Emel National Park. The drive will take us across the Ile River, the largest in Kazakhstan and we will also stop at a traditional Uygur Mosque in Shonzhy. Our overnight accommodation is at a guesthouse in Basshiy at the gate of the Altyn Emel National Park. Sandwiched between the Ili River and the Aktau Mountains, this 4600 square kilometre rock and desert reserve is home to many hundreds of rare plant and animal species. There is a nearby visitor centre and museum where we can get an insight into this UNESCO-listed park. In the evening we will head out to a local restaurant for dinner.

After an early breakfast we drive 1.5hr to one of the Altyn-Emel's greatest attractions, the Singing Sand Dune. Otherwise known as the Poyushchiy Barchan, this is a big dune; 3 kilometres long and 120 metres high. Wind blowing across the dune can cause the grains of sand to rub together and vibrate, producing a range of sounds. Arriving at the dune we have plenty of time to hike to the top for panoramic photos. Next we will visit a 700 year old willow tree, where according to the legend the warriors of Genghis Khan once made their camp. We will stop here to enjoy our picnic lunch before making the 1.5hr drive to the Aktau Mountains, a stunning moonlike landscape of multi-coloured hills. As we drive we might catch a distant glimpse of some of the region's wildlife, including the argali (a large and big-horned wild sheep) and the shy Persian gazelle. The Aktau Mountains are formed from bands of clay and sandstone, which create white, red, and orange stripes that run horizontally across the range. We climb up one of the hills where we will be able to take a great panoramic shot of this unique looking setting. Afterwards we return to our guesthouse in Basshiy for a second night.

This morning we make the 4.5hr drive back to Almaty over Altyn Emel Pass (1470m), named the 'Golden Saddle' by Genghis Khan in 1219. Arriving in Almaty we check into our hotel and have the resto of the afternoon free to relax or explore the city at our own leisure. In the evening we will join together at a local restaurant to celebrate the end of our holiday with a celebratory dinner.

Your holiday ends after an early breakfast, there is a group transfer to Almaty Airport.