Two Weeks in Kazakhstan: The Ultimate 14-Day Itinerary

Two weeks in Kazakhstan unlocks the country’s full spectrum — from the mountains above Almaty to the ancient Silk Road city of Turkestan, the eerie Aral Sea disaster zone, the futuristic capital of Astana, and the vast steppe that shaped nomadic culture for millennia.

Days 1–3 – Almaty

Three full days in Kazakhstan’s most liveable city. Day 1: Green Bazaar, Panfilov Park, Zenkov Cathedral, and an evening in the restaurant district. Day 2: Medeu and Shymbulak mountains, Big Almaty Lake at altitude, and a traditional Kazakh dinner. Day 3: Central State Museum (the Golden Man), Kasteyev Art Museum, and the TSUM Soviet-era department store turned market.

Day 4 – Charyn Canyon

Day trip east (3.5h) to Charyn Canyon’s Valley of Castles — one of Central Asia’s most dramatic landscapes. Sunrise or sunset at the canyon rim turns the red rock formations extraordinary colours. Return to Almaty.

Days 5–6 – Kolsai Lakes & Kaindy Lake

Drive southeast toward the Kyrgyz border (4 hours) to the Kolsai Lakes — three high-altitude glacial lakes set in Tian Shan spruce forest. The middle lake (2,252m) is the most scenic; a trail above it leads to the upper lake with views into Kyrgyzstan.

Day 6: Kaindy Lake — one of Kazakhstan’s most extraordinary landscapes: a turquoise glacial lake partially filled with the silver trunks of drowned spruce trees, rising from the water like silent monuments. Created by a 1911 earthquake and landslide, the underwater forest is popular with cold-water divers.

Return to Almaty overnight.

Day 7 – Fly to Shymkent: Silk Road Gateway

Fly from Almaty to Shymkent (1.5 hours) — Kazakhstan’s third city and the gateway to the southern Silk Road region. Shymkent itself has excellent food culture (closest to Uzbek cuisine of any Kazakh city) and a lively old bazaar.

Afternoon: Shymkent’s Old Bazaar (Bazar) and the Orda cultural centre.

Day 8 – Turkestan & Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi

Drive 2 hours west to Turkestan — Kazakhstan’s greatest Silk Road city and the spiritual capital of Central Asian Sufism. The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (UNESCO World Heritage Site) is one of the finest surviving examples of Timurid architecture — begun by Tamerlane in 1389 and never fully completed (a Timurid legend holds that it was left unfinished deliberately as no building could match the Kaaba in Mecca). The turquoise dome and intricate tile work rival anything in Uzbekistan’s famous cities.

Azret-Sultan Archaeological Complex surrounding the mausoleum includes reconstructed medieval bathhouses, an underground mosque, and the ruins of the ancient city.

Day 9 – Drive to Baikonur or Return to Almaty

Option A — Baikonur Cosmodrome: With advance arrangements (minimum 45 days), tours of the Baikonur Cosmodrome — the world’s first and largest space launch facility, where Yuri Gagarin launched in 1961 — are available through specialist operators. The surrounding city of Baikonur is a fascinating Soviet-era time capsule.

Option B — Fly to Astana: Fly from Shymkent to Astana (1.5h) to begin the northern portion of the itinerary.

Days 10–11 – Astana

Two full days in the futuristic capital. Day 10: Left Bank architecture (Norman Foster’s pyramid, Baiterek Tower, Khan Shatyr), Nur-Astana Mosque, and the Presidential Palace axis. Day 11: Burabay National Park (2h by train north) — granite mountains rising from the flat steppe, pine forests, and crystal lakes. The scenery is startlingly un-steppe-like and extraordinarily beautiful.

Days 12–13 – Aral Sea (Optional — Major Adventure)

For the adventurous and historically curious: a 2-day trip to the Aral Sea — one of the world’s great environmental catastrophes and most surreal landscapes. The Aral Sea has lost 90% of its volume since Soviet-era irrigation diverted its feeder rivers. What’s left: ship graveyards (rusted fishing vessels stranded in desert where the sea once was), cracked salt flats stretching to the horizon, and the fascinating town of Aralsk, which was once a major fishing port.

Getting there: overnight train from Astana to Aralsk (14h), or fly to Kyzylorda and drive. Logistically challenging but an extraordinary historical witness.

Day 14 – Return to Almaty & Departure

Fly back to Almaty for international connections. Kazakhstan’s Almaty airport connects to major European hubs (Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Istanbul) and across Asia.

Practical Notes

Visas: 30-day visa-free for most Western nationalities. Ensure your passport has 6 months validity.

Currency: Kazakhstani Tenge. US dollars and euros can be exchanged at any bank. Card payments increasingly accepted in cities.

Language: Russian is the practical language throughout Kazakhstan. English is improving in Almaty and Astana but limited elsewhere.

Budget: Two weeks costs €1,000–2,000/person mid-range including internal flights.

Guides: For Charyn, Kolsai, and Silk Road sites, local guides (available through Almaty tour operators) dramatically improve the experience.