Gallivanting in Kazakh Hinterlands

I love the luxuries of life – a good hotel room with a plush bed overlooking mountains and maybe a spa or a sauna. I hate my hands and my hair getting dirty, and I absolutely loathe sharing a bathroom. But my quest to go to remote and (somewhat fully) unexplored places, interact with the locals, try out the local cuisine and experience nature in it’s most raw form takes me to places where I do everything which contradicts my first two statements.
So when Kazakhstan popped up as a travel destination while figuring out a short holiday in summer 2024, there was no way I’d give the hinterlands a miss.

A three days trip away the posh Almaty and into the southeast region of Kazakhstan hinterlands was every bit of an enriching experience that I look forward to while travelling. This entire region, stretching from Almaty (Kazakhstan’s former capital city) to Lake Balkhash, is known as Zhetisu, meaning Land of Seven Rivers. It’s one of Kazakhstan’s most varied regions in terms of the variety of landscape one can witness along the way, from semi-deserts to lush greenery and dense forests, from Grand Canyon-like rock formations to waterfalls and lakes fed by the glacial meltwater of the snow-peaked Tien Shan mountain range. This part of the country is even nicknamed ‘the Golden Triangle’ for its trio of major natural attractions, the Altyn Emel National Park, the Charyn Canyon (also written as Sharyn Canyon) and Kolsai and Kaindy lakes.

Day trips from Almaty to almost each of these sites are available. But given the long driving distance, I would definitely suggest against it. And also if you’d like to witness the warm Kazakh hospitality along with the most eye-catching landscapes, it’s best to embark on these 2 to 3 day tours with experienced guides and drivers. Self-drive is another option, but only if you’ve the experience of driving in extreme weather and road conditions.

We did a 3 days, 2 nights tour which was laid out as follows:

Day 1: Almaty to Altyn Emel National Park, and night stay at guesthouse in Basshi Village, Kalinino
Day 2: Basshi Village to Charyn Canyon and night stay at guesthouse in Saty Village
Day 3: Saty Village to Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes and return to Almaty

You can read about Altyn Emel National Park, Charyn Canyon and Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes, in exclusive posts, linked below.

Another very beautiful place providing the hinterland experience, but which is a day tour from Almaty is the Assy Plateau. You can read more about it in this post linked below.

But, let’s continue on the rest of the hinterland experience.

Undoubtedly, a fabulous experience from start till end. And pictures don’t do even an ounce of justice to what one sees and feels at that time and location.

The Landscape and Views

The views are different every day. We crossed rocky canyons, alpine meadows, wild flower fields, barren steppes and even sand dune deserts. At one moment, you’re cruising through the highways, smooth as a baby’s bum, and soon after you’re in the midst of nowhere, four-wheel drive activated and dust filled in the car cabin, no matter all glass panes are rolled up and doors shut tight.

Not all was always fun and games and thrill. And not always did we feel ecstatic. Some days were extremely hot, to the extent that our skin was burnt, no matter the amount of sunscreen. In addition, the hot winds and dust made it extremely difficult to breathe. (As per discussion with guides, the winters are the extreme opposite. It’s freezing and covered with snow but again amazingly beautiful).
But all said and done, I’d do it again and again.

The Homestays

The homestays in Basshi and Saty villages are very basic. (Unfortunately I do not have enough pictures for these, so use your imagination in the best way possible, with the aid of the limited pictures)
They took me back in time, to my engineering days when I lived in a hostel, shared room and washroom, eating in a mess, chatting up in groups instead of the idiot box and mobile phones.

The homestay in Basshi Village was a dual-sharing room (two tiny cots in different corners of the room) with no fan and a restroom to be shared with an adjacent room. But the shared restroom was the least of our problems. The room was unbearably hot and we spent most of the evening outside chatting with the other residents. But thanks to that, we met some of the most amazing people from around the globe and indulged in the most enriching conversation. I might have even had some brandy and coke coz a very nice gentleman offered it to me and I couldn’t say no 🙈

The Saty village homestay was slightly different. There were again dual and triple sharing rooms but were quite plush compared to the ones in Basshi with good mattresses and sheets and covers on the cots and also a window for ventilation, but there were just about 4 toilets and 4 bathrooms for about 20 rooms (so at least 50 people on a full-house day)!! Now, as it happened, at around 8 pm, a group of around 30 tourists arrived. They first had dinner and then started the freshening up ritual. Each of the restrooms were inaccessible for the next 2 hours. Once the crowd started thinning out, I barged into one of the restrooms (since I could wait no more) only to find a very handsome guy cover his privates and let out a smirk. And well, that for me was new (shall we even call it an experience 🤪 ). All I could do was rush back to the room where I narrated the event to husband and soon after we were rolling on the floor.

The Grub

Food, in both the homestays was nicely laid out on tables for the guests to help themselves. We had one each of breakfast, lunch and dinner in both the stays. Delectable local cuisine and pots of black tea with some of the most amazing fruit compotes used as sweeteners and sides for the Kazakh bread. Sigh! Good food, good conversation, good mood!

The homestay in Basshi village had no provision for any extra food or beverages should the need arise (outside of meal timings). In our case, we’re used to warm water and hot coffee first thing in the morning, but that wasn’t possible there as the kitchen was closed and there were no arrangements for hot water in the rooms.
The Saty village homestay was better equipped that way. The common area was open throughout with provisions for hot and cold drinking water, so thankfully we got our basics sorted here! They also had a fridge stocked up with all kinds of beverages so that was a bonus.

The Hospitality

Most of the Kazakhis we came across were warm and extremely hospitable. Our guide Ilyas was the first one we met and interacted with of course and he touched our hearts in more ways than one. His wife and dad (who became our guide for the later part of the trip) were equally welcoming souls. And, I will never forget our hostess from the Basshi village homestay. Such a pleasant woman, feeding us with food and love.
The only annoying ones we came across were a few tired souls in the form of cashiers in supermarkets, but they probably were out of patience for that day.

The Contact

If you’ve survived this post and are keen on setting out on a journey of your own, to the wonderland that is Kazakhstan, reach out to Ilyas. He is truly the most amazing guide you can have, to witness this beautiful land.

We were lucky enough to also meet his wife who accompanied us to Assy Plateau, and his dad Mr. Sheikh, who doubled up as our guide for some parts of the trip.

Yours truly and husband