New Tour

Cycling Kazakhstan's Nomad Trails

Day 1 Meet in Almaty

Welcome to Almaty, Kazakhstan’s biggest city and the jumping-off point for any adventure into the rugged beauty of the country’s great outdoors. Try to arrive as early as possible so you can explore the so-called “Garden City,” where wide, leafy boulevards and Soviet-era architecture are framed by the snow-capped peaks of the Trans-Ili Alatau. You can tick off the main sights in the afternoon before we meet for our trip briefing and welcome dinner. Don’t miss the candy-coloured Zenkov Cathedral in Panfilov Park or the bustling Green Bazaar. If you arrive today we will pick you up from the airport.

Hotel Kazzhol Almaty
Dinner

Day 2 Almaty - Ride to the Shelek River - Bayseit

It is time to hit the road! In the morning we transfer around an hour to the town of Esik, home to the burial mound complex of Kazakhstan’s beloved “Golden Man”, a 2,500-year-old warrior prince buried with a lavish display of thousands of intricate gold ornaments and ceremonial weaponry. We’ll have a wander around the museum and learn about this important find which transformed our understanding of ancient steppe cultures in the region. We then drive another 45 minutes to the start point of our inaugural ride: a gentle warm-up along a paved road following the course of the Great Almaty Canal which irrigates the surrounding apple and apricot orchards. The scenery alternates between dry steppe and pockets of lush farmlands to the north and the snow-capped peaks of the Tien Shan mountains to the south. We saddle off near the banks of the Shelek River and transfer a short distance to the village of Bayseit. We spend the night at a local guesthouse around the corner from a local bazaar filled with vegetables, fruits, and Uyghur cuisine.

Local Guesthouse
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 53km
+422m
-371m

Day 3 Bayseit - Red Mountains Ride - Charyn Canyon

We start the day with a 30-minute drive into the heart of the Boguty Mountains, an off-road cycling paradise. Also known as the “Red Mountains”, we ride on gravel tracks and dry riverbeds through a Martian terrain of weathered slopes and deep gullies naturally painted in a striking palette of pink, terracotta, burgundy, and fiery red. After around 50 km, we hop in the support van and drive a little further south for the second part of today’s ride: a 20 km stretch along the windswept desert plateau above the Charyn Canyon. One of Kazakhstan’s most remarkable geological marvels, the Charyn Canyon is a vast labyrinth of sheer red sandstone walls and bizarre rock formations that drop away suddenly from the flat steppe. We will save an up-close exploration of the canyon for the following morning, though at dusk we’ll make sure to visit a viewpoint for gorgeous sunset vistas. We spend the night in deluxe tents or small houses near the National Park Visitor Centre.

Charyn Camp
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 70km
+920m
-1016m

Day 4 Charyn Canyon - Kensu River

At the crack of dawn, we hike through the famous “Valley of the Castles”, where 12 million years of water and wind erosion have sculpted striking sandstone formations. The 3 km trail winds deep into the chasm, eventually leading us to the cool, lush banks of the Charyn River. After soaking in the silence of the canyon before the crowds arrive, we’ll make our way back up to the rim to our waiting bikes. For the rest of the day, we are in the saddle, dialling up the distance and elevation gains as we head south along a mix of paved and unpaved roads into the beginnings of the Tien Shan mountain range. We witness a gradual shift in the vastness of the terrain — from barren plateaus to green, alpine meadows — and pass by a series of remote Kazakh villages. We end our ride by skirting past the shimmering waters of Lake Bestobe, from where it is only a few more kilometres to our camp, pitched on the banks of the Kensu River. Here, at close to 2,000 metres ASL, we enjoy the crisp mountain air and sleep under the great, star-filled skies of Central Asia.

Tented Camp
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 69km
+1391m
-794m

Day 5 Kensu River - Kegen Plateau

Today begins with an early challenge as we climb out of the valley of the Kensu River and enter the Kegen Plateau. Here, the landscape opens up into a staggering expanse of high-altitude steppe, where herds of Kazakhstan’s “Five Jewels” of livestock — horses, sheep, goats, cattle and Bactrian camels — can be found roaming the grasslands or drinking by the rivers. The riding is relatively flat and non-technical for around 40 kilometres, allowing us to enjoy the wide-open scenery to the fullest before reaching the market town of Kegen, once a busy node on the Silk Road. From here, we cross a bridge and follow the road until the tarmac disappears, fanning out into a series of dirt tracks that rise into the hillslopes at the edge of the plateau. Our ride ends with a fun downhill into the green valley of the meandering Kegen River, where our campsite will be waiting for a relaxed evening in the heart of Kazakhstan’s nomadic highlands.

Tented Camp
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 68km
+875m
-773m

Day 6 Kegen Plateau - Tuzkol Salt Lake

Upon breaking camp, we continue our eastward traverse of the Kegen Plateau. While today’s ride is remarkably gentle with no major climbs, the Ketmen Mountains loom large to the north with spruce-dotted slopes and bare rock peaks. The first 20 km follows a rugged trail straddling the green Kegen River valley, with its ribbon of oxbow coils. We then inch closer towards the mountains, riding across the plains toward Shalkode village, which lies at the centre of a vast basin of pastures and Soviet-era agricultural grids. From here, we roll towards the shores of fabled Tuzkol, a salty montane lake and one of the country’s most photogenic locations. Its glassy waters act as a mirror reflecting the snow-capped peaks of the Tien Shan – the Celestial Mountains – to the south. On a clear day, you can see the unmistakable pyramid-shaped summit of Khan Tengri (“Lord of the Sky”). At 7,010 metres, it is the highest point in Kazakhstan and has long been considered the sacred throne of the supreme deity by nomadic societies. We have a front-row seat to this epic panorama as we set up camp along the shores of Tuzkol Lake.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 76km
+538m
-386m

Day 7 Tuzkol Lake - Ketmen Pass - Chundzha Hot Springs

We hope to see a splendid sunrise over the Tien Shan range from our lakeside camp before saddling up for our final ride. The first 30 km are predominantly flat as we ride through the Shalkode Valley, surrounded by summer pastures dissected by countless braids of the river. And then it’s time to tackle one of Kazakhstan’s most iconic climbs: the Ketmen Pass. A winding dirt track snakes its way up the rugged mountain for around 15 km (average 4% gradient) before a glorious, 20 km downhill featuring some steep, serpentine hairpins. As we descend, the landscape transforms from alpine meadows to sunbaked foothills where we spill out of a narrow gorge into a village at the northern base of the Ketmen Pass. We’ll call it a day here, pack up the bikes, and drive about an hour north to the Chundzha Hot Springs. This area is home to scattered resorts offering thermal baths, all nestled within the wild, vast steppe of Kazakhstan. What better way to unwind after an epic 6 days of cycling remote nomad trails!

Hot Spring Resort
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ride 76km
+1096m
-1596m

Day 8 Chundzha Hot Springs - Almaty

Today we come full circle, returning to the bustling streets of Almaty after an epic journey through Kazakhstan’s southeast. We depart from Chundzha after breakfast for a four-hour drive across the plains with the distant silhouettes of the Tien Shan Mountains to the south. Once we arrive in Almaty, we have lunch followed by free time in the afternoon ticking off any remaining sights, lounging at a cafe, or stocking up on dried fruits or Kazakh chocolate at the Green Bazaar. We reconvene in the evening for a celebratory farewell dinner.

Hotel Kazzhol Almaty
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9 Almaty Departure

Time to say goodbye to Almaty and head home or travel to your next destination in Central Asia. There are plenty more surreal places to explore in the region which are just a quick flight away, such as the turquoise Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan or the high-altitude lakes of Kyrgyzstan. If you have a flight out today, we’ll bring you to the airport.

Breakfast

Disclaimer: The adventure cycling tours we operate often go beyond the beaten track, and the countries where we ride are not always predictable. Due to these reasons, it is occasionally necessary to reroute or update itineraries. Our guarantee is that we will not change a trip unless for safety or to improve it. Our listed hotels are always accurate at the time of writing, but should we have to change any hotel, it will always be for a similar or better one.