A weekend at Kolsai and Kaindy: which car to rent

The Kolsai Lakes and Kaindy Lake are the most beautiful trip you can fit into a weekend from Almaty. The route runs about 300 km via Almaty–Shelek–Saty; the road is paved as far as Saty, and beyond that it’s gravel inside the national park.

For the last 12 km to Kaindy you need a high-clearance, all-wheel-drive car: a Land Cruiser Prado, a Lexus RX or a similar SUV. A sedan will get you to the first Kolsai lake, but it’s no car for Kaindy.

The plan: leave on Saturday morning, have lunch in Saty village, see the first Kolsai lake in the afternoon and spend the night at a guesthouse. On Sunday morning, Kaindy; in the afternoon, head back to Almaty. The national park entry fee is paid separately per person and per car.

On Joldar, hosts of cars in the “SUVs for the mountains” category allow out-of-city trips. Before you book, check the Rules section on the car page and the daily distance limit: for a 600 km trip, a 300 km/day limit is exactly enough for two days.