Kaindy Lake appeared during the 1911 Kemin earthquake: a landslide dammed the gorge and the forest was flooded. Trunks of Schrenk's spruce still stick out of the lake — the icy water keeps them from rotting.
The lake lies at 1867 m. On the shore there is a yurt camp, a rest area and a place for tents. Chinese travel guides call the trip to Kolsai, Kaindy and Charyn «两湖一峡谷» — "two lakes and a canyon".
From Saty village to the Kaindy cordon is 8.5 km, then 0.5 km to the birch grove and 2 km on foot to the lake. A new 10-kilometre road to the lake opened on 4 November 2026; QR-code payment at the Kaindy checkpoint is promised by the end of 2026.
A lake with a sunken spruce forest, its trunks rising out of the water, and the quiet shore of Kolsai.
Five days through Zhetysu's top sights: Tamgaly-Tas petroglyphs, the Singing Dune and Aktau Mountains, Chundzha hot springs, Charyn, and lakes Kaindy and Kolsai.
Over the Kokpek and Alasa passes to Lake Kaindy and its sunken forest, a night by Kolsai, and on the way back the Valley of Castles and Charyn's Black Canyon.
Checked against official sources on 5 November 2026. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
