AddressAlmaty Region, Kegen District, about 250 km from Almaty (Saty village)
SeasonThe park is open year-round. Boat rides and the hiking trail from Kurmety to Middle Kolsai run from May to September.
TicketsEntry: 0.2 MCI (monthly calculation index) per person per day (865 ₸ in 2026); passenger car entry: 0.7 MCI (3027.5 ₸). The park's online ticket office may still calculate tenge amounts using the old MCI. Pensioners, people with disabilities and preschool children enter free.
PaymentBuy tickets online on the park website (card or Kaspi QR): enter the date and your car's plate number, and the ticket arrives by e-mail in about 5 minutes. Tickets are checked at the cordon 6 km from Saty village.
About
Kolsai Kolderi National Park lies in the Northern Tian Shan, on the Kungey Alatau range, at 1800–3500 m. The three Kolsai Lakes — Lower, Middle and Upper — and nearby Kaindy Lake formed after earthquakes, when landslides blocked the gorges.
You can take a boat ride on Lower Kolsai: the route is 3.5 km, about two hours, and a life jacket is mandatory. Middle Kolsai lies at about 2500 m; on its shore there is a rest area and a place for tents. Kolsai is often combined with Kaindy and Charyn in a single trip.
Lower Kolsai — a 3.5 km boat ride
Trail to Middle Kolsai (~7 km) and on to Upper Kolsai (4 km)
Kaindy Lake with its sunken forest is nearby
Getting there
The starting point is Saty village, 250 km from Almaty. The cordon with the checkpoint is 6 km from Saty; another 6 km along the road, the trail starts at Lower Kolsai. From Lower to Middle Kolsai it is about 7 km on foot, and from Middle to Upper Kolsai another 4 km.
Rules
Swimming in the lakes and rivers is prohibited
Tents and campfires only in designated areas; fishing only as paid recreational fishing
Stay on the trail; cross rivers only by footbridges and fords
Hikes may be temporarily closed in spring, in rain and during fire-danger periods
Keep your passport with you: Saty Pass counts as the state border, though the trail does not reach it
Tours that include it
Naturegroup
Kolsai Lakes15 hours
Kolsai and Kaindy: Two Mountain Lakes
A lake with a sunken spruce forest, its trunks rising out of the water, and the quiet shore of Kolsai.
Tue, 10 NovThu, 12 NovSat, 14 NovSun, 15 Nov
from 22,000 ₸per person≈ $48
demo
Jeep toursprivate
Altyn-Emel, Charyn, Kolsai5 days
Golden Ring of Zhetysu: Altyn-Emel, Charyn and 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.
Mon, 9 NovTue, 10 NovWed, 11 NovThu, 12 Nov
from $2,083per car
Din-JeepTrip
Jeep toursprivate
Kolsai Lakes2 days
Kolsai and Kaindy by Jeep in 2 Days
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.
