Kaindy Lake
Kaindy was made in January 1911, when the Kemin earthquake brought down a slope and dammed the river. The drowned spruce forest stayed standing: the bare trunks still rise out of the water, and that is what people come for. The lake is 400 m long and 30 m deep; in summer the air reaches +23 °C while the water stays at +6 — and people dive in it anyway. The name is Kazakh for "full of birches". Same park as Kolsai and the same entry fee: 865 tenge (about 22,700 UZS). From Almaty it is 274 km, 4 h 50 min.
Routes
Weather
At 1 862 mNow: -2° · Cloudy · Wind 2 km/h
Updated: 8 min ago · Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)
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How to get there
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Fly to Almaty, then driveFour airlines fly Tashkent — Almaty; we checked neither fares nor times. Almaty to the lake is 274 km, 4 h 50 min. The last 10 km have been under asphalt since October 2025: in August 2026 the park director said it was 99 per cent done. Ask about the road before you set off; it used to need a high-clearance vehicle and there was a ford.
- Toshkent → Olmaota Flight Fare and duration unverified.
- Olmaota → Qayindi ko'li Car · 4 h 48 min · 273,6 km
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By car from TashkentTashkent to Almaty is 813 km and 9 h 50 min (border queue on top), then Almaty to the lake is another 274 km, 4 h 50 min. Sleep in Saty — the lake is 9 km from the village. · 1086,0 km · 14 h 37 min
- Toshkent → Olmaota Car · 9 h 49 min · 812,7 km
- Olmaota → Qayindi ko'li Car · 4 h 48 min · 273,6 km
Questions and answers
Do you need a permit?
Yes. This is a protected area: entry needs permission, or a fee at the gate. Kolsai Lakes national park — the same fee and the same rules as at Kolsai. Kaspi QR or cash tenge, keep the receipt. It is inside the border zone, but a passport is enough. Register your route on 112 before going into the mountains.
How do you get there?
Fly to Almaty, then drive: Four airlines fly Tashkent — Almaty; we checked neither fares nor times. Almaty to the lake is 274 km, 4 h 50 min. The last 10 km have been under asphalt since October 2025: in August 2026 the park director said it was 99 per cent done. Ask about the road before you set off; it used to need a high-clearance vehicle and there was a ford. There are 2 ways in altogether.
Which months are best?
May–Sep — that is when people go.
How long does it take?
One trip takes about 8 h: 17,9 km of walking and 1 628 m of climbing.
What does it cost?
Park entry, per person/day — 22 700 UZS (per person, 865 KZT @ 2026-09-16), Vehicle entry, per day — 68 000 UZS (per car, 2595 KZT @ 2026-09-16). The prices are estimates and can differ on the day.
Is there water on the way?
There is water from the lake and the stream, but boil or filter it. Swimming is banned.
Photos
Photos by Wikimedia Commons contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0
