Almarasan Gorge and the Ayusay Waterfall

Overview

Almarasan is where Almaty walks. The city stops, the gorge begins, and within minutes there is spruce on both slopes and a river loud enough that you talk over it. The trail here climbs towards Gorelnik, level enough for children and grandparents, and it is the loud water that people remember. The waterfall is in Ayusay, the valley next door — ayu is bear in Kazakh, which is where the name on the maps comes from — and we drive across to it in the same half day. An hour from your hotel, and the coolest air you will find near the city in summer.

Highlights

• The loud river in the spruce gorge
• The trail towards Gorelnik
• The waterfall in the Ayusay valley

Itinerary

1. 1

   Pick-up from your hotel

   15 min

   Mornings are best — the gorge is quiet and the air is still cold.

2. 2

   The drive up

   30 min

   Twenty minutes from the last city street to the start of the gorge.

3. 3

   The trail towards Gorelnik

   2 h

   Along the river through the spruce, as far up as suits you, then back the same way.

4. 4

   Ayusay and the waterfall

   1 h 30

   A short drive to the next valley, where the path ends at the falls.

5. 5

   Tea before the drive back

   1 h

   A cafe at the mouth of the gorge, or a picnic by the water.