Things to do · Mountains and nature
Western KZ
Well-kept horses and foothill country an hour out of Almaty — a two-hour ride, or a trek that keeps you in the saddle for days.
Not checked in person
I have not been. This comes from a friend who rides regularly and has done one of their day treks; the praise for how the horses are kept is hers. The prices are her recollection and already a little old — confirm with the club before you count on them.
What you can do there
Two-hour trail ride
15,000 ₸ when my friend last rode it. Mostly at a walk through the foothills; on two stretches the instructor lets a confident rider canter.
Day trek with a night at the base
Around 80,000 ₸. Transfer from Almaty included — pick-up near Aksay — then you ride over the mountains to a yurt camp, stay the night, and ride back the next morning.
Multi-day treks, three days and up
Routes built around the group, into country where the only other people are shepherds. Priced individually and higher; arrange over Instagram.
The practical part
- Area
- Zailiysky Alatau foothills
- Season
- Year-round
- Booking
- Message @western.kz on Instagram — that is how rides and treks are arranged, and where to confirm the current price.
- Getting there
- About 60 km from Almaty, an hour or so by car. There is no shuttle for the ordinary rides — a taxi is roughly 8,000 ₸ each way — but some trek formats include a transfer, with pick-up near Aksay.
Open in Maps Book online Instagram
Western KZ is an hour’s drive out — about 60 km — and getting there is your problem. There is no shuttle for the ordinary rides, only for some of the trek formats. A taxi runs around 8,000 ₸ each way, so count the trip as part of what the day costs.
The short version is a two-hour trail ride, 15,000 ₸ the last time my friend went. Most of it is at a walk through the Zailiysky Alatau foothills; on two stretches an instructor will let a confident rider canter. The horses are properly looked after — that is the thing she keeps coming back to, and the reason this entry is here at all.
Then there are the treks: one day, three days, longer. The day trek she did included the transfer from Almaty — pick-up around Aksay — to a trailhead, and from there you ride over the mountains to a base camp. You sleep in a yurt: not a museum piece, a modern one, but level underfoot and genuinely warm, warm enough in winter. One yurt, everyone in it, sleeping bags supplied. Meals through the day, enough of them. The toilet is outside.
The base has filled out since she was there — a banya and a hot tub have gone in. Otherwise the day is archery, an air rifle, more riding, a drone that films you in the saddle for an extra fee, and in winter a slope to go down on a tube; the evening is a film in the yurt, a hookah, cards. You ride back out the next morning. A trek like that is around 80,000 ₸ now — which adds up once you count the transfer, the food and keeping the horses, but it is not a small sum.
The multi-day routes are the ones she rates highest: more or less built around you, into country where the only other people are shepherds. They cost accordingly.
One thing to know going in. This is not a customer-is-always-right operation — the horses, the rules and safety come first and your preferences after. For a riding club my friend counts that as the point in its favour, and on her word so would I.
Last updated .