Askhat.

We have been with Askhat for 3 days during the week in Kazakhstan. Thanks to askhat for active communication during the preparations before the trip. Also the trip with named aibek was great. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy the wonderful nature of Kazakhstan without any inconvenience.

Mr Askhat was very polite and has deep knowledge about Almaty as well as Kazakhstan. His driver guy and falconer Mr Ruslan was also nice person and he loves his falcons like his daughter. We all worried about the weather but by the time of show, sky became clear so falcons flew actively and beautifully. I did not expected that I can touch the falcons but I could. They seems ferocious when they hunt but on the other hand they were very tame and quiet when they are with people. After amazing hunting demonstration, enjoyed BBQ in middle of steppe. Steppe horizontal view was super photogenic. Not only falcon show and BBQ, my guide Askhat introduced me to some local museums located on the way as optional event. It was nice experience as well because I am interested in history. I am sure I will recommend his tour to my friends. Thank you.

Wonderful experience with askhat! We were a tiny bit skeptical when askhat pulled up outside our guesthouse with his associate ruslan, because the car had seen better days. But we had the BEST DAY EVER! We booked a tour combining big Almaty lake and eagle hunting. Askhat’s English is excellent and he’s a really wonderful guy. We started out the day by going to big Almaty lake- absolutely stunning and had a bit of a city tour en route, with askhat providing some social and historical commentary. Ruslan- whose ornithology knowledge extends beyond birds of prey- pointed out several species of birds. The original plan was to to go falcon hunting, but askhat sensed (correctly) that we wanted some epic (if cheesy) photos so he took us to see some eagles first. We got amazing photos in traditional dress, and it was neat to see that even the eagle handlers deferred to ruslan. We had an excellent lunch at a local place with a huge menu, and askhat filled us in on the local cuisine. Next we headed out to a village an hour away to meet ruslan’s falcons. The birds knew him by voice, and even without all the cheesy tourist trappings, it was easy to see this guy is a real -deal traditional bird trainer. I’ve never seen someone so passionate about birds! Watching him interact with them was amazing. We were able to hold the birds and watch one of them fly in the wild, tracking it with a radar device. Also the birds came with us in the car, and If road tripping through the Kazakh countryside with a couple falcons isn’t awesome, I don’t know what is! After a long day- the plan was 9-5, but we definitely did 9-7- we drove back to our guesthouse. They played a pretty sweet greatest hits of the 90s playlist the whole way, and were entertained (or politely horrified :) ) by us belting out nirvana, Britney and nsync at the top of our lungs. A great mix of awesome photo ops and authentic experiences with two really nice guys. Askhat- if you ever visit Chicago, you have a place to stay! Thank you for everything!!!

It was a great experience ! Askhat was very friendly and professional !