If you’re looking for a refreshing holiday and dread jostling with tourists, you’ll love Kazakhstan.
Marked by its dramatic landscapes and diverse multi-ethnic makeup, Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth largest country. It is also the largest landlocked country, making it “larger than all of Western Europe”, according to The Telegraph. The Central Asian nation is bordered by five countries, including Russia and China, and the inland Caspian Sea.
Visitors will be happy to know that Kazakhstan has been rolling out its ‘Tourism Industry Development Plan 2020’, which hopes to boost infrastructure and services for tourists. A visa is also not needed if you are a Singaporean visiting Kazakhstan for less than 30 days.
Can’t wait to explore what Kazakhstan has to offer? Here are five places and sights that have caught our attention:
Almaty
Almaty is Kazakhstan’s beautiful cultural and commercial hub, and its largest city. Framed by the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains, which are part of Tian Shan, the former Kazakhstan capital enjoys pristine air, picturesque lakes, accessible skiing, historical monuments and even Arbat Street, a pedestrian shopping street.
Just 28.5km from Almaty is the Big Almaty Lake, a must-see attraction if you are visiting Kazakhstan. Located in the gorge of the Bolshaya Almatinka River and lying within a national park flanked by mountains, the lake has been described as surreal as it mirrors the majestic peaks surrounding it.
Shymbulak (Chimbulak), Kazakhstan’s popular high-altitude ski resort and the host of the 2011 Asian Winter Games, is a short half-hour drive from Almaty. Skiers love Shymbulak for its “mild climate, large quantity of sunny days and great amount of snow through the winter (from November till May)”, according to Explore Almaty.
It is no wonder Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister wrote on his official website: “Almaty will become the centre of international business and ski tourism and will be positioned as a cluster ‘Entertainment in the city and in the mountains’. The main tourist products that this cluster will represent include MICE-tourism, cultural and ecological tourism, recreation in the mountains and lakes, short-term rest.”
Charyn Canyon
Closer to us than the Grand Canyon is Kazakhstan’s Charyn Canyon (Sharyn Canyon), a popular day trip from Almaty. Formed during the Paleogene, or millions of years ago, Charyn Canyon stretches 154 kilometres along the Charyn River and is ranked Trip Advisor’s “#1 of 31 things to do in Almaty Province”.
‘Valley of Castles’ is the most visited part of Charyn Canyon, “due to the pillars and rock formations forming imposing, almost man-made structures”, writes Explore Almaty. The website describes the canyon as “sheer splendour”, with the “vista of dramatic erosion made by the river Charyn below and the elements” creating “a dramatic and impressive landscape”.
Located in Charyn National Park, don’t miss nature’s spectacular red sandstone creation when you’re in Almaty. Wear good hiking shoes and have an early morning start for an ideal experience.
Lake Kaindy
Located 2,000 metres above sea level, the ethereal Lake Kaindy can be found in South Kazakhstan Province within Kolsai Lakes National Park, 129 kilometres east and southeast of Almaty city. The name of the 400-metre-long mountainous lake means “birch tree lake” or “landslide” – the lake was formed by the 1911 Kebin earthquake, which triggered a limestone landslide that blocked the gorge and flooded the forest at the foothill.
With this history, Lake Kaindy is often associated with its trunks of dead spruce jutting out of the lake’s icy waters, giving it a fairytale charm. The lake maintains a bluish-green colour, owing to its limestone deposits from the limestone landslide.
Visit Almaty suggests visiting the lake between “late spring to early autumn”, and mentions “the lake is very popular among divers, who enjoy their promenades in the underwater forests, where not many tourists can disturb their communication [with Mother Nature]. This is somewhere you will want to retreat to and spend a while, watching the reflections and ripples on the water”.
Astana
Dubbed “one of the strangest capital cities on Earth” by The Guardian, Astana looks like the set of a futuristic film. “The flashy buildings of Astana rise up implausibly from the flat plains of oil-rich Kazakhstan to form a city stuck between a Soviet past and an aspirational present.”
Astana, which means “capital city” in Kazakh, replaced Almaty as Kazakhstan’s capital from 1997. The young city was designed from scratch by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, who created the master plan. CNN has named Astana “a city in the steppes”.
Atlas Obscura recommends visiting Astana’s Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, an “iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world’s religious faiths”. Built more than a decade ago, a 1,500-seat opera house, “educational facilities” and “a national centre for Kazakhstan’s various geographical and ethnic groups” are housed therein.
Khan Shatyr, “an entertainment centre in a huge transparent tent”, is Atlas Obscura’s next recommended visit. Inside the 140,000-square-metre structure of Khan Shatyr “are a number of entertainment options, such as a park, a boating river, a minigolf course, a shopping centre and even an indoor beach resort. Regardless of the outside temperature extremes, the internal temperature is moderate year-round, varying between 15 and 30° C”.
Bayterek Tower, a “modern tower symbolising the legend of a golden egg on top of the tree of life”, is another Atlas Obscura recommended visit. It stands at 97 metres tall “to represent 1997, the year in which Astana was named the capital of Kazakhstan”. For a small fee, you can take the elevator to the top of the tower, which offers panoramic views of the new city.
Altyn Emel National Park
A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Altyn Emel National Park is Kazakhstan’s largest reserve, and a unique and breathtaking must-see.
“From ancient petroglyphs, to endangered species like the Siberian toad and Przewalski horse, to a huge sand dune famous for the singing sound it makes, Altyn Emel National Park is the perfect candidate to be included in the biosphere reserve programme. Its rich diversity of flora, fauna, geology, tourism and scientific opportunities are exactly what the program seeks to encourage,” writes Mother Nature Network.
The Singing Sand Dune, according to OrexCA, “emits a sound like an organ playing” in dry weather. The dune is 1.5 km long and 120m high.
The picturesque and colourful Aktau mountains, which have been described as “lunar mountains”, have Early Miocene flora and “remains of ancient animals… with an estimated age of 25-30 million years”, writes travel site Caravanistan.
As Altyn Emel National Park is “[about four] times the size of Hong Kong”, according to Caravanistan, it is recommended that you set aside two days for the
