The Top 10 of Kazakhstan – Very nice!

Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world and has a rich diversity culture and a awesome untouched nature. It’s really Very Nice!

So let’s have a look on the beauty of the country. Info Shymkent will take you on a photo tour from the West to the East and show you the best 10 most seen places of Kazakhstan.

1. Ustyurt Nature Reserve

The Ustyurt plateau in Mangystau region in Western Kazakhstan is the Monument Valley of Central Asia’s biggest country. You will find beautiful shaped table mountains (Mesas). One of the famous ones is called Sherkala and looks like a a huge Kazakh Yurt.

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2. Cosmodrome Baikonur

The oldest spaceport of the world is in Kazakstan. In Cosmodrome Baikonur the first satellite (Sputnik 1), the first animal (dog Laika), the first human (Yuri Gagarin) was launched into space. If you have a luck you can see a rocket launch. Feeling the shaking ground, the roaring sound of the rocket engines and the heat is a lifetime experience!

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3. Turkistan and ghost towns

Turkistan is the jewel at Kazakhstan’s silkway. The Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum with it’s huge cyan blue dome is on UNESCO’s world heritage list. Around Turkistan you can visit some very old ghost cities of the old silkway: Otrar (Farab) to the west and Sauran to the north.

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4. Shymkent

Kazakhstan’s third largest city Shymkent is a vibrant and colorful city at the new and old silkway. It’s worth to visit the old and reconstructed citadel, the beautiful parks like Ken Baba and Independence Park and try delicious local meals (Plov, Samsa, Manti, Nansalma, Laghman, …) in the restaurants. The city in South Kazakhstan has a huge heritage with the 4000 years old suburb Sairam and their small but fabulous mausoleums.

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5. Aksu-Zhabagly and Aksu Canyon

The Aksu-Zhabagly is the oldest national reserve in Central Asia. During a horse ride through the Western Tian Shan Mountains you can find Petroglyphs, Eagles, butterflies and with luck also wulves and brown bears. In the national reserve starts the canyon of the Aksu river. The Aksu Canyon is one of the biggest and deepest canyons of Kazakhstan.

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6. Nur-Sultan

Nur-Sultan (well known also as Astana) is with its modern architecture and skyscrapers the Dubai of Central Asia and since 1998 Kazakhstan’s capital. It was host of the world exhibition Expo 2017 and is called the City of Peace by UNESCO since 1999. Walking through the new city feels like a walk through the future – but if you want to see the old city you just have to cross the Ishim river.

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7. Burabay

The Burabay National Park near the capital Nur-Sultan is famous for it’s surreal stone hills. The hills look like huge tents and located around four beautiful dark blue lakes and evergreen forests. The National Park is like a oasis in the treeless landscape of northern Kazakhstan.

8. Almaty

Almaty is second largest city and former capital of Kazakhstan. You can find very much old soviet architecture like the famous Kazakhstan Hotel and you can visit the beautiful wooden Zenkov’s Cathedral. Travelling around the town is easy – the new metro can bring you from the Green Bazar with delicious spices, sweets and Kazakh meals to Baikonur station to watch the sunset over the snow-capped Ile-Alatau Mountains.

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9. Sharyn Canyon

The Sharyn Canyon in the southeast of Kazakhstan looks like the small brother of the Grand Canyon in the USA. It’s worth to walk down the Valley of Castles to fresh and cold Sharyn river. If you have time you can spent a night in a Yurt there and watch the beautiful starry night – and follow the river to it’s also unique upper course the next day.

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10. Kaindy Lake and Kolsai Lakes

You can find three beautiful lakes in the Kolsai Lakes National Park. There are the Upper & Lower Kolsai Lake where you can go on a boat or hiking adventure and the famous Kaindy Lake. The Kaindy Lake is a crystal blue lake with old trees – created by an earthquake. If you are strong – you can try to dive or swim in the ice cold lake. The view under water with these trees is incredible!

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We hope we could impress you with the beauty and diversity of the country. If you are foreigner or inhabitant – we can recommend you to discover the beautiful Kazakhstan.

You will not be disappointed! — It will be Very Nice!

The picture in the head of the article shows snow-capped mountains of the Western Tian Shan Mountains and the Sairam Su Upper Lake in the Sairam-Su National Park close to Shymkent. The picture was taken by Erzhigit Zhumadilov.

Read more articles about Kazakhstan’s Nature:

• Mathematical solutions for composition & light: Photographer Farhat Kabdykairov
• Up in the air with cinematographer Nursultan Baikenov
• Kazakhstan through the eyes of Yerbolat Shadrakhov
• South Kazakhstan Photo Gallery

Read more about the country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazakhstan