Mountainous region called Dzungaria is located in the south-east of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Almaty province). Korinskoye gorge is called one of the most beautiful places in this area.

The valley is known for its stunning views and beautiful waterfall called Burhan-Bulak (three cascades with total height of 112 meters) – one of the places of eco-tourism in Kazakhstan.

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Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

Kazakhstan is a vast country with a wide variety of landscapes, natural, historical, and cultural monuments. Unfortunately a great tourist potential of the country is still not fully used.

Foreign tourists are reluctant to going to Kazakhstan; even local people often prefer to travel to other countries and don’t visit Kazakhstan sights. This is largely due to poor infrastructure, complicated visa procedures, lack of information about unique reserved places, monuments of history and culture.

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Tags: Kazakhstan tourism · landscapes

Picturesque Ushkonyr plateau is located about 45 km west of Almaty. The average height above sea level is about 2000 meters. Ushkonyr is one of the main hang-gliding places near Almaty.

There is a gravel road leading to the plateau. Soon it will become paved. The entrance to Ushkonyr is not free (the fee is 2000 tenge or about 15 USD per each car), because the land is privately owned. And here is the map location of Ushkonyr plateau. Photos by Aidar Ayazbayev

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Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

Kazakhstan is usually associated with the endless steppes and semi-deserts but the south-eastern part of the country is bordered by Tien-Shan mountain range.

This region is known for its breathtaking landscapes, beautiful flora and fauna. Photos by Gregory Bedenko

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Tags: landscapes · Southern Kazakhstan

Taban-Karagai is an area of summer pastures, located south of the Assy plateau in Almaty region of Kazakhstan.

This area has majestic nature with almost no traces of human presence. The pastures are at altitude over 2,000 meters above sea level. Due to the fact that it rains here almost every day, the meadows are covered with succulent grasses. Photos by Constantine Kikvidze

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Tags: Almaty oblast · horses · landscapes

Bektau-Ata is a picturesque mountainous area, located in the middle of the Kazakhstan steppe, about 70 kilometers north of the town of Balkhash (Karaganda region).

The area has a radius of about 5-7 km, and its flora is very different from the surrounding steppe. Photos by Ilia Afanasieff

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Tags: Balkhash city · Karaganda oblast · landscapes

Southern Kazakhstan is an economic-geographical region in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the most populated region of the country (about 6 million people on the territory of 711,500 sq. km.). The major cities of Kazakhstan – Almaty and Shymkent – are located here.

Landscapes of the southern region of the country are a combination of dry, rather cold in winter and hot in summer sparsely populated steppes and deserts, high snow-capped mountains. Special natural areas appeared along the banks of rivers and large lakes: Lake Balkhash and the Aral Sea. Photos by Gregory Bedenko

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Tags: landscapes · Southern Kazakhstan

Zhambyl region located in southern Kazakhstan is named after Kazakh poet Zhambyl Dzhabayev (1846-1945).

The southern part of the region includes the northern slopes of Kyrgyz and Karatau mountains and, in their foothills, a narrow strip of fertile irrigated land. The center of the oblast is the sandy Muyun-Kum Desert, which is separated by Chu River from the clay desert of Betpak-Dala in the northern part of the region.

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Tags: landscapes · Zhambyl oblast

Kazakhstan is known for incredible diversity of natural landscapes that can be found on its vast territory.

The following beautiful photos were taken during trips to Karaganda and East Kazakhstan regions of the country at different times of the year by photographer Constantine Kikvidze for voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: East Kazakhstan oblast · Karaganda oblast · landscapes

Several landscape zones (forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert, and desert) can be found on the territory of over 1,800 kilometers separating the southern and the northern borders of Kazakhstan.

In the west, the territory of Kazakhstan is bordered by the Caspian Sea, in the east – by the taiga of Altai, in the south – by the highest peaks of Tien Shan Mountains. The western part of Kazakhstan is almost entirely flat, and the eastern – mostly mountainous.

More than six thousand species of plants grow on the territory of Kazakhstan. About 500 species of birds, 178 species of mammals, 49 species of reptiles, 12 species of amphibians, 107 species of fish are living on the vast territory of the country.

Tags: landscapes