Markakolsky State Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located in the East Kazakhstan region, near Lake Markakol. The reserve was established August 4, 1976; the total area is about 103 thousand hectares.

The reserve protects natural complexes of grasslands, steppes, larch taiga, mountain coniferous forests, subalpine and alpine meadows and rocky tundra on the mountain slopes of the southern Altai region around Lake Markakol (Lake Markakol on Google Maps). Photos by Ilia Afanasieff

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Tags: East Kazakhstan oblast

Dear visitors of our blog about Kazakhstan! We wish you Happy New Year and good luck in all your endeavors in 2013!

Tags: Happy New Year

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

In a picturesque place on the shore of Markakol Lake at the east of Kazakhstan (Kurchum district of East Kazakhstan region) there is a small village Urunhayka.

It is not so easy to get to this distant village. The only way is to drive on the mountain Old-Austrian road built by prisoners a hundred years ago. This is one of the most interesting and picturesque parts of Kazakhstan Altai. Photos by voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: East Kazakhstan oblast

In Akmola region, approximately 15 kilometers from Kokshetau, there is unique gold deposit “Altyntau Kokshetau”. The depth of the pit is 135 meters, surface area – 1210 thousand square meters. In the mid-2000s the company received an investment of about $ 700 million. For the past two years it produced 11.5 tons of gold.

Current productivity of the deposit is about 6 million tons of ore per year (8 million tons at full capacity). One ton of ore contains about 2 grams of gold. Thus, in future it will produce about 15 tons of gold a year. Photos by voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: Akmola oblast · gold

Bektau-Ata is one of the most beautiful places in Kazakhstan and at the same time, this place remains obscure and little-known.

This is a mountainous area about 5-7 km radius located in the middle of the Kazakh steppe about 70 kilometers north of the town of Balkhash, and in close proximity to the Astana-Almaty (M36) highway (Google Maps location).

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Tags: Karaganda oblast

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

In late August, large wildfire occurred in the Ile-Alatau National Park located near Almaty in the close proximity to the “Medeo” sports complex. The flames swept over twenty hectares of mountain slopes.

Large wildfire in the natural park was predicted a year ago – then the environmentalists, the rescuers and the authorities were deciding what to do with the trees felled by storm.

Recently, the works to dispose dead trees were carried out in these places but unfortunately not all the fallen trees were removed. Photos by Grigoriy Bedenko.

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Tags: Almaty oblast · fire

July 6, 2012 the largest mosque in Kazakhstan and Central Asia “Hazrat Sultan” was opened in the capital city of the country Astana.

The building is constructed in the classic Islamic style using traditional Kazakh ornaments. The mosque standing on the right bank of the Yesil River is located near the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, and a monument “Kazakh Eli”. Photos by voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: Astana city · mosques

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