Shalkude or Chelkudinskaya Valley is a beautiful mountain valley stretching for more than 100 km at an altitude of about 2,500 meters above sea level.

The valley of the Shalkudysu River, also known as Kegenskaya, is the most extensive valley in the Kazakh part of the Tien Shan. The Shalkodysu River gives rise to one of the largest waterways of the Almaty region – the Charyn River. Photos by: E.W.Shestakowa.

summer in the valley

Tags: Almaty oblast

The Ili River is the largest and one of the longest rivers in Central Asia (1,430 km). The river originates in the Chinese part of the Tien Shan and flows into Lake Balkhash located in southeastern Kazakhstan.

The delta of the river is known for its unique microclimate. Here you can find some relict plant species. Autumn in the delta of the Ili River is very picturesque. Photos by: Grigory Bedenko.

fly over the Ili River

Tags: Almaty oblast

Nursultan Peak (until 1935 – Malyy Almaty, until 1998 – Komsomol) is a mountain peak (4,330 meters) located on the northern slopes of the Tien Shan mountain range.

This is one of the most popular peaks located near Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan. It was named after the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. Photos by: Anna Gornostayeva.

go hiking in the mountains

Tags: Almaty oblast

In the past few days, Almaty experienced an unprecedented snowfall. Snow depth reached 32 centimeters, in the foothills – 60 cm (normal level – no more than 15-20 cm).

The snow removal involves all municipal and emergency services of the city, thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles. You can see how it looks through the following photo report made by the photographer Timur Batyrshin for voxpopuli.kz

Almaty covered with snow

Tags: Almaty city

Kazakhstan, known as the land of steppes, has in reality a quite diverse nature that also includes deserts, semi-deserts, mountains, forest-steppes, etc.

The border of the country passes through the natural landscapes of the Caspian Sea, the Volga steppe, the southern foothills of the Ural Mountains, the West Siberian Plain, the Altai Mountains, the Tian Shan Mountains. Photos by: Alexandr Kuznetsov.

beautiful scenery

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You can see the following stunning views while climbing Molodezhnyy (Youth) Peak (4,147 m) in the Ile Alatau (Trans-Ili Alatau) – a mountain range located in the northwest of the Tien Shan, on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan, is located in the northern foothills of this mountain system. The famous sports complex Medeo, the observatory of Assy-Turgen and the alpine ski resort Shimbulak can also be found here. Molodezhnyy Peak on Google Maps. Photos by: Olga Kulakova.

let’s go hiking in the mountains

Tags: Almaty oblast

The so-called “Singing dune”, a popular tourist sight of Kazakhstan, is located in the national park Altyn Emel, 182 km north-east of Almaty.

The dune is composed of light-colored sand and has a length of about 3 km and a height of 150 m. In dry weather sands emit a sound similar to an organ melody. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

amazing natural wonder

Tags: Almaty oblast

Big Almaty Lake is a mountain reservoir located in the Trans-Ili Alatau at an altitude of 2,511 meters above sea level, 15 km south from the center of Almaty.

The lake, which is part of the Ile-Alatau National Park, as well as the vast majority of lakes in the Tien Shan mountains, appeared as a result of earthquakes.

very scenic lake

Tags: Almaty oblast

In 1998, Kazakhstan’s Supreme Council adopted a resolution on the transfer of the capital from Almaty to Astana.

After that, the city experienced unprecedented growth, a lot of modern architectural and urban planning projects completely changed the look of Astana. The population increased from 270 thousand people in 1996 to 1 million in July 2016.

the beauty of Astana

Tags: Astana city

Aktau Mountains, located in Altyn Emel National Park in the south-east of Kazakhstan in the Almaty region, is a unique natural monument.

These colorful chalky hills, formed from bluish-gray sandstone and red clay, interspersed with yellow and pink cornelian, jasper and white quartz, reminiscent of a layer cake. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

amazing mountains

Tags: Almaty oblast