Saryesik-Atyrau is a sandy desert located in Almaty region, to the south of Lake Balkhash, between the Ili and Karatal rivers.

The climate in the desert is sharply continental. Summer temperature can reach plus 40 degrees Celsius, in winter, the temperature can drop to minus 40.

snow-covered wilderness

Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

What could be better than a night in the mountains! Especially when the sky is pierced by falling meteors (the meteor shower of Ursids in this case). This beautiful photo was taken in the mountains of Almaty region by Vitaliy Rage.

Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

Altyn-Emel is a state national natural park located in the valley of the Ili River on the territory of Almaty region.

The park was established on April 10, 1996. Among the main purposes of the park are the preservation of the unique natural complex, archaeological, historical and cultural monuments, rare and endangered species of plants and animals, the development of eco-tourism.

take a walk in the realm of clay

Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

The TV Tower “Koktobe”, located to the southeast of Almaty city center, was built in 1975-1983. It is the second highest free-standing building in Kazakhstan (371.5 meters), the 12th highest TV tower in the world.

Unfortunately, the air in Almaty is rarely clear. In winter, the smog is often accompanied by haze and fog. These photos were taken by Vyacheslav Firsov from the top of the TV tower when the smog slightly lifted. Let’s take a view of the southern capital of Kazakhstan from its highest point!

unique views of Almaty

Tags: Almaty city

Lake Tuzkol, located in the south-east of Almaty region, is the saltiest mountain lake in Kazakhstan. It is a large lake – the length is 5 km, the width in some places is up to 1 km.

The salinity of the water varies by season and can reach values ​​comparable with the water salinity of the Dead Sea in Israel or the Great Salt Lake in the United States.

amazing nature views

Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

The second part of photos taken by landscape photographer David Köster during his visit to Kazakhstan in 2014.

David Köster is a travel and landscape photographer based in Germany. In his work he combines haunting perspectives with an atmospheric imagery. For his artistic photographs he has been awarded with several international prizes.

Granite basin in Bektau Ata

Kazakhstan fall

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This wonderful Orthodox church located in Almaty, in Karasu district (Vysokovoltnaya Street, 37-b) was finished just several years ago, in 2011.

The Church in Honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in the Byzantine style, the height of the church is 33 meters. The photos were taken by Sergey Terekhov.

beautiful church

Tags: Almaty city

The underground mosque of Shakpak Ata is a unique place, one of the most impressive monuments of Mangystau, the peninsula located on the east coast of the Caspian Sea (Mangystau region).

This mosque is one of the most ancient monuments of Islamic architecture. Also, it has some links with cave temples of ancient religions: Zoroastrianism (fire worship), Hinduism, Buddhism and early Christianity. The photos were taken by Denis Frantsouzov.

unique mosque

Tags: Mangystau oblast

Kazakhstan has a great variety of unique places attracting people from all over the world. You can enjoy amazing landscapes and take a lot of beautiful pictures.

For example, landscape photographer David Köster visited Kazakhstan for the first time in 2014. He was looking for spectacular, but not too mainstream nature locations and he was overwhelmed by the natural beauty of Kazakhstan. Let’s look at a small selection of his pictures captured during the trip.

Tuzkoel Salt Lake

autumn in Kazakhstan

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Kazakhstan continues to amaze us with its unique scenery. Of course, a lot depends on the photographer’s skill too. But when these two things come together, the result is simply stunning.

Just look at this fantastic unearthly picture taken by Sergey Terekhov. He called it “The Marsh of Space Explorers”.

Tags: landscapes