Urochishche Boszhira is one of the most beautiful places in Kazakhstan. It is a whole range of rock formations of various sizes and shapes located at the bottom of a huge canyon in the western part of the Ustyurt plateau on the Mangyshlak peninsula in Mangystau Oblast of southwestern Kazakhstan.

Boszhira is huge. It will take more than one day to explore it. The weather in Mangyshlak is harsh and unpredictable. The best time to travel to Boszhira is summer. From autumn to mid-spring it often rains here washing out already bad roads. Boszhira on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexey Zhirukhin.

magnificent landscapes

Tags: Aktau city · Mangystau oblast

The Asy Plateau is located in the south of Almaty Oblast at an altitude of about 2,200-2,750 meters above sea level. In the distant past, it was a place through which the routes of caravans from Europe and Central Asia to China and India ran.

The Asy-Turgen observatory can be found at the western end of the plateau. Today, this place is used as a summer pasture and attracts tourists. The Asy Plateau on Google Maps. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

amazing views

Tags: Almaty oblast

The Katon-Karagay district occupies the north-eastern part of the territory of East Kazakhstan Oblast. It is the easternmost part of the country bordering China and Russia.

The Katon-Karagay State National Natural Park located here is the largest national park in Kazakhstan and is included in the UNESCO list of specially protected heritage. This territory is remote, inaccessible, and very picturesque. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

amazing scenery

Tags: East Kazakhstan oblast

Bayanaul State National Natural Park is located in the south of Pavlodar Oblast of Kazakhstan, about 100 km from the city of Ekibastuz. It is one of the specially protected natural areas of the country.

The park was founded in 1985 and became the first national park in Kazakhstan. It was done to preserve and restore the flora and fauna of the Bayanaul mountain range. The total area of ​​the park is 684 square km. Bayanaul National Park on Google Maps. Photos by: Vasily Kosivtsov.

beautiful winter landscapes

Tags: Pavlodar oblast

The vast territory south of Lake Balkhash is called Semirechye (“the region of seven rivers”) because of seven large rivers that flow into Balkhash, one of the largest lakes in Central Asia.

The soils in this region are mostly desert and rich in various minerals. In spring, numerous lakes are formed on the salt marshes, which are of a seasonal nature; by the end of summer they dry up. As a result, minerals form very bizarre patterns on the surface of these formations. Photos by: Grigory Bedenko.

amazing unearthly landscapes

Tags: Almaty oblast

The Tekes is a 438 km long river, of which about 100 km flows through the territory of Kazakhstan, including 40 km inside the territory of Kazakhstan and about 60 km along the border of Kazakhstan and China.

The river originates on the northern slope of the Terskey Alatau Range. In Kazakhstan, the river flows mainly in a picturesque wide intermountain valley, which separates the Eastern Tien Shan from the Ketmen Ridge. This is one of the most beautiful places in Almaty Oblast, which, however, is little known to tourists. The Tekes River on Google Maps. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

picturesque river valley

Tags: Almaty oblast

Karkaraly State National Natural Park is an amazing natural attraction located in Karaganda Oblast, about 220 km southeast of the city of Karaganda. It is one of the specially protected natural areas of Kazakhstan.

The nature conservation value of this region in Central Kazakhstan is due to its unique landscape diversity. There are several hiking trails that pass through the main sights of the park. Karkaraly National Park on Google Maps. Photos by: Evgeniy Drobotenko.

beautiful natural scenery

Tags: Karaganda oblast

Trans-Ili Alatau is a mountain range located in the northwest of the Tien Shan mountain system, on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The city of Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan, is located in its northern foothills, as well as the famous Medeo sports complex, Assy-Turgen Observatory, and the alpine ski resort Chimbulak.

The name “Trans-Ili Alatau” was adopted in 1865, when the famous traveler and geographer P.P. Semenov stopped at the crossing of the Ili River and saw a grand ridge that stretched behind the river. Trans-Ili Alatau on Google Maps. Photos by: Grigory Bedenko.

picturesque mountain scenery

Tags: Almaty oblast

Cape Dzhigalgan (“collapsed land” in the Kazakh language) is the main attraction of the Tub-Karagan peninsula located on the Mangyshlak peninsula on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea in the west of the Mangystau region.

This is a mountain range with a giant hollow of almost perfect round shape littered with numerous rocks. Some boulders reach the size of a small village house. The rocks are scattered so chaotically that there is a feeling that the collapse has occurred recently. Cape Dzhigalgan on Google Maps. Photos by: Roman Smirnov.

very picturesque place

Tags: Aktau city · Mangystau oblast

Asy (Assy), a mountain plateau located at an altitude of 2,560 meters above sea level about 100 kilometers east of Almaty, is one of the largest intermountain valleys of the Northern Tien Shan. The length of the plateau is more than 20 km, the width – up to 15 km.

In summer, this area is used as a huge pasture. The best time to visit the plateau is the end of May – the beginning of June, when numerous herbs bloom here. Asy Plateau on Google Maps. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

amazing place

Tags: Almaty oblast