The chalk mountains of Akzhar are one of the brightest, in the truest sense of the word, natural attractions of the endless expanses of Saryarka (Kazakh Upland) – an ancient, heavily eroded mountainous region in the central part of Kazakhstan.

The highest mountains are located in the east of Saryarka and the red-yellow Akzhar mountains can be found in the extreme southwest, on the border of the Karagandy and Kostanay regions. Akzhar Mountains on Google Maps. Photos by: Evgeniy Drobotenko.

amazing scenery

Tags: Karaganda oblast · Kostanay oblast

Lake Kaindy is located in the south-east of Kazakhstan in one of the gorges of the Kungey-Alatau mountain system at an altitude of 1,667 meters above sea level. The lake was formed as a result of the powerful Kemin earthquake in 1911.

The main feature of this unique natural reservoir is the trunks of the Tien Shan spruces, which protrude directly from the water. Before the earthquake, there was a spruce forest in the gorge. Scientists say that these trunks are about 150-200 years old. The wood is practically petrified and does not decompose.

amazing natural monument

Tags: Almaty oblast

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 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

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

The Fayzulins family houses are located in the microdistrict of Podgora from where the city of Petropavl originates. The terrain here has a large slope.

The head of the family, Anvar Galimovich Fayzulin, explains how he came up with such an unusual idea – to build castles literally in the air. He says: “I just did not want to live in a garbage dump.” Photos by: Vitaly Rezunov for voxpopuli.kz

beautiful miniature castles

Tags: North Kazakhstan oblast · Petropavl city

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

The Valley of Balls is one of the most interesting and unusual sights of Mangystau Oblast and Western Kazakhstan. Stones of almost perfect spherical shape are scattered along the plateau and its slopes. The height of some stones reaches 1.5 meters or more.

The origin of these stone spheres is still not clear. Their shapes are gradually changing and the landscape becomes more and more mysterious. The Valley of Balls on Google Maps. Photos by: Roman Smirnov.

unique geological formations

Tags: Aktau city · Mangystau oblast