Ustyurt is a huge desert and a plateau with an area of more than 200,000 kilometers located in the west of Central Asia (in Kazakhstan (Mangystau oblast), Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), between Mangyshlak and Kara-Bogaz-Gol in the west, the Aral Sea and the Amudarya delta in the east. Ustyurt National Preserve is located on this territory. The Ustyurt Plateau on Google Maps. Photos by: Vladimir Mulder.

beautiful scenery

Tags: Mangystau oblast

Karaganda is a city with a population of about half a million people, the capital of the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan.

Today, it is one of the largest industrial, economic, scientific, and cultural centers of the country. Let’s see how the center of Karaganda looks like in the evening. Photos by: Alexandr Kuznetsov.

Karaganda in the evening

Tags: Karaganda city

The picturesque Butakovskoe gorge, located at an altitude of 1,700-2,900 meters above sea level in the mountains of Zailiysky Alatau, within the limits of Almaty, is a great place for hiking.

The total length of the gorge is 14 km. At the bottom of the gorge the Butakovka River flows, which is the right tributary of the Malaya Almatinka River. Butakovskoe gorge on Google Maps. Photos by: A. Gornostayeva and Ilya Gornostayev.

explore the gorge

Tags: Almaty city

Bektau-Ata is a rock massif located 70 kilometers to the north of the town of Balkhash in the Karaganda region. This mountain area with an approximate height of 1,200 meters above sea level is known for numerous bizarre rocks, caves and small lakes.

Located in the middle of the Kazakh steppe, Bektau-Ata has its own unique flora. These photos were taken while climbing one of the peaks of Bektau-Ata – Mount Pik (1,214 meters). Bektau-Ata on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Kuznetsov.

climb the mountain

Tags: Karaganda oblast

The so-called “singing barkhan”, consisting of sand of light tones, has a length of up to 3 km and a height of 150 m. It is located in the Altyn-Emel National Park in the Almaty region, 182 km north-east of Almaty.

This monument of nature is famous for the fact that in dry weather the sands emit sounds similar to the melody of the organ. Singing Barkhan on Google Maps. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

legendary place

Tags: Almaty oblast

Boszhira mountain range is located in the western part of the Ustyurt Plateau on the Mangyshlak Peninsula in the Mangistau region.

The mountains occupy a huge area, it takes more than one day to visit all the places. The journey through Bozhira usually consists of two parts: foot and road trips.

amazing chalky kingdom

Tags: Mangystau oblast

The Medeu is a high-mountain sports complex located near Almaty, the “southern capital” of Kazakhstan, at an altitude of 1,691 meters above sea level, just below the mountain resort Shymbulak (Chimbulak).

It is the world’s largest mountain complex for winter sports with the largest area of ​​artificial ice field – 10,500 square meters. Photos by: A.Gornostayeva.

one of the main sights of Almaty

Tags: Almaty city

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

Chilik (Shelek) is one of the largest and longest rivers of the Northern Tien Shan separating the mountain ranges of Ile Alatau and Kungey Alatau.

This river is located in the Almaty region, in the vicinity of the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border. Recently Shelek has become a popular destination for adventure tourism. Photos by: Grigory Bedenko.

fly over the river

Tags: Almaty oblast

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