Taldykorgan is a city located in the Almaty region having the status of the regional center. It is the center of Semirechye (“seven rivers”) area. The distance from Taldykorgan to Almaty is 271 km.

The city stands on the Karatal River, at the foothills of the Jungar Alatau, at an altitude of 602 meters above sea level. “Taldykorgan” means “a hill surrounded by willows.” The city’s population is about 138,000 people. Photos by: Rinna Lee for voxpopuli.kz

explore Taldykorgan

Tags: Taldykorgan city

The tract of Boszhira, a mountain range located in the center of the Mangystau region, occupies a large area. It takes more than one day to explore this place.

This area is known for its amazing unearthly landscape in white chalk tones. Boszhira is little known and difficult to access for tourists. Travel to Boszhira usually consists of two parts: hiking and road trips.

amazing place

Tags: Mangystau oblast

Trans-Ili Alatau or Ile Alatau is a mountain system located in the northwest of the Tien Shan (on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan). It is the most northern mountain range of the Tien Shan.

These mountains are rich with numerous glaciers and lakes that increase the risk of mudflows creating a hazard to the settlements located at the foot of the mountains, including the city of Almaty. That’s why regular monitoring of Trans-Ili Alatau is conducted from the air. Photos by: Grigoriy Bedenko.

fly over Trans-Ili Alatau

Tags: Almaty oblast

In the north-west of the Ustyurt National Preserve, in the middle of the steppe, there is a small Senek desert, named after Senek village located nearby.

It is quite a remarkable place and definitely worth seeing, if you are traveling through the Mangystau region by car. Senek desert on Google Maps. Photos by: Denis Frantsouzov.

sandy landscapes

Tags: landscapes · Mangystau oblast

This fall, Ust-Kamenogorsk (Oskemen), a city with a population over 300 thousand people and the capital of East Kazakhstan region, celebrated its 295th anniversary.

In honor of this event, the following video about the beauty of the city was made.

Tags: time-lapse · Ust-Kamenogorsk city

Paul Gibbons and his wife recently spent just under two weeks travelling around Kazakhstan as part of their honeymoon. They had an incredible time and were blown away by the scenery, vastness, changes and more than anything the people. The hospitality was incredible everywhere they went whilst everyone they spoke to was very proud of their country.

As a result they have made the following video about their time in the country. They visited the incredibly blue Big Lake Almaty, the futuristic Astana, the haunting former gulag of ALZHIR, the hospitable Shymkent and historical Turkistan. Welcome to Kazakhstan!

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Aktolagay is a mountain ridge composed of limestone. The length of the ridge is 90 km, the width – 5-10 km. It is located on the territory of Bayganinsky district of the Aktobe region.

The unique landscape of Aktolagay, formed in the Jurassic period, is fascinating. Aktolagay mountain range on Google Maps. Photos by: Ilia Afanasieff.

the land of white cliffs

Tags: Aktobe oblast

Besshatyr royal mounds are the main attraction of the national park “Altyn-Emel”, located in the Kerbulak district of the Almaty region. This necropolis is considered to be the sacred place of ancient Saks, who lived on the territory of Kazakhstan in the first millennium BC.

Here, on an area of two square kilometers, you can find 18 royal burial mounds with diameters from 8 to 70 meters and heights of 2 to 20 meters. The place name “Besshatyr” is translated as “five tents” probably because of the number of the largest burial mounds in the area. Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

explore the ancient mounds

Tags: Almaty oblast

Stunningly beautiful Charyn Canyon stretches for 154 km along the Charyn River, 195 km east of Almaty, near the border with China.

People living in Kazakhstan are very proud of this place. They say that it is no worse than the famous Grand Canyon in the US.

Charyn Canyon – a true natural wonder

Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

Boszhira Tract is located in the western part of the Ustyurt Plateau, on the Mangyshlak Peninsula in the Mangistau region. Nature has given full freedom to its imagination here. You can see a unique landscape of unearthly white chalk colors.

The tract covers a huge area. In order to explore it, you will need more than one day. This place is little known and difficult to access for tourists.

amazing landscapes

Tags: landscapes · Mangystau oblast