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

On the City Day, a new fountain was opened in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. Local residents call it “Ust-Kamenogorsk miracle.” The right to open the fountain was given to the People’s Artist of Kazakhstan – Ayman Musakhodzhayeva.

Three light and music fountains (20×40 meters each) constitute a single orchestra, where jets of water “dance” to the music, and below you can see backlight that changes colors. The maximum height of the jet at the peak of the music reaches forty meters. In the daytime, fountains work as usual. The light show starts at 20.00 local time.

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Bayanaul State National Park is a national park located in the south of the Pavlodar region, 100 km from Ekibastuz city.

This reserve is one of the specially protected natural territories of Kazakhstan. The park, founded in 1985, is the first national park in the country. The total area of ​​the park is 68,453 hectares.

lovely rocky landscape

Tags: landscapes · Pavlodar oblast

You can see these amazing colorful landscapes, if you visit the tract of Atzhal and the Aybyrzhal Mountains located in the area of the Tekes River in Terskey Alatau Mountains, near the border with China (the Almaty region). Photos by: Sergey Terekhov.

gorgeous place

Tags: Almaty oblast · landscapes

December 10, 1997, Astana received the status of the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. After this, the city experienced an unprecedented in the countries of the former USSR rapid growth. A lot of modern architectural and urban planning projects came to life here.

The population increased from 270 thousand people in 1996 to 853 thousand in 2015. The territory of the city greatly expanded to an area of ​​over 700 square km because of the construction of a new administrative and business center and other neighborhoods nearby. Photos by: Ilia Afanasieff.

summer in Astana

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If you decide to climb Titov Peak (3,850 m) in the Trans-Ili Alatau (Almaty region), you will see this amazing mountain scenery.

Trans-Ili Alatau mountain range is located in the northwest of the Tien Shan, on the border of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Titov Peak on Google Maps. Photos by: Olga Kulakova.

into the mountains

Tags: Almaty oblast