The most beautiful places of Kazakhstan: nature, sights. Traveling in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan almost consists of attractions, a real open-air museum. It is difficult to find a city in this state that does not have its rich history, its special memorable places. Lakes, rivers, fields, canyons with their fabulous unreal world are the most beautiful places of Kazakhstan, where you want to visit, traveling in this amazing country.

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The territory that Kazakhstan occupies is located inside the continent, that is, there is no outlet to the waters of the World Ocean. But there are intracontinental seas: Aral and Caspian. By area, it is on the 9th place in the world. On a vast territory of 2 million 724 thousand square meters. Km live only 17 million people. Unsettled areas include steppes, mountains and deserts. It is here, on a territory unoccupied by people, nature appears before travelers in its primeval beauty. Forests cover the mountains of the northern Tien Shan and Altai. Rivers with cold glacial water rush through canyons and canyons. Herds of horses graze on high mountain meadows.

Steppes and hills

One of the attractions of Kazakhstan can be attributed to the ancient Great Steppe - a unique natural complex. With the onset of spring it, like the artist's canvas, is colored with many colors, bright carpets of various colors, and in autumn the air is filled with the aroma of herbs. Steppe landscapes do not look like other kinds of nature. And it is possible that urban residents, accustomed to the stone labyrinths of skyscrapers, may not appreciate the steppe, it may seem boring to them. However, those who were born and grew up here consider the steppe one of the most beautiful places in Kazakhstan.

The strip of yellow steppes and hills - Sary-Arka - occupies the central part of the country. The Turgai plateau is to the west of the hills. From the Ural mountains in the west to the Altai and Tarbagatai in the east lay the territory of Kazakhstan. The climate is influenced by the country's location inside the continent. That is, it is mostly continental. In the desert and in the mountains, the weather changes frequently. Day of heat, and at night the north wind blows, bringing with itself cold masses of air.

Zailiyskiy Alatau

In the mountain system of the Tien Shan there is a beautiful pearl. This is the Trans-Ili Alatau. Its mountain range runs along the border of Kazakhstan with Kyrgyzstan. The difference in altitude is 4000-4600 meters. The highest point of Alatau with a varying peak altitude is the Talgar peak (4973-5017 m). The southern side of Alatau is precipitous. The north is sloping, with many small lakes at the foot. The larger ones include the Issyk Lake and the Big Almaty Lake.

By the way, the name of the mountain ridge - Zailiyskiy Alatau - comes from the word "Zailiyskoye", that is, beyond the Ili River, and "alatau" in Kazakh means "motley mountains". Now it is clear why the names of many mountain ranges have this word. And receive this prefix those ridges that are not covered with snow and not rocky. They are colored with scarlet poppies and emerald grass, field tulips and green firs. And if you look at the sky above the mountains with its unnatural blue, it becomes clear: there is no such thing either in the steppe or on the plain.

High-mountain meadows - summer pastures - are at an altitude of 3000 meters. The foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau, called "counters", have a width of up to 10-15 km at an altitude of 1500 m. Its northern basement has the form of an inclined plain where Almaty is located. The city has long been the capital of Kazakhstan. There is also a sports complex "Medeo", built in 1972 in the gorge with the same name, 15 km from Almaty.

Above the sports complex there is a mud protection dam and the ski base "Chimbulak". The mud dam was built to protect the sports complex from a terrible phenomenon - mudflow. The whole point is that gorges are leaving the city, along which rivers flow. Their origin they take in mountain lakes. While the seismological situation is normal, there is no abnormal melting of glaciers, the water in the lakes is not overcrowded. In case something is disturbed in nature, water from lakes full of water rushes down the rivers, involving stones, boulders, and clay in their movement. Thus a mudflow is formed .

If you climb the stairs to the dam, from a bird's eye view you can see the surroundings adjacent to the sports complex. The autumn season is especially beautiful here.

Charyn Canyon

One of the amazingly fabulous places is to the east of Almaty - Charyn Canyon, named after the Charyn River. The length of the Charyn canyon is 154 kilometers. By its beauty it can be compared with the Grand Canyon of Colorado. On the natural "architecture" you need to look not through the camera lens, but with your own eyes. No photo will convey that wonderful world of arches and columns of freakish shape, sandstone sculptures reaching 150-300 meters in height. The names they invented fabulous, such as the Witch Gorge or the Valley of Castles.

It affects the biodiversity of the landscape. Ornithologists noted the fact that over a hundred species of birds make their nests in the canyon. We practically do not exhaust the flow of travelers and groups of ecotourists formed in Almaty. Charyn Canyon is also a place for hikers.

Ruler of Heaven

For many professional tourists, the goal is to conquer the Khan-Tengri peak, this majestic peak, the "ruler of heaven", translated from the Kazakh language. Rare peaks are comparable with it in beauty. It is located in the Issyk-Kul region of Kazakhstan. Since 1912 the peak region was surveyed by topographic expeditions. There were unsuccessful attempts to climb. By 1964, there were two ways of ascent, now there are nine. To climb to the top, you need special training and years of training. Many climbers died, making an ascent to the Khan-Tengri peak. Despite the large number of deaths, for those who come to conquer the peaks - "better than mountains, there can be only mountains that have not been visited yet."

Local residents have long given the name of Mount Kann-Too, which in translation from the Turkic - "Blood Mountain". Obviously, air masses and the sunset color the upper part of the mountain in a scarlet color. Of course , the wonders of Kazakhstan's nature do not end there.

Bird Paradise

The plant and animal world of the country is represented by rare species of plants, animals and birds. One of the picturesque places of Kazakhstan , where it would be interesting to visit the travelers, is the "Bird Paradise" of the Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve. It is located 130 kilometers from Astana. Here, on Lake Teniz, there is the northernmost nesting place of the pink flamingo. Birds fly to the reserve in the spring, in March-April. Construction of nests begin to be engaged in May on the silty shores of Tengiz. Birds are not afraid of animals or people . They can not get here, but the storm waves that happen once in seven to ten years, usually wash everything in its path. Wintering flamingos fly to warm countries: Iran, Iraq, Cyprus, Turkey. But in early spring they return to their homeland to sit out their offspring.

In addition to the pink flamingo, the reserve sheltered hundreds of different species of birds. Many of them are listed in the Red Book.

Lake Balkhash

Many tourists prefer to organize their vacation near rivers or lakes. Despite the fact that most of the country's territory is occupied by deserts and mountains, rivers and lakes of Kazakhstan, without stint, give life-giving moisture to the earth. Balkhash belongs to the largest lakes. The estimated age of the reservoir is 35,000 years. This is the only lake in the world that consists of fresh and salt water. And she does not mix. Fresh is the western part of the reservoir, and the eastern part is salty. In this amazing water, 20 kinds of fish feel good. Ancient Kazakhs very correctly called their lake - "balyk ace", which in translation is "feeding fish". Along the lake stretches the Bektau-ata mountain chain.

Kul-Say Lake

The most beautiful places of Kazakhstan include the high-mountainous Kul-Say Lake, filled with water from the same name river, originating in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau.

Lakes lie in the coniferous forest foothills of Kengei-Alatau, the territory of the national park. The highest mountain is Upper Kul-Say. The lake is at an altitude of about 2800 meters. Mynzhylgi is located below, at an altitude of 2300 meters, and is the largest of the lakes. The last lake is the deepest, its depth reaches 80 meters. It is located at an altitude of 2000 meters. Not only the beauty of nature and clean air attract tourists who are given rest in campsites. They can go fishing, go to the mushroom picking and even make a helicopter excursion from Almaty. The city is only 110 kilometers from this paradise.

Rivers for walks and rafting

The blue roads of the Semirechie in the southeast of Kazakhstan provide tourists with the opportunity to enjoy rafting - rafting on the river, one of the types of travel where you can admire nature, swim through the fairy-tale canyons, and feel the sport of excitement. In Kazakhstan, several large rivers, where it is possible to carry out alloys of varying complexity. On the Ili River, you can organize not only rafting, but also a walk with children. There are no rapids at this river, and the speed is not great, only 3-5 km / hour. The secret of traveling along the same river Or is that only with the alloy you can see the beauty of rocky canyons, see rock carvings of Buddhist monks, capture the most beautiful places of Kazakhstan in the photo. The rivers that tourists can travel to include Charyn, Cox, Karatal, Chilik.

Mausoleum of Ahmet Yassaui

Of particular interest to travelers are monuments of antiquity. In the country of ancient civilization, fortresses, mausoleums, graves and cities with unique, original culture were preserved.

One of these monuments is in Turkestan - it is the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmet Yassaui. Until the 16th century, Turkestan was called Yassi and lay on one of the branches of the Great Silk Road, where brisk trade was going on. The mausoleum was erected in honor of Ahmed Yassaui, a Sufi preacher who lived in the 12th century. It is believed that Yassaui was a follower of the Prophet Muhammad. At the age of 63, he voluntarily shut himself up in the mosque's dungeon and spent 4 years before his death in prayer. He was buried in a small mausoleum, which became a place of pilgrimage, equated to going to Mecca. The mausoleum that exists now is established 233 years after the death of Ahmet, on the orders of Tamerlane. In Turkestan, pilgrims from all over the world continue to come to honor the memory of the follower of Muhammad and touch the masterpiece of the Middle Ages.

From the history of Astana

The history of modern Astana, as well as of Turkestan, is connected with the Great Silk Road. At excavations in five kilometers from Astana the medieval settlement of Bozok, which is the predecessor of the present capital, was found. Excavations are being carried out and now in the capital itself, since historical research has received priority. Along with excavations in Astana erect monumental structures. Since the current capital did not have a historical appearance, the buildings are being erected in a modern style by nowadays living foreign architects. The Palace of Peace and Accord belongs to significant buildings . This is a glass frame structure. Inside the palace there is an opera hall for 1300 spectators. The conference hall is under the dome of the building, the walls are covered with images of flying pigeons.

Traveling in Kazakhstan always leaves the most indelible impressions. And not for nothing that one who has ever visited this country, strives to come here again.