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TOURIST SPOTS IN
KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan is a vast country of steppes and
mountains rich in natural beauty. For thousands of years it was
also a natural bridge between East and West, with a northern
spur of The Silk Road running through parts of southern
Kazakhstan. Authorities are now aggressively marketing the
country's tourism attractions. These range from winter sports
such as skiing and heli-skiing, to warm weather activities like
hiking, fishing and hunting, or more relaxed pastimes such as
visiting a health spa.
Kazakhstan has many nationalities and ethnic
groups, all contributing to a rich cultural melting pot. And it
has been that way through the centuries. Archaeological finds
from the Kazakh region where the northern route of The Silk Road
ran show early trade ties with Europe, China and Persia.
| Astana |
 Kazakstan's
capital (known as Aqmola until May 1998) was a tiny
mining town until the 1950s when Krushchev announced his
Virgin Lands scheme to turn 250,000 sq km (155,000 sq
mi) of Kazakstan steppe into wheat fields. Astana became
the project's capital, was renamed Tselinograd (Virgin
Lands City), and became the centre of an important
grain-growing region. The capital was shifted from
Almaty to Astana in December 1997 amid almost universal
r eluctance.
President Nazarbaev cited Astana's more central and less
earthquake-prone location and better rail links with
Russia among its advantages. Politicians are grumbling
about its freezing winters and extremely sticky summers.
It's a friendly and fairly
low-rise town, with some attractive tree-lined
streets, but prone to strong steppe winds. The
population is around 70% Russian, Ukrainian and
German, and 30% Kazak. There are no plans to
move embassies and consulates from Almaty, so
the only reason you're likely to end up in
Astana is if your train passes through. If you
wish to get there, daily flights go to/from
Almaty. Buses run to/from Qaraghandy and other
regional centres. Train service is regular and
very comfortable from Almaty to Astana.
For more
information on Astana tourist spots pls click
here
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| Almaty |
 This
booming city was founded in 1854 as a Russian frontier
fort when the Kazaks were still nomads and was capital
of Kazakstan until late 1997. Almaty has become a
honeypot to Kazakstanis and a mixed bunch of foreign
traders, diplomats and financiers jockeying for position
in the race to carve up Kazakstan's mineral resources.
Sudden exposure to the outside world turned this
provincial outpost into Central Asia's most cosmopolitan
city with shops, restaurants, hotels and casinos that
would make the place unrecognisable to anyone who had
been away since 1990. But now that the government has
moved the capital to the northern city of Astana
(previously known as Aqmola), Almaty's future is
uncertain. Almaty is closer to the heart of the Russian
railway network and farther from national borders and
conflicts in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
 Almaty
is clean (apart from its air) and easy on the eye, with
long straight avenues and low-rise uniform architecture
bearing the unmistakable imprint of Russia. The
Zailiysky Alatau mountains rise like a wall along
Almaty's southern fringe and form a superb backdrop when
weather and smog permit. There are lots of parks, space
and greenery, and many of the Soviet-era buildings are
striking if you look at them individually. That said,
there's not a great deal to do in Almaty, which is why,
for many travellers, it is little more than a
way-station.
Highlights include Panfilov Park, a pleasant
rectangle of greenery surrounding the bright Zenkov
Cathedral. The cathedral is one of the few tzarist-era
buildings to survive the 1911 earthquake, despite the
fact that it is built entirely of wood and constructed
without nails. Facing the west end of the park is the
elaborate Arasan Baths where you can take your salami
and vodka and contemplate the differences between
Turkish, Russian and Finnish bathing habits. The Central
State Museum provides a worthwhile, if patchy,
introduction to Kazakstan's history and includes a
miniature replica of the country's chief archaeological
treasure, the Golden Man - a warrior's costume made from
4000 gold pieces, many finely decorated with animal
motifs.
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| Medeu & Shymbulaq |
 The weekend playgrounds of Medeu
and Shymbulaq are in the foothills of the
Zailiysky Alatau, 15km (9.3mi) from Almaty.
Situated at an altitude of 1700m (5576ft) ,
Medeu consists of a smattering of buildings
built around one of the world's largest speed
skating rink. Between October and May, half of
Almaty seems to spend its weekend leisure time
whizzing round the rink in various states of
dizziness and undress. Shymbulaq, a further 500m
(1640ft) closer to God, is one of Central Asia's
top skiing spots.
The ski season lasts from November to April,
though it's usually best in January and
February. Get here early on weekends because ski
hire shops tend to run out of gear. Further into
the foothills is the picturesque turquoise
Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake. All three spots are
good places to begin treks into the Zailiysky
Alatau and the Küngey Alatau mountains. Regular
buses run from Almaty to Medeu. The only way up
from Medeu to Shymbulaq is on foot (an hour) or
by taxi or hitching.
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| Zailiysky Alatau and the
Küngey Alatau |
The greatest attraction for travellers to Kazakstan
are the 4000m (13,120ft) plus peaks of the Zailiysky
Alatau and the Küngey Alatau, two spurs of the Tian Shan
which run east-west between Almaty and Lake Issyk-Kul in
Kyrgyzstan. This beautiful region of glaciers, wild
rivers and steep valleys used by nomadic herders as
summer pasture is great trekking territory for
travellers. There are dozens of trails of varying length
and toughness, including hikes right over the range to
Lake Issyk-Kul; guides can be arranged with travel
agents in Almaty. Be prepared for variable weather, a
summer snowline hovering around 4000m (13,120ft) and
bandits. The trekking season lasts from June to
September. Most trekkers go by 4WD to the Ozyorny pass
and head off from there.
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| Köl-Say Lakes |
 These three pretty green lakes
lie amid the steep forested foothills of the
Küngey Alatau, 110km (68mi) east of Almaty. The
lakes are strung along the Köl-Say river at an
altitude of around 2000m (6560ft). The camping
and trout fishing are great. June and August are
the best months to visit, but keep a close eye
on the weather. Travellers can arrange
helicopter excursions to the lakes from Almaty
or reach them overland from Saty; the lower lake
is accessible by vehicle but you're better off
hiring horses in Saty. It's possible to trek
from the pastures of the middle lake over the
3200m (10,500ft) Sary-Bulak pass to the
Kyrgyzstan village of Balbay on the shore of
Lake Issyk-Kul. By horse this can be done in a
day; on foot it takes two days. From the pass
there are fantastic views north towards the
Kazak steppe and south into the Issyk-Kul basin.
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| BAIKONUR COSMODROME
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 Lately, Baikonur space launch
site has become very popular for the space
tourism. This has been possible after opening
the site more to the world community as a result
of transparency policy pursued Russia, which
rents and administers city from Kazakhstan.
Building on this popularity and its rich
culture in exploring the space, Kazakh tourist
operators are active organizing tours to
Baikonur city. The fascinating offers a lot of
opportunities to be familiar with the gates to
the space, history of the space exploration,
etc.
For more
information and the program of the tour please
click here.
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| Aqsu-Zhabaghly Nature
Reserve |
| This 750 sq km (465 sq mi)
reserve in the foothills of the Talassky Alatau range is
one of the highlights of southern Kazakstan and the
easiest visited of the country's nature reserves. The
scenery ranges from mountain meadows and juniper forests
to glaciers and a 4500m (14,760ft) peak. This is an
important habitat for the rare snow leopard, though you
stand a much better chance of seeing bears, ibex and
birds of prey. Guided hikes or horseback trips can be
arranged in the village of Zhabaghly, 100km (62mi) west
of Zhambyl which is a good day's train trip from Almaty. |
| Aqtau |
 Stuck
between the desert and the Caspian Sea, with all its
water derived from desalination plants, the town of
Aqtau in western Kazakstan is one of the world's great
`why-on-earth-does-anyone-live-here?' places. It didn't
exist at all until 1963 when Soviet architects began to
lay out a model town of wide, straight streets and
apartment blocks after uranium deposits were found
nearby. Thanks to its sandy beaches it also developed as
an unlikely holiday resort for the Soviet elite. The
tourist and uranium industries are in decline so Aqtau
now has the feel of a place whose bubble has burst. The
improbability of Aqtau is enhanced by the fact that it's
hundreds of km from any other town and not linked to
anywhere by decent roads (supplies are mainly freighted
in by air). For the perverse and JG Ballard lovers only.
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| The Polygon |
| Until the 19th century, the
steppe of northern Kazakstan was largely untouched
except by Kazak nomads and their herds. Since then much
of the region has been ploughed into wheat fields,
thanks to Nikita Krushchev's Virgin Lands scheme, and
one particularly unfortunate 15,000 sq km (9300 sq mi)
area known as `The Polygon' had 470 nuclear bombs
exploded on it between 1949 and 1989. Residents of Semey,
150km (93mi) from the test zone, say they knew when
tests were going on because the ground would shake -
usually on a Sunday morning (though this might be
attributed to a long Saturday night on the vodka).
The nerve centre of the test zone was the
purpose-built town of Kurchatov, named after the leader
of the team who invented the Soviet atom bomb. Today the
town is known locally as `Konechnaya' - Russian for 'The
End'. The town is usually restricted to official
delegations but you can visit the Atomic Lake, a huge
circular water-filled hole in the ground blasted out to
create a reservoir in 1965. The bleak beauty of the
steppe is a fitting testimony to this terrible
environmental disaster. To get there, take a train north
from Almaty to Semey where you should be able to pick up
a car and driver.
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