Kazakhstan Off the Beaten Path

by traveldave

Charyn Red Canyon was carved over the millennia by the Charyn River. Commonly referred to as Dolina Zamkov ("Valley of the Castles"), the 50-mile (80-kilometer) canyon is one of the most impressive geological attractions in Kazakhstan. The black rock at the bottom of the canyon is basalt, and is the oldest rock in the area. The red rock that gives the canyon its name was formed when layers of reddish gravel were laid down and compressed into rock over thousands of years.

Many people visit the canyon for the famous rapids of the Charyn River, which offer some of the best white-water rafting in Asia. Others, like myself, visit to see birds that are difficult to see outside of Central Asia.

Charyn Red Canyon is very close to the geographical center of Asia, making it the one spot on the globe the farthest from any ocean.

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	Artisan's village and craft workers Tip Rating:

Updated By TheWanderingCamel on May 7, 2005

Leather worker at Cheber
Aul

by TheWanderingCamel

Cheber Aul is a village outside Almaty , created for artisans by the government some 20 years ago. It's set in the beautiful Bolshaya Almatinka Gorge - right next to a hydroelectric powere station!
Tourism not being exactly big in Kazakhstan (it is a long way from anywhere remember) the village never really got going and it's a rather hit and miss affair with not a lot happening, but if you are heading up the gorge it's worth a look. Some craftsmen still work out there aand you can buy directly from them.

We were interviewed by a television team from Russia while we were there. They were making a documentary about tourism in the old Soviet states - maybe our comments will have sparked some response and things will have picked up a bit !

The entrance to the gorge is about 15km from Almaty and a bus does goes out there. Ask for Kok-shoky village.

The website contains a lot of information about craft workers in Almaty

Website: http://expat.nursat.kz/?1431

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	The Steppes Tip Rating:

Updated By traveldave on May 30, 2005

by traveldave

In addition to deserts, a significant percentage of Kazakhstan is made up of steppes, which are semi-arid grassy plains. It is here that many of the semi-nomadic Kazakhs tend their flocks of sheep or herds of horses in the summertime.

Most of the water that falls on the steppes comes from violent thunderstorms in the summer that can cause flash flooding, and snows that cover the ground during most of the winter. In early May, millions of wild poppies bloom and turn the steppes red from horizon to horizon.

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	The Tien Shan Astronomical Observatory Tip Rating:

Updated By traveldave on October 7, 2005

by traveldave

The Tien Shan Astronomical Observatory is set amid the Tien Shan Mountains at an altitude of about 9,000 feet (2,743 meters), and is 19 miles (30 kilometers) south of Almaty. Constructed during the Soviet era, the Russians lease the observatory from the Kazakh government and still operate it, mainly in the autumn and winter when the sky is at its clearest.

The observatory features two Richi-Cretien-Coudet telescopes, two Cassegren telescopes, an HSFA horizontal solar telescope-spectrograph, and an ACU-5 horizontal solar telescope.

Visitors, usually those on birdwatching or trekking tours, can stay in the observatory's very basic twin rooms, with a toilet and shower shared between two rooms.

The observatory's dome and radar dish can be seen among the spruce trees below the high peak (best seen by enlarging the picture).

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	Ancient rock art Tip Rating:

Updated By TheWanderingCamel on June 5, 2008

Petroglyphs at Tamgaly Tas

by TheWanderingCamel, 1 more photos

Tamgaly Tas is a deep ravine with the walls covered in petroglyphs dating back thousands of years through to the Bhuddistic 16th century CE. Amazing scenes of mammoths,cattle, deer, horses, mountain sheep, men hunting and, in the "Sanctuary" a group of sun-headed gods and worshippers, all in an empty landscape that is so quiet and still the agelessness of the place is palpable. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site

Self-driving isn't really an option in Kazakhstan, so getting to Tamgaly Tas will involve some sort of organization -either a day tour organized through a tourist agency, or a car and driver for the day.

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	The Tien Shan Mountains Tip Rating:

Updated By traveldave on June 1, 2005

by traveldave

The Tien Shan Mountains are a 1,000-mile-long (1,600-kilometer-long) spine of towering ridges that are a northern extension of the Himalayas. They extend along Kazakhstan's southern and eastern borders, forming a buffer between it and China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Many of the peaks in Kazakhstan rise to over 15,000 feet (4,572 meters), and Mount Kan Tengri, Kazakhstan's tallest mountain, rises to 22,950 feet (6,995 meters).

The areas below timberline in the Tien Shan Mountains are beautiful. Flower-filled alpine meadows are surrounded by lush forests of Tien Shan spruce, and clear rocky streams flow from blue alpine lakes.

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	Turanga Forests Tip Rating:

Updated By traveldave on June 3, 2005

by traveldave

Turanga is a species of poplar tree that is endemic to the steppes of Kazakhstan, meaning that it grows nowhere else in the world. The trees grow in groves, or turanga forests, along the rivers and inland deltas in the steppe region. Many of these forests are endangered from local people cutting them for firewood or from overgrazing. The turanga forests provide oases of green in the semi-arid, treeless steppes, and are home to many species of reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and insects. More importantly to me, several species of birds that are hard to find outside of Kazakhstan are relatively common and easy to find. I visited the turanga forest near the Ili Delta, where the Ili River flows into Lake Balkhash, and found the birds I was looking for.

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	Up and up Tip Rating:

Updated By TheWanderingCamel on May 6, 2005

Going down

by TheWanderingCamel

Chimbulak is the popular ski base above Medeo. With a chairlift rising in 3 stages to over 3000m even in the height of summer you can go beyond the snowline.
The skiing season is a long one - November to May, but by early June the weather is warm enough for the lift to be carrying you over green mountain meadows spangled with wildflowers - deep purple violets and tiny wild tulips - at the lower levels. As you rise the terrain becomes starker until, at the top, you are above the tree-line, standing on bare brown earth surrounded by rocky snow-covered peaks.
The lift is slow, but this gives you plenty of time to enjoy the absolute peace and stillness of the mountains.

The only public transport up to Chimbulak is the occasional bus at weekends in the ski season. If you can't arrange private transport, it's a good 3-4 hour hike up from Medeo

Website: www.chimbulak.kz

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	The Tamgaly Archaeological Complex Tip Rating:

Updated By traveldave on June 13, 2006

by traveldave

Located in Tamgaly Gorge in the Chu-Ili Mountains northwest of Almaty, the Tamgaly Archaeological Complex features ancient settlements, burial mounds, and around 5,000 petroglyphs. The largest concentration of petroglyphs is within Tamgaly Canyon, which contains about 2,000 of the rock carvings. Most depict deer and hunting scenes, but there are also many solar images and scenes from the daily lives of the people who carved the petroglyphs. Although there are carvings from as late as the early twentieth century, most date from the Bronze Age and are about 4,000 to 5,000 years old.

The Tamgaly Archaeological Complex has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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	Step out on the steppe Tip Rating:

By TheWanderingCamel on May 6, 2005

Out to the steppe

by TheWanderingCamel

Driving across the steppe south and west of Almaty in early summer was fantastic - not really what I expected at all. It was all very green, and the smell coming up from the ground was wonderful as the car drove over the plants, crushing them and releasing a pungent, herby scent. The bird life was amazing - flocks of little brown ground-nesting birds flew up in front of us as we drove along and there were other bigger birds, some with incredibly blue underwings.
The Ili River was fast-flowing and tree-lined.
Really interesting was our drivers unerring sense of where they were going in the trackless emptiness - most impressive.