Superb Locations to Go to in Kazakhstan in 2023

On the lookout for locations to go to in Kazakhstan? Look no additional than this complete information to the world’s ninth-largest nation.

From the ultra-modern capital Nur Sultan (previously often called Astana) to alpine Almaty, desert Aral and the Caspian resort of Aktau, there is sufficient to preserve avid adventurers occupied for a while.

In addition to being a mecca for out of doors lovers, Kazakhstan gives a lot for these looking for extra fascinating locations alongside the outdated Silk Highway and in Central Asia.

The nation is dwelling to the Baikonur Cosmodrome the place manned area missions begin off, a former Soviet nuclear testing website at Semipatalisnk, and the gulag complicated at Karaganda.

Learn on to search out out extra.

Present Journey Restrictions for Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s land borders opened once more on eleventh April 2022. This implies touring Central Asia and exploring the Silk Highway is sort of again to its pre-pandemic routines (except a PCR take a look at or proof of vaccination).

From eleventh April it’s attainable to cross from Kazakhstan into Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, and Russia and vice versa.

Nonetheless, if you’re planning on touring to/from Kazakhstan and neighboring nations, you should definitely test the final updates on the land borders.

• Almaty (Kazakhstan) to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
• Almaty (Kazakhstan) to Tashkent (Uzbekistan)

The land border with China stays closed as China has not reopened for tourism and can seemingly not accomplish that till 2023.

Replace September 2021: Kazakhstan has reintroduced its pre-pandemic visa-free journey regime for residents of most nations.

About Kazakhstan Tourism

Kazakhstan tourism is in its infancy by worldwide requirements, however with its extraordinarily hospitable individuals, meals to die for and diverse Silk Highway panorama of steppe, desert, and mountains, this former Soviet republic can’t keep a secret ceaselessly!

Kok Tobe cable automotive

The nation’s infrastructure is continually bettering with new roads and high-speed trains slicing touring occasions significantly. For instance, the journey from the Chinese language border used to take over ten hours on horrible roads however now takes simply six hours on a brand-new freeway.

Nonetheless, outdoors of the cities, transport to points of interest and scenic spots might be troublesome. One of the simplest ways to see the nation is to rent a automotive. Though it’s attainable to get round with shared taxis and marshrutkas, it’s not straightforward for those who don’t communicate Russian or Kazakh.

Locations equivalent to Large Almaty Lake, the Kolsai Lakes, and Charyn Canyon will not be linked to Almaty by common public transport, so it would take just a little work to get there (however will probably be completely value it)!

High Locations to Go to in Kazakhstan

Aktau

High Aktau Sights

• Caspian Seashores
• Lighthouse
• Mangistau

Aktau Seaside on the Caspian Sea

Chances are you’ll be stunned to study that Kazakhstan has its personal seaside resort! Aktau is a small metropolis on the shores of the Caspian Sea (actually a big inland saltwater lake). A terrific place to chill off in summer time!

As Aktau is a really (VERY) great distance from anyplace, it’s only value visiting for those who plan on exploring the area, such because the landforms at Mangistau, or you might be touring throughout the Caspian to or from Baku in Azerbaijan.

Almaty

High Almaty Sights

• Zhenkov Cathedral
• Kok Tobe
• Zhibek Zholy
• Medeu Ice Rink

Zhenkov Cathedral, Almaty

Almaty is the mountainous former capital and beating coronary heart of Kazakhstan. A winter playground and residential to Central Asia’s premier ski resort, leafy Almaty is unquestionably among the finest locations to go to in Kazakhstan!

The structure of downtown Almaty is much more Russian than Central Asian, with brightly coloured picket homes, Soviet statues, and Orthodox church buildings.

The middle is dwelling to an unlimited array of trendy bars, cafes, and eating places serving all the things from conventional Kazakh to French, Georgian and Japanese!

Almaty makes the proper base for heading off into the wilderness of the Ile Alatau Nationwide Park for mountaineering, tenting, snowboarding, and extra. The primary mountain trails are solely a twenty-minute bus experience from the middle of city!

For extra data see this Almaty Journey Information

Round Almaty

Large Almaty Lake

• Journey time from Almaty: approx 40-minute drive

Large Almaty Lake

A good looking alpine lake excessive above town. The proper place for mountaineering and summer time picnics. There’s a close by observatory too. Bear in mind that the lake could be very near the border with Kyrgyzstan so heed all warning indicators and border guards (nothing to fret about).

Find out how to get there: take a taxi, or bus and hike. 

Charyn Canyon

• Journey time from Almaty: an approx three-hour drive

Charyn Canyon is positioned within the desert near the Chinese language border. The 154-kilometer canyon follows the Sharyn River and kinds a part of the Charyn Nationwide Park. At its deepest, the canyon is 300m (nearly one thousand ft) deep.

Find out how to get there: self-drive, be part of a tour or take a shared taxi from Sayahat Bus Station in Almaty.

Shymbulak Ski Resort

• Journey time from Almaty: approx one hour (30-minute bus and 30-minute cable automotive)

Shymbulak Ski Resort within the Mountains above Almaty

Shymbulak (Chimbalak) is a ski resort within the mountains above Almaty. It is rather straightforward to get there by bus from the middle of town stopping on the backside of the Shymbulak cable automotive.

Find out how to get there: take bus 12 from Dostyk Avenue (reverse Resort Kazakhstan), then a Cable automotive from Medeu to Shymbulak. 

Aralsk

High Aralsk Sights

• Desert
• Camels
• Rusting Boats

Aralsk, Kazakhstan

As soon as a thriving fishing port, the small city of Aralsk has seen higher days. You will notice extra camels than ships right here now because the Aral Sea has moved some 40km away on account of Soviet damming.

Aralsk is likely one of the extra fascinating locations to go to in Kazakhstan for individuals who are all for darkish tourism. There isn’t an incredible deal to see, and the lodging choices are frankly horrible, however if you would like actual “off the crushed path” journey, then give it a go!

Karaganda

High Karaganda Sights

• Soviet Murals
• Karlag Gulag
• Russian Structure

Karaganda, Kazakhstan

Karaganda is a small metropolis within the north of Kazakhstan a couple of hundred kilometers south of the capital Nur-Sultan. Town is dwelling to some fascinating structure, artwork, and residential of the Karlag gulag complicated.

Kolsai Lakes

Nur-Sultan

Kazakhstan’s shiny new capital Nur-Sultan (previously Astana) is the enterprise and monetary middle. As a result of its northern location, Nur Sultan is the second coldest capital on the earth (after Ulaanbaatar).

Shymkent

Shymkent, Kazakhstan

Laidback Shymkent is a small metropolis near the border with Uzbekistan.

Turkistan

Turkistan is dwelling to a few of Kazakhstan’s most spectacular medieval Islamic structure from the Timurid empire, making it one of many high locations to go to in Kazakhstan.

Zharkent

Picturesque Zharkent is a small village on the border with China. Right here you’ll discover picket cottages harking back to Siberia sitting within the shadows of the close by Tian Shan Mountains.

Getting round Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is a really massive nation and the distances between cities might be enormous. The nation advantages from a complete rail community.

Trains in Kazakhstan

The outdated Soviet-era trains are steadily being changed by sooner extra trendy wagons, full air-conditioned carriages, bar, and eating automobiles.

Costs are typically low cost by western requirements however tickets can promote out so it’s all the time finest to ebook a couple of days prematurely. You should buy tickets on the station or on-line on the official Kazakh Railways web site.

Pattern fares and journey occasions for Kazakhstan Trains

• Almaty to Nur-Sultan (Astana) 15 hours 9,000₸ ($20)
• Almaty to Shymkent 11 hours 8,000₸ ($18)
• Nur-Sultan (Astana) to Karaganda 4 hours 3,000₸ ($7)
• Nur-Sultan (Astana) to Aktau 30 hours 14,000₸ ($32)
• Shymkent to Aral 14 hours 8,000₸ ($18)
• Shymkent to Aktau 28 hours 10,000₸ ($22)

Buses in Kazakhstan

Buses are one other nice strategy to journey and are barely cheaper than trains. Because the roads will not be all paved, the journeys can take for much longer.

Taxis in Kazakhstan

It’s additionally attainable to take taxis lengthy distances and you’ll discover individuals at transport hubs providing rides to different cities.

You will see taxis ready at practice stations and long-distance bus stations equivalent to Sayram in Almaty. To hail a cab on the road, merely maintain out your hand towards the visitors. Any automotive could be a potential taxi and you will need to agree on a worth earlier than coming into.

You may also use the Yandex Taxi app (much like Uber) for those who communicate Russian or Kazakh.

Attending to and from Kazakhstan

To get to and from Kazakhstan and neighboring nations, listed here are three of the commonest methods:

• Almaty to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)
• Almaty to Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
• Almaty to Urumqi (China)

Cash and Prices in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is an affordable nation by world requirements and ranks 334th out of 376 cities worldwide (which is 70% decrease than the USA).*

Lodging and transport (if touring between cities) are the 2 greatest prices related to a visit to Kazakhstan, however with an abundance of low cost lodges, hostels and transport strategies, it’s attainable to journey the nation on $30 to $50 per day.

*supply: numbeo.com

Kazakhstan Journey Ideas

Kazakhstan has loads of hostels within the bigger cities. Within the smaller cities, it’s attainable to get a resort room for c5,000 tenge ($12.00). In Zharkent I had a complete suite for this worth.

The outdated gradual trains can price as much as 60% lower than a ticket on the brand new quick trains and are completely snug for an in a single day journey outdoors of the summer time (no air-con).

Lengthy-distance buses make a great different to the trains and ply lots of the identical routes.

Meals and Drink in Kazakhstan

Lamb Shashlik on the Kok Tobe Cafe in Almaty

Kazakh delicacies is strongly influenced by the nation’s nomadic previous. Kazakhstan’s nationwide dishes are meat-heavy with horse, mutton, and lamb, however there are many vegetarian choices within the bigger cities.

Dishes equivalent to beshbarmak (boiled horsemeat or mutton) are highly regarded, however it’s the ubiquitous shashlik (grilled chunks of meat served with dill and onions), that you’ll discover nearly in all places.

Eating out in one in all Almaty’s many street-side eating places or cafes is the spotlight of any journey to the nation and the standard of the meals could be very excessive. Within the bigger cities, you could find cuisines from around the globe together with Chinese language, French, Georgian, Italian, and Japanese to call a couple of.

Consuming out in Kazakhstan is cheap by western requirements and a great meal with drinks can price lower than $10. Head to one of many many bazaars equivalent to Inexperienced Bazaar in Almaty or Ayna Bazaar in Shymkent for an actual style of Kazakh substances at their freshest and most colourful.

Kazakhstan Climate

The Kazakhstan climate can differ drastically relying on the place on this huge nation you might be. The inside is an arid land consisting of desert and steppe.

As a result of geographic location removed from any seas (the Caspian and Aral are technically lakes), the nation has scorching summers and really chilly winters.

The capital Nur-Sultan (Astana) is the second coldest on the earth after Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and sees common winter temperatures of round -14c. The common winter temperature for Almaty is round -4c.

Nur-Sultan sees milder summers as a result of its northern location, and Almaty has scorching and sunny summers with the occasional thunderstorm.

Security in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is a really secure nation with little or no crime reported in opposition to foreigners.

Nonetheless, the cruel landscapes throughout the nation imply that you have to be well-prepared earlier than setting off. Learn extra about Central Asia journey and, as all the time, guarantee you will have correct Journey Insurance coverage when touring.

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Steve Rohan is a author from Essex, England. In 2015 he moved to China to show English the place he lived for over six years. He has lived and taught within the cities of Harbin, Luoyang, Sanya, and spent a couple of months in Hong Kong, earlier than returning to England in 2022. He has visited over 60 nations so far and often opts for overland journey. Steve has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Central Asia, and East Asia, and is now dwelling the digital nomad life on the highway.