Kazakhstan

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Astana

Population

16,764,000

Government

Republic; authoritarian presidential rule

Religions

Islam, Christianity (Orthodox)

Languages

Kazakh (Qazaq), Russian

Calling Code

+7

Nationality

Local name

Contributors

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Introduction

Yasaui domes

© All Rights Reserved Nat and Ev

In terms of land area, Kazakhstan comes into the charts at number 9, measuring in a whopping 2.7 million square km. As far as national confusion goes, Kazakhstan once again carves itself into the top ten. Since Soviet rule was abandoned in the early nineties, Kazakhstan has been a somewhat disorderly affair, complete with rigged elections, a less-than-effective approach to capitalizing on its huge mineral resources and a random change of capital from cosmopolitan Almaty to Astana (formerly Aqmola). National order does not seem particularly natural for a country of nomads.

But for travellers, it's a little easier to make sense of the chaos and pick out Kazakhstan's bright spots. For one, it offers Central Asia's finest skiing opportunities, including heli-skiing and ski-mountaineering. For twos, the Tian Shan range at the country's north makes for some mighty fine scenery. And lastly, Kazakhstanis do have the quirk of playing polo with dead goats' bodies.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

• Southern Kazakhstan stretches from Lake Balkhash southward to the border, and includes the largest city of Almaty.
• Northern Kazakhstan is home to the capital Astana.
• Central Kazakhstan is a sparsely populated region and includes Lake Balkhash, one of the world's largest lakes.
• Eastern Kazakhstan is a mountainous region bordering China, Mongolia and Russia.

Cities

• Almaty - the biggest city, in the south on the edge of the mountains
• Aqtau
• Atyrau
• Astana - the new capital of the country
• Karaganda
• Chimkent

Sights and Activities

Turkestan

Inside Yasaui Mausoleum, Turkistan

© All Rights Reserved Nat and Ev

Turkestan is an ancient town dating back to over 1500 years. I used to be called Yassy and was a centre of civilisation during the time of the Great Silk Road. The city is one of the most important historical and cultural in the country with many sites to offer travellers. It was an important trade and religious centre and there used to be as many as 14 mosques after the city was founded in the 5th century BC and onwards. Turkestan is an important site of worship for Moslems and is home to the Mausoleum of Khodja Ahmed Yassavi built at the time of Timur (Tamerlane), from 1389 to 1405. This site has attracted many pilgrims over the centuries and is on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Aksu Zhabagly

Aksu Zhabagly State Natural Reserve was the first nature reserve in Central Asia and obtained the status of UNESCO biosphere reserve. The are is about 750 square kilometers big in total and is located at an elvation between 1000 to over 4000 meters above sea level. The reserves is home to around 50 species of animals including the rare snow leopard, which is an endangerd species and hundreds of species of birds. To add, there are even more species of plants. If you are lucky you can see bear, ibex and some rare birds.

Tamgaly Tash Valley

The Tamgaly Tash valley is a valley with a natural accumulation of about 5000 unique petroglyphs (rock carvings) dating from the second half of the second millennium BC to the beginning of the 20th century. The site is on the Unesco World Heritage List as well and is of outstanding natural and cultural beauty.

Other sights and activities

Zenkov Cathedral, Almaty

© All Rights Reserved Nat and Ev

• Zenkov Cathedral - in Almaty, the world's highest all-wooden building
• Otyrar - ancient ruins
• Sairam - fortress
• Kol-Sai Lakes
• Charyn Canyon

It feels like in ancient open-air art gallery. Each picture is a message from centuries back telling about gods, rituals and life of ancestors of present days Kazakhs. Some inscriptions are as much as 3 thousand years old and even more. They are made on black flat surfaces of rocks and cliffs darkened by ages of influence of solar radiation by metal chisels

Events and Festivals

Weather

Kazakhstan is a huge country but generally the climate has not that much variation between the different parts. Only higher up in the mountains, temperatures are much lower and there is snow year round. But this is a relatively small section in the southeastern portion.
Large parts of Kazakhstan are steppe and (semi)desert, with very little rain or snowfall during the year, generally between 100 and 150 mm of precipitation. Summers are hot, averaging 30 degrees during the day from June to August but 40 degrees is possible. Nights are pleasantly cool, around 17 degrees. Winters are bitterly cold, averaging between -10 and -15 degrees Celcius but dropping as low as -40 degrees in the northern parts of the country.
The southeast where Almaty is located is somewhat wetter, with montly precipitation and April and May are the wettest months. Summers are around 27 degrees maximum, and around 15 degrees at night. During winter, temperatures are between -5 and -15 degrees but also here temperatures can drop well below -30 degrees sometimes.

Getting there

Plane

Air Astana is the national airlines of Kazakhstan, based at two airports: Almaty International Airport (ALA) and Astana International Airport (TSE). From the latter Delhi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hanover, Moscow and Shannon (Irleand) are served while from Almaty the cities of Antalya, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Dubai, Hannover, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Moscow and Seoul have flights. A number of airlines serve both airports, mainly to and from Asian countries, like the neighbouring Stan States. KLM and Lufthansa have flights from Amsterdam and Frankfurt respectively. BMI flies from London to Almaty and visa versa.

Train

Kazakhstan - China vv
There are two trains a week connecting Almaty in Kazakhstan with Urumqi in China. On Mondays and Saturdays, trains leave Almaty at 10.40pm, arriving in Ürümqi on Wednesdays and Mondays at 7 in the morning. From Ürümqi, trains depart just before midnight at Mondays and Saturdays, arriving in Almaty on Wednesdays and Mondays around 10.30am.
Kazakhstan - Russia vv
There is train every second day between Moscow and Almaty (Kazakhstan), leaving Moscow at 10.30pm and arriving at day 5 early in the morning in Almaty. From Almaty, trains leave around 7.30am, arriving the 4th day at around 10.30 in the morning. Check this site for schedule details.
Kazakhstan - Uzbekistan vv
Daily trains run from Aqtöbe, Aralsk, Kyzylorda and Turkistan to Tashkent via the border at Saryagash. Coming from Almaty you can transfer at the trains at Arys, 60 kilometers west of Shymkent. Another rail crossing exists between Beyneu, western Kazakhstan, and Kungrad, Uzbekistan. Daily trains run from Beyneu to Kungrad (10 hours) and on Saturday and Wednesday, there is a train via Beyneau coming from Saratov (Russia) via Atyrau (Kazakhstan), continuing to Tashkent via Nukus and Samarkand.

By Car

You can use border crossings like mentioned below and many other to Russia as well. Be sure to have your visa, and documentation regarding the car (insurance, green card, international driving permit) in order and expect sometimes a bit of hassle and long waiting times.

By Bus

There are many daily bus and minibus connections between Almaty and Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. There are also overnight buses to Cholpon-Ata and Karakol from Sayran, and minibuses to Bishkek from Taraz.
To China, road crossing is at Khorgos and there are sleeper buses between Almaty and Urumqi in Xinjiang, taking 24 hours. Buses to Yining take 12 hours and both are on a daily basis except Sunday.
To Turkmenistan, there is a remote border crossing 200 kilometers south of Zhanaozen, a two-hour minibus ride east of Aktau. From the border it is 50km south to the Turkmen town of Bekdash and a further 200 kilometers to Turkmenbashi. To Uzbekistan, the main border crossing is at Chernyaevka between Shymkent and Tashkent and there are connectons between the two latter cities. Another road crossing exists between Beyneu, western Kazakhstan, and Kungrad, Uzbekistan.

By Boat

A ferry across the Caspian Sea between Aktau in Kazakhstan and Baku, Azerbaijan, leaves about every seven to 10 days taking around 18 hours or so. The ferry from Baku to Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan goes more frequent and is more comfortable as well, but if you want to avoid travelling to Turkmenistan the one to Kazakhstan is a good alternative.

Getting Around

By Plane

Air Astana has frequent flights to many airports in the country. Almaty to Astana vv is the most frequent used route but services to the western towns near the Caspian Sea are popular as well and saves a lot of time as well. Planes are new but maintenance is not always how it should be.

By Train

Kazakhstan has an extensive network of trains and most routes have at least one or two daily trains. Astana, Karaganda, Almaty, Chimkent and many other cities all have long distance trains leaving frequently and there are comfortable overnight train with dining cars available on most routes. It is cheap and relatively fast as well and is a great way to experience the vastness of this country. By tickets a day in advance and expect some long lines at offices.

By Car

There is reasonable network of tarred roads in Kazakhstan and renting a car (either with or without a driver) is possible at Astana and Almaty and most airports. An international driving permit is required.

By Bus

Regular buses link most major cities and towns, but buses can be uncomfortable on some routes and distances are huge. Trains are the better way of getting between the major cities. Still, buses, minibuses and taxis are the way to go on shorter routes to more remote places.

By Boat

There are no scheduled passenger services.

Red Tape

Most visitors have to apply for a visa before arrival, sometimes including a Letter of Invitation (LOI). The latter might not be needed for single entry visas though.
Nationals from the following countries do not require an invitation (but do need a visa!):
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and United Arab Emirates.

Money

See also: Money Matters

Work

Study

Language

Eat

Sleep

Drink

Health

See also: Travel Health

Safety

See also: Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

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