Dear readers,
We are very pleased to present our travel guide to the most interesting and picturesque places in Kazakhstan created by the Consulate General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Frankfurt in cooperation with the “Kazakh Tourism” National Company.
The COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in early 2020, has sadly forced us to make significant adjustments to our everyday life and severely limited possibilities of travelling all over the world.
For this reason, we have decided to publish our guide precisely at this challenging time to give travellers from Germany an opportunity to make a “virtual” tour of the most exciting and spectacular locations in modern Kazakhstan and enjoy its views through the camera lens of Kazakhstan's greatest professional photographers.
As Kazakhstan's First President - Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev noted, “Our country has a unique opportunity to develop all types of tourism – cultural, recreational, environmental, extreme, sports and others”.
As of 2019, around 8 million foreign guests visited Kazakhstan on a yearly basis. The Government plans to increase this number and elevate the share of tourism in GDP to up to 8% by 2025 by implementing the State Program for Development of the Tourism Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
It is encouraging that the travel giant Lonely Planet listed Kazakhstan among its 2020 Best in Travel regions and 2021 Best in Travel destinations, and rightly so!
Nestled in the heart of Eurasia, Kazakhstan – the world's ninth-largest country, boasts a vast variety of landscapes: from deserts and steppes, plains and dense forests, to snow-white mountains and sea coasts. There are 12 national parks and 10 nature reserves that preserve truly treasured sites of almost pristine nature, making Kazakhstan undeniable attractive to ecotourists.
For those who have never been to Kazakhstan, we present the three largest cities. There we recommend starting your first acquaintance with our country.
The city of Nur-Sultan is the youngest capital in Eurasia, a modern megacity that in the shortest time has become a centre of business tourism and a venue for major international events such as the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summit, the VII Asian Winter Games (Asiada 2011), the Astana process on the settlement in Syria, the International Specialized Exhibition “EXPO-2017”, etc. I would like to note that the architectural appearance of the capital was shaped among others by the world renowned architects Kise Kurokawa and Norman Foster.
Not far from the capital, there is a picturesque resort area of Burabay (Borovoe) with its coniferous forests, mineral springs and blue lakes. Those people who dream of seeing pink flamingos should visit the Kurgaldzhino Nature Reserve, while space fans can not miss seeing Baikonur, the world's first and largest cosmodrome, where you can witness the launch of a real space rocket.
The next largest megalopolis in Central Asia is Almaty. It is a city of apple orchards and beautiful fountains, immersed in greenery and attracting tourists with its architectural diversity.
Almaty is surrounded by picturesque emerald-blue mountains of the Trans-Ili Alatau. It is the perfect destination for those who prefer outdoor activities. Just 15 km from the city at an altitude of 1691 meters above sea level, you will find the world's largest high- mountain skating rink Medeu, where over 200 speed skating world records have been set.
Just above the skating rink at an altitude of 2200-2500 meters above sea level in the Shymbulak tract is a ski resort of the same name, as well as climbing peaks "Khan Tengri" (7010 m), "Nursultan" (4376 m), "Abai" (4010 m), "Amangeldy" (3999 m) and "Shkolnik" (3590 m).
In general, Kazakhstan provides excellent conditions for sports tourism such as hiking and trekking, cycling tours, skiing and freeriding, rafting and diving, dog sledding and kiting, as well as for sports hunting with birds (golden eagles and falcons) and dogs (tazy – hunting dog) and fishing.
An hour drive away from Almaty there are the foothills of majestic mountain peaks, as well as desert landscapes with sandy canyons and steppe larks (bird). The most famous area in the Altyn-Emel National Park includes the natural phenomenon of the “Singing Dune”, where you can listen to the “singing” of the sands reminiscent of the sounds of an organ, and the “Turgen” tract.
With its archeological sites, historical monuments and unique architecture, Kazakhstan is a true open-air museum. Along the Great Silk Road you can visit ancient settlements, see Tamgaly petroglyphs from the Bronze Age and the famous necropolises of Mangystau.
Located in the south of the country, the city of Shymkent – the third megapolis in Kazakhstan, and the Turkestan province together form a single tourist area famous for its historical monuments and sacred places – the ruins of ancient settlements, mounds, fortresses, mausoleums.
A great example is the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yassaui. Built between XIV-XV centuries, it is a masterpiece of medieval architecture, an extraordinary complex of palaces and temples with blue domes and one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Ethno-tourism is an integral part of ecotourism that allows you to explore the cultural richness and traditions of the Kazakh people. Visiting ethnoauls, master classes, guest houses and observing national holidays gives a unique opportunity for foreign guests to experience national cuisine, handicrafts and folk craft of Kazakhstan.
In this publication, we tried to cover as many tourist attractions as possible. Having said that, it is important to note that due to their large number and diversity, this turned out to be a rather challenging task. Therefore, in addition to this publication, we highly recommend visiting the website https://kazakhstan.travel, developed by the “Kazakh Tourism” National Company specifically for our foreign guests.
We sincerely hope you enjoy this "virtual" tour of Kazakhstan.
Welcome to Kazakhstan – the country of the Great Steppe, motherland of apples and tulips! We wish you a pleasant journey!
Yermukhambet Konuspayev,
Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan
in Frankfurt am Main
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