Almaty Region

Lake Tuzkol is one of the many alpine lakes in Kazakhstan, located in the Almaty region. Lake Tuzkol (Salt Lake), so salty that mineralization is behind only to the Dead Sea in Israel and the Great Salt Lake in the United States. The lake is located at an altitude of 1959 m. In a closed drainage hollow between the mountains Elshyn Buyryk and Karatau in the north and Zhabyrtau in the south. These mountains belong to one of the ridges of the Northern Tien Shan - Ketmen (Uzynkara). It is fed by the waters of springs flowing down from the surrounding slopes.

Kaindy Lake is located on the northern slope of the Kungei Ala-Too mountain range at an altitude of 1867 meters above sea level among a dense coniferous forest, which culminates at 2900 m. alt.. The top of the valley rises to nearly 3400 meters and marks the border with Kyrgyzstan. The bottom of the valley joins the village of Saty. Kaindy Lake lies in the second valley further east than the first lake Kolsay. The length of the lake is about 440 meters, by 110 meters wide , the greatest depth of the lake is 30 meters. 

The Bartogai reservoir was artificially created in the 1980s in the floodplain of the Chilik River, for the needs of agriculture and irrigation of fields. The height of the rock-fill dam is 60 meters, the length of 330 meters, the channel length is 160 meters. A place stunning with its beauty and picturesqueness with a powerful spillway from under the dam from a height of 25 meters. A stream of water with enormous pressure is released to freedom and is broken up into tiny particles of spray, which overflows and forms many rainbows.

Assy Plateau is a beautiful corner of nature, located 100 km east of Almaty. Assy Plateau, known since ancient times as a summer pasture, originates from the Kishi-Turgen River. The plateau is located at an altitude of 2800-3200 meters. Here Signs of a person’s being more than 5,000 years old, both nomadic and sedentary, were discovered. Plateau Assy goes east along the river Assy. Along the river you can see ancient burial mounds and rock carvings, which are one of the most high-altitude clusters of petroglyphs in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

One of the amazing and beautiful places in Kazakhstan is the Turgen Gorge, located 90 km from Almaty. The Turgen Gorge is rich in thermal springs, waterfalls, coniferous and mixed forests, alpine and subalpine meadows, lakes and springs, medicinal herbs and berries. Turgen Valley is also known for its waterfalls: there are 7 large waterfalls in this area. The most famous are: Medvezhiy waterfall with a height of 30 meters, which is located at an altitude of 1450 m above sea level, and the Kairak waterfall - the pearl of the Turgen collection.

Lake Issyk is located at an altitude of 1756 m above sea level about 70 km east of Almaty.10,000 years ago, a huge collapse occurred in the mountains as a result of an earthquake that blocked the gorge and formed a huge dam. The noisy glacial river filled the basin. Lake Issyk was a truly perfect work of nature, the cleanest air, the coolness of the mountains and the mirror of malachite-colored water lured tourists here. It was so until July 7, 1963.

The Issyk Kurgan is one of the brightest monuments of history and material culture of the Saka tribes that lived in Central Asia from the 8th to the 1st centuries BC. Most of the barrows were looted and deformed in antiquity. An animalistic style passed from Saky to us. The Issyk mound was one of the well-preserved graves. In the 70s, during the excavations, household items and a construction made of Tien Shan spruce were found in one of the graves, in which a 17–18 year old sak warrior was buried.

On the territory of Kazakhstan there is a famous archaeological complex Tanbaly. In 2003, an open-air museum was created at this place. The tract with petroglyphs is located 170 km north-west of the city of Almaty, in the Anrakai Mountains. In the 50s, an expedition of archeologists discovered petroglyphs in these places, most of which belong to the Bronze Age: among images of animals, hunting scenes, mysterious sun-headed creatures can be found, which once again confirms the sacredness of this place.