I Went To Kazakhstan And Found Out Why You Should Go Too

So much more than Borat.

Hi! I'm Ben and I love to travel!

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While the more well-trodden holiday destinations (for someone in the UK, like me) are GREAT, I love exploring countries and cultures that aren’t as well-known, or at least, as well-travelled by holidaymakers or travel enthusiasts.

Getting the opportunity to go to Kazakhstan recently made me realise that I really didn’t know too much about the ninth-biggest country in the world, and made me all the more excited to check it out!

Kazakh Tourism

We started our trip in the city of Aktau, which is located right on the Caspian Sea.

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What’s that? You said it was landlocked! Well, yeah, technically it’s the largest inbound body of water in the WORLD, so it’s kind of a lake? Either way, it’s a beautiful place to get a boat out and take a dive into the refreshingly cool water – a must when it’s high 20°Cs/30°Cs!

Kazakh Tourism

Next up was a visit to Torysh, known as the Valley of Balls.

Denis Ryazanov

These huge spherical rock formations span for miles and are a real spectacle – providing a type of landscape I certainly had never seen before, and making my mind go straight to various sci-fi depictions of an alien planet. Oh, and it’s not hard to spot the odd tortoise here and there too.

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The huge balls are believed to be the remnants of an ancient sea. The process of their creation and exposal has taken tens of millions of years, it’s a fascinating sight to see and really had me trying to remember anything from my GCSE geography class.

We carried on through the dry semi-desert grassland of the Kazakh steppe where packs of camels and horses would frequently appear, left grazing to their own devices.

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It’s one of the largest areas of steppe in the world, and the vast, expansive landscape went on as far as the eye could see, and further!

Passing some frankly unbelievable people that were cycling along the way (one can only assume on a cycle from across the world?!) we made our way further south.

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Here, wonderful starry nights can be slept under on camping expeditions or in traditional Kazakh yurts.

After a stunning sunset and an evening staring up at the desert stars, the next day we set off to Bozzhira valley, one of the region's most eye-catching spectacles.

Benjamin Dzialdowski / BuzzFeed

It was definitely one of the most surreal landscapes I'd ever seen and made you feel like you were on another planet.

Denis Ryazanov

It's a view that can be admired from atop the epic canyon, or for those who are warry of height, from below too. 

Being a monumental country, there's so much else to offer. A two-hour flight to the east will take you to Almaty, in a region with absolutely stunning, and totally different landscapes.

Kazakh Tourism

A few highlights included:

Shymbulak, the ski resort:

Craig P. Jewell / Getty Images

The Ski Resort is only 30 minutes from Almaty itself, so you can easily do a city/skiing holiday. Or of course, there are some luxury hotels located up the mountain if that's more your speed.

Kolsay and Kaindy Lakes, which are about 170 miles from Almaty centre and offer hiking, trekking, horse riding, camping and boating

Kazakh Tourism

The Charyn Canyon is considered to be ‘one of the pearls of Kazakhstan’ and extends for a distance of 96 miles.

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The canyon is located on the Sharyn River in Charyn National Park.

Kok-Tobe Park, which is situated over 1,130 metres above sea level and offers panoramic views of Almaty and the mountains. It can be reached by cable car and there is a restaurant and various attractions at the top.

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The city of Almaty itself boasts some impressive cultural sites, including the Zenkov Cathedral, which is a wooden cathedral built without any nails.

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Of course, we haven't even mentioned the capital, Astana.

Sasint Gallery / Getty Images

The capital city is located northwest of Almaty. You can take city cultural tours including visits to the national museum and the Hazret Sultan Mosque. You can also go horse riding through the Burabay national park.

Yevgeniy Drobotenko / Getty Images/iStockphoto

So, how to get there? Well it's a direct flight from Heathrow with Air Astana – for those coming from the UK.

Economy flights from London Heathrow to Aktau start at £550 per person inclusive of airport taxes/government fees/charges. From Aktau, you can take a domestic flight eastwards to Almaty.