Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world, equal in area to the entirety of Western Europe. Situated at the centre of the Eurasian landmass, it has an extreme continental climate and natural landscapes varying from vast, flat steppe to the peaks of the Altai Mountains. Depending on the time of year, you can hike and mountain bike, horse ride, and even ski. Kazakhstan boasts some truly dramatic landscapes, not least Charyn Canyon (which featured in Ewan MacGregor’s The Long Way Round) and the curious singing sand dunes of Altyn Emel.
The majority of visitors to Kazakhstan come on a stop over, or tag a few days of sightseeing onto a business trip in Astana, Almaty, or the oil rich towns around the Caspian Sea. There’s plenty to keep you occupied for a longer trip, however, and at many of the key sites you will be the only tourist.
For Paramount Journey, one of Kazakhstan’s great highlights is the Mausoleum if Khodja Ahmed Yassaui in Turkestan. This medieval complex has the tiled turquoise dome that is so evocative of the Silk Road, and it remains an important place of pilgrimage for Sufi Muslims. Those with an interest in Silk Road history should also visit the ancient petroglyphs at Tamgaly (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
The USSR left a stronger mark on Kazakhstan than any of the other ‘Stans, and these sites add another dimension to your tour. Consider visiting the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where space launches still take place, and also the ghost town of Aralsk, once an important port town on the Aral Sea. The sea is now shrunken, and skeleton ships lie on the sand.
Air Astana ( Kazakhstan’s national airline) has a good network of flight connections to Europe and beyond. It can therefore be very convenient to fly via Almaty or Astana and spend a few days exploring Kazakhstan before joining a Paramount Journey tour in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, or Uzbekistan.
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