Un-Borat-ing Kazakhstan! (Part 2): Kazakhstan's Canyons and Lakes

- December, 16, 2025, Tuesday.

- Central Asia is known for its nature, alongside its history and culture. Even though I'm not super into ecotourism, I knew I had to see some of its many mountains, lakes, and canyons. 

-  Through GetYourGuide, I was able to book a joiner tour for a day trip to some of Kazakhstan's natural wonders. Specifically, the tour covers three main places: Charyn Canyon, Kaindy Lake, and Kolsai Lake.

- I started the day "wrong" because I tripped on some invisible ice, slipped, and slide on the pavement after arriving at the meeting point at 4:30AM. The snow quality was the kind I disliked: partially melted, and can turn invisible after melting then refreezing. But anyway, I didn't let that stop me from enjoying my day. Our call time was extremely early because it takes around a 2-3-hour drive from the city to visit these places, close to the border of Kazakhstan and China. 

- Charyn Canyon, our first stop, was formed through millions of years of weathering by wind and water. Its long corridors served as occasional pathways for various nomadic tribes passing through the area. 

Charyn Canyon.

It's like a mini Grand Canyon. By the way, this corridor is known as the "Valley of Castles", because the tall rocks look like castles.

- What I like about the canyon is that there is a particular area where tourists can safely walk in the middle of towering rock formations. The actual canyon is really long! There is a proper tourist center too, with proper bathrooms.

Alien-like.

Above the Valley of Castles.

Velvet.

A short drive from the main Valley of Castles, is the Karaoy Gorge, also known as the "Black Canyon". It's named as such because of the darker rocks in this section.

- Our next stop was Kaindy Lake. Named after the trees in the region, the lake looks unusual because of the trees rising from the middle of the lake. In truth, the lake was just formed after an earthquake in 1911 cause a flood that turned into the lake we see today. It was frozen when we went, so the lake was all white, but it has a distinct blue-green hue during the warmer months. It still looks fascinating frozen though!

This view reminds me of the flag of Kazakhstan.

Going to the lake, one can walk, take a cab (but it wasn't available that day due to snow), or ride a horse. Of course we do it the Kazakh way: on a horse!!

See the frozen lake?

I could only imagine how it looks in the summer!

Rode the same horse back to the parking lot where our tour van was. Now I remembered to wear my traditional Kazakh hat!

Cannot get enough of this view!

- Our tour group later had a simple but filling traditional Kazakh lunch, and the restaurant was conveniently located right outside Kolsay Lake. Like Kaindy Lake, Kolsay Lake was also formed from the same earthquake that took place a century ago. It also lies in the middle of the Tian Shan mountain ranges, giving the scenery some drama.

Kolsay Lake.

It looks unbelievable. Like a painting in front of you.

Oh and I also had another photoshoot with an eagle there. I figured they take better photos here.

The eagle was probably a bit tired from opening its wings for tourists the whole day.

- It took us several hours to get back to the city. My butt was tired, and my knee was still a bit sore from my fall that morning. But now, I had a greater appreciation for Kazakhstan's natural wonders, and I appreciate how the country is trying its best to preserve them well!   

Un-Borat-ing Kazakhstan! (Part 1): A Peek of Almaty, and Snowy Shymbulak

- December 14-15, 2025, Sunday to Monday.

- Never in my life did I think that I would be able to set foot in Central Asia ever. E. V. E. R. In a world when traveling has become more accessible and doable, Central Asia has been a bit slow in opening up to the world. Although the 5 "Stans" of Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan - have opened their doors to tourism since the fall of the USSR in 1991, which they were all part of, there were hurdles in traveling to this part of Asia. Visa processes (or granting visa-free access) was only simplified gradually only in the past decade, and improvement of infrastructure has only taken place in the past decade or less, and in different scales depending on the country. 

- From Southeast Asia, Central Asia cheapest and easiest to access via AirAsia, which has its hub in Kuala Lumpur. It has been offering direct flights from KL to Almaty, Kazakhstan for a while now, until last October 2025, when they also offered flights between KL and Tashkent. So for Filipinos, they can book a Manila to Almaty or Manila to Tashkent flight with a stopover in KL via AirAsia. Some people may opt to fly to Central Asia via Korea, or via airlines in West Asia or the Middle East (i.e., Dubai, Saudi Arabia), but they take more time and are far far far far (!!) more expensive.

- As far as Kazakhstan is concerned, Filipinos can enter visa free for 30 days. Because of a generous visa-free access, and because it's the easiest country to access from the Philippines, many Filipinos tend to prioritize traveling to Kazakhstan. 

- My family flew from Manila to Malaysia, hung out at the airport hotel for three hours, before embarking on our long-haul flight to Kazakhstan. We stayed in Almaty, which was the long-time capital of Kazakhstan until 1997 when the capital moved to Astana in the north. Yet until today, Almaty is still the cultural and economic hub of the country (it reminds me of Turkey's situation with Istanbul and Ankara, or Australia's situation with Melbourne/Sydney and Canberra).

- Once we arrived, and checked in at Renion Park Hotel. By the way, there are many ways to get around the city, but our main mode of transportation was through a ride-hailing app called YandexGo (can be used in several countries, including most of Central Asia). 

- We had not much to do because it was already evening, but we had to have a traditional Kazakh dinner. What better way to do that than go to a restaurant called Navat, which has several branches in Kazakhstan and other countries. One was within a short walk from our hotel so we checked it out. We had some of the must-tries of Central Asian cuisine: mixed-meat plov (or pilaf), beshbarmak (assorted boiled meat with dumpling skin), and manti (dumplings). Notice that they're mostly made of meat because produce is hard to get by, especially in the past, and because this is the kind of food that will help people survive the harsh winters of the region. (Good to experience, but bad for my diet huhu.)

Found it!

Top plate: plov, middle plate: beshbarmak, bottom plate, manti. Left bowl: borscht (Russian beet soup), right cup: tea.

Beshbarmak.

- On our first full day in Almaty, we first visited the Ascension Cathedral, also known as the Zenkov Cathedral, located at Panfilov Park (it was just across our hotel!). It's a Russian orthodox cathedral, which explains why it resembles the the colorful onion-domed churches of Russia. It was opened in 1907 and was made of wood without nails! (The church and park are close to Zhibek Zholy metro station.)

Not in Russia.

Church from the side.

We caught the tail end of a mass. This is the priest. He looks like royalty omg.

Main altar.

- From the church, we rode a Yandex going to Medeu-Shymbulak. Medeu is a sports complex opened in 1951, and is the world's highest skating rink. It is currently under renovation (at least, as of writing this blog), but it remains to be the most accessible point to reach Shymbulak, via the cable car system that connects both parks. Shymbulak is a ski resort, the spot being discovered as a suitable ski venue in the 1940s and turned into a resort in the 1960s. Shymbulak has three levels, all accessible by cable car. Most of the facilities like restaurants or stores are at the lowest level, right outside the cable car stop from Medeu. The second and third levels are mainly observation decks, or slopes for skiers. Entrance tickets vary depending on purpose of entry and for how long (skiers for instance need to pay more since they need to rent equipment, but those like my family who just want to enter the park and look around will pay less).

Couldn't see a lot because of the fog!

But once I reached the second level....goodness that view. I'm on top of the world!

Had to dress warmly!

Cable car up!

OK now I'm really at the top of the world! This is the highest level.

- Apart from experiencing snow on a mountain, one of the reasons why I wanted to visit Shymbulak was because I knew that they had a stall where people can experience wearing a traditional Kazakh attire while holding an eagle. Since Kazakh traditional clothes tend to be thick and heavy, I didn't think I could buy one to take back home (which would have been ideal, but we were traveling to many places for a long time). A photo with it seems to be the second best option.

The coat was really heavy!

The eagle was heavier!!!!

- After leaving Medeu-Shymbulak via Yandex back to the city, my family decided to rest while I visited Arbat shopping street to look for souvenirs. The most convenient place to find souvenirs is at the third floor of TSUM Department Store (and this department store was my saving grace for souvenirs in most cities I visited in Central Asia.)

Arbat Shopping Street.

Inside TSUM, the shops sell usual souvenirs, but they also have a lot of traditional clothes and carvings.

- I had a light dinner at a restaurant beside my hotel. And as I prepared to wrap up my first full day in Almaty, I was overwhelmed with disbelief that I was really, finally, in Central Asia - a land that I only saw in books and videos, but never expected to set foot in ever in my life!