Kazakhstan canyons and lake

Road trip! We left Almaty this morning and drove 230 kilometres to Charyn Canyon, often called the “little brother of the Grand Canyon.” It’s over 12 million years old, carved by the Charyn River and famous for the Valley of Castles, where rock formations look like towers and fortresses. The weather is cooler now, about 14 degrees Celsius in the day so we’ve pulled out our sweaters and jackets.

The canyon is within a national park and quite popular. We walked inside the canyon, about 2.5 kilometres each way. Once we returned, we had packed lunches at the canyon site. Lovely.

We continued our journey another 80 kilometres to Kolsay Lake – a stunning mountain lake 1,800 metres above sea level, surrounded by spruce forests. Given we were up in the mountains the temperature was significantly cooler, dropping to about 6 degrees Celsius by sundown.

We’re now about 40 to 50 kilometres from the Chinese border. We’re spending the night in a family guesthouse in a mountain village called Saty, a chance to experience traditional Kazakh hospitality.Read more