Big Almaty Lake used to be one of the easiest mountain escapes from Almaty. Sitting at 2,557 meters meters above sea level in the Trans-Ili Alatau Mountains, the lake’s surreal colors — ranging from milky blue to deep teal depending on the time of year — and dramatic mountain backdrop make it one of Kazakhstan’s…
When people think of day trips from Almaty, places like Big Almaty Lake, Kaindy Lake, and Charyn Canyon usually get all the love. But if you’re willing to endure an extremely early wake-up call, Altyn-Emel National Park offers some of the most unusual landscapes in Kazakhstan… with a tiny fraction of the crowds. I joined…
For most people staying in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, it marks either the beginning or the end of an Aral Sea adventure. With one of the best locations in Nukus, easy walking distance from the famous Savitsky Museum and some of the city’s better restaurants, Jipek Joli Hotel is a welcome oasis for travelers…
If you take a trip from Nukus to the Aral Sea, you’ll see a very interesting slice of Uzbekistan that few tourists get to see. Most travelers stick to the famous blue-tiled Silk Road cities, sometimes stopping at Bukhara, occasionally making it out to Khiva. Few tourists continue the journey further west into Uzbekistan, into…
Visiting the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan is a great addition to Uzbekistan itineraries for travelers who want to get off the typical Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara-Khiva route. If you make it to Khiva, I definitely think it’s worth it to continue onwards to Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan and the beginning and end point of most Aral Sea…
Nukus is often thought of as the gateway to the Aral Sea, but I think it’s a very intriguing destination in Uzbekistan in its own right. From its world-class Savitsky art museum to bustling bazaars, from its unique architectural style to its Karakalpak culture, Nukus offers a lot more than just being a waypoint between…
An eerily beautiful forest of submerged spruce rises out of electric turquoise and teal waters, making it hard to believe your eyes. This is Kaindy Lake, one of the most otherworldly sights in Kazakhstan: a country filled with natural wonders that look straight from another planet. Part of the Kolsay Lakes National Park, this beautiful…
If you’re visiting Big Almaty Lake, it is ideal to pair it with Alma-Arasan, a gorge with natural hot springs that make an easy day trip from Almaty. Alma-Arasan is, quite simply, stunning. Think slopes covered in Tien Shan spruce, hot and cold springs overlooking the river, a chilly plunge pool right in the river…
One of my favorite ways to discover unusual sights in a city is by playing around on Google Maps. I’ll enter some sort of word like “attraction” or “sight” or something of the sort, and then I’ll see if anything unexpected pops up. Well, did that technique ever serve me well in Bishkek. On my…