Kazakhstan
 

Hi there,
I'm off to Kazakhstan this summer and I'm trying to find out a good route and places to visit. Can you help??
Thanks
Neil

East Kazakhstan looks cool, maybe ask Seb on here for more info.

Here is the link to the area he went to
110 days of off road to Central Asia - Page 10 - ADVrider

Yes, I recommend you read the Bradt Guide to Kazakhstan by Paul Brummel, by far the best guide to the country.

And regards roads, the following website is pretty useful

Kazakhstan Travel and Tourism | Caravanistan

Regards self-driving:

Driving in Kazakhstan | Caravanistan

I've spent over three months over five visits exploring Kazakhstan and found a lot of interesting sights and wonderful scenery. But many people just drive through and call it boring. Admittedly, north-western and the far north of Kazakhstan is pretty flat and dull, but there is lot worth visiting elsewhere. See pictures (of mine) here:

Western, Southern, Central, South-western Kazakhstan:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1136194...heKazakhSteppe

Northern Kazakhstan - Picture 13 onwards:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1136194...EurasianSteppe

North-eastern Kazakhstan, Altai Mountains - Picture 52 onwards

https://picasaweb.google.com/1136194...AltaiMountains

South Kazakhstan - First 8 pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/1136194...anTheSilkRoad#

What you get out of Kazakhstan depends on how much effort you make to see stuff. If you are one of those bikers that just wants to ride in a straight lines as far from home as quickly as possible, then Kazakhstan will be boring.

A few personal highlights:

- Altai Mountains, just stunning, no tourists at all, in the far North-east, forming the Russian border:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-W...1-Yazovoye.jpg

- Petroglyphs at Tamgaly, Eshkiolmes and other places, some of the best in Central Asia

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-4...etroglyphs.jpg

- Dzhungarsky Alatau Mountains between Tekeli and Zharkent in the South-east:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...Wildflower.jpg

- Camping and hanging out with fishermen at the Kokaral Dam, North Aral Sea

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M...-Fishermen.jpg

- Magnificent Timurid Mausoleum at Turkestan, (and nearby abandoned Silk Road city of Sauran)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...istan-Dome.jpg

- Watching a rocket launch from Baikonur, just standing at the main road at the right time

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K...z-Baikonur.jpg

- Mausoleums and beautiful steppes (Saryarka, a UNESCO WHS) around Ulytau and Zhezqazghan in Central Kazakhstan. This mausoleum is said to be of Jochi Khan, first son (unless he was not the real father...) of Chinggis Khan):

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l...Jochi-Khan.jpg

I'm going back this year again to check out the last part of Kazakhstan which I have not seen - the South-west.

Now don't just tell me you want to ride Uralsk - Qarabutaq - Kostanai -Astana - Pavlodar.

Daniel

I agree with the above and don't forget BAYANAUL, straight east from Astana.
It's a really nice place, a lot of KZ people go there for holidays.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...7/IMG_1212.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...7/IMG_1263.jpg

And SHARYN CANYON was also a highlight for us, it's in the south east near the town of "shonzhy" in google maps.

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_2698.jpg

http://www.wanderingsouls.be/wp-cont...8/IMG_2736.jpg

KZ can be huge and flat and boring, but if you can manage to go from POI to POI then I don't mind at all to have a time out in the steppe. If you just use it to get through without visiting anything, yeah, then it's boring as hell... :helpsmilie:

Looks, sounds and feels like Iran. Such a beautiful place and so much to see.. but the space alone makes everything samey. Doing the drive south from Tehran to Esfahan is positively mind-numbing for the driver as there's only one stop on the way (Kashan, but bugger all there either) - everything in between is flat and desert.