Western Kazakhstan

Introducing Western Kazakhstan

Most Westerners who come to Kazakhstan’s far west – so far west that the part beyond the Ural River is in Europe – are involved in exploiting Kazakhstan’s biggest oil and gas fields: Tenghiz (oil), Karachaganak (gas) and the offshore oil of Kashagan beneath the Caspian Sea. Oil has brought boom times to the region’s four main cities, though elsewhere the human population is pretty sparse and the landscape is chiefly desert, apart from marshy areas around the northeast Caspian coastline.

For those with a taste for adventurous exploring, the deserts east of Aktau, dotted with underground mosques, ancient necropolises, abandoned caravanserais and spectacular rock formations, are just the ticket.

Western Kazakhstan is a gateway to Central Asia from Azerbaijan or Russia, and there are even flights from Europe to Atyrau and Uralsk.

The region is one hour behind Astana, Almaty and the rest of the country.

Last updated: Mar 24, 2009