Kazakhstan

The world’s ninth-biggest country is the most economically advanced of the ‘stans’, thanks to its abundant reserves of oil and most other valuable minerals. That money has transformed the capital Nur-Sultan, on the windswept northern steppe, into a 21st-century showpiece with a profusion of bold futuristic architecture. Travelers will find some fantastic restaurants and accommodation amongst the leafy avenues of Almaty too; its biggest city also boasts the chic ALZhiR Museum-Memorial Complex, glossy shopping centres and hedonistic nightlife. But it's beyond the cities that you'll find the greatest travel adventures, whether hiking in the high mountains and green valleys of the Tian Shan, searching for wildlife on the lake-dotted steppe, enjoying homespun hospitality in village guesthouses, or jolting across the western deserts to remote underground mosques.

Explore Kazakhstan

Beket-Ata
Some 285km east of Aktau, Beket-Ata is an important and extremely popular place of pilgrimage for those wishing to visit the underground mosque and final…
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
This huge blue-glass-and-white-marble museum covers the history and culture of Kazakhstan from ancient to modern times. Themed halls comprise interactive…
Charyn Canyon
Over millions of years, the swift Charyn (Sharyn) River has carved a truly spectacular 150m- to 300m-deep canyon into the otherwise flat steppe some 200km…
Yasaui Mausoleum
This astoundingly beautiful, tiled mausoleum with a turquoise dome is home to Kozha Akhmed Yasaui. The main chamber is capped with an 18m-wide dome, above…
Khan Shatyr
Nur-Sultan's most extraordinary building (so far), the Khan Shatyr is a 150m-high, translucent, tentlike structure made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene …
Palace of Peace & Reconciliation
This beautiful glass-and-steel pyramid was opened in 2006 as the home for the triennial Congress of World and Traditional Religions, hosted by Kazakhstan…
Shakpak-Ata
Perhaps the most intriguing of all Mangistau’s underground mosques, 10th-century Shakpak-Ata is a cross-shaped affair with three entrances and four…
A
ALZhIR Museum-Memorial Complex
During the Stalin years, Akmol, 35km west of Nur-Sultan, housed ALZhIR, a notorious camp for wives and children of men who were interned elsewhere as …
Mt Belukha
Right on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia, the myth-rich, snow-tipped peak of Mt Belukha (4506m) – Altay's highest – attracts true mountaineers…

Beket-Ata
Some 285km east of Aktau, Beket-Ata is an important and extremely popular place of pilgrimage for those wishing to visit the underground mosque and final…
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
This huge blue-glass-and-white-marble museum covers the history and culture of Kazakhstan from ancient to modern times. Themed halls comprise interactive…
Charyn Canyon
Over millions of years, the swift Charyn (Sharyn) River has carved a truly spectacular 150m- to 300m-deep canyon into the otherwise flat steppe some 200km…
Yasaui Mausoleum
This astoundingly beautiful, tiled mausoleum with a turquoise dome is home to Kozha Akhmed Yasaui. The main chamber is capped with an 18m-wide dome, above…
Khan Shatyr
Nur-Sultan's most extraordinary building (so far), the Khan Shatyr is a 150m-high, translucent, tentlike structure made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene …
Palace of Peace & Reconciliation
This beautiful glass-and-steel pyramid was opened in 2006 as the home for the triennial Congress of World and Traditional Religions, hosted by Kazakhstan…
Shakpak-Ata
Perhaps the most intriguing of all Mangistau’s underground mosques, 10th-century Shakpak-Ata is a cross-shaped affair with three entrances and four…
A
ALZhIR Museum-Memorial Complex
During the Stalin years, Akmol, 35km west of Nur-Sultan, housed ALZhIR, a notorious camp for wives and children of men who were interned elsewhere as …
Mt Belukha
Right on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia, the myth-rich, snow-tipped peak of Mt Belukha (4506m) – Altay's highest – attracts true mountaineers…

Latest Stories from Kazakhstan

Food The top things to do in Almaty – the perfect introduction to Kazakhstan
Feb 25, 2020 • 6 min read
With its striking architecture, flourishing food scene and unusual quirks, Almaty is the ideal intro to Kazakhstan.
Story Trailblazers: crossing into China as a Lonely Planet writer in the 1980s
Jul 7, 2019 • 8 min read
Our Trailblazers series sees Lonely Planet's guidebook writers reflect on past adventures, reminisce a little, and compare their experiences past and…
Story Kazakhstan has given its capital city a brand new name
Mar 20, 2019 • 2 min read
Travellers heading to the capital city of Kazakhstan will no longer be on a plane to Astana. The country made a surprise announcement today that it would…
Luxury Astana exposed: eight reasons to visit Kazakhstan’s gleaming capital
Jun 5, 2018 • 6 min read
Among Kazakhstan’s endless grasslands on the windswept northern steppes, the forward-looking modern city of Astana has sprouted. With a skyline punctuated…
Wildlife & Nature Five wilderness day trips from Almaty
Jan 12, 2018 • 5 min read
A pleasant, leafy city that would seem more at home in central Europe than Central Asia, Almaty is stocked with museums, cafes and nightlife. But…
Story Sacha Baron Cohen offers to pay fines for tourists inspired by Borat and his mankini
Nov 23, 2017 • 1 min read
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen proved he believes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after offering to bail out some Czech tourists who were slapped…
Sports Goat-carcass polo and sheep-bone marbles: Central Asia's traditional sports
Feb 22, 2017 • 5 min read
A crowd roars as a favourite local wrestler pins his opponent for the championship. A rumble of shock as a single horse-and-jockey fall to the back of a…
Festivals & Events Celebrating Nowruz the Central Asian way
Mar 17, 2016 • 4 min read
Framed by the snowy peaks of the Tian Shan mountains on the southern horizon, two teams of horsemen gather at centre field in Bishkek's Ak-Kula Hippodrome…
Road Trips Two-week traveller: adventures across Central Asia
Aug 3, 2015 • 5 min read
Once the realm of Silk Road merchants and Great Game spies, the Heavenly Mountains and Black Sand deserts of the 'Stans, as the five countries of Central…
Art A tour of Astana's wacky and wonderful architecture
Jul 28, 2015 • 4 min read
Kazakhstan might be best known for its nomadic roots, but its new capital city, Astana, is making waves with a surrealist skyline. When the government…
Art Musical Sufis in Turkistan
Nov 11, 2009 • 2 min read
If oil, gas, uranium and rockets are Kazakhstan's thrusting future, then Turkistan is where you will find its gentle soul.
Art Rocket from Russia: Baikonur Cosmodrome
Nov 11, 2009 • 2 min read
Sitting in Yuri Gagarin's chair? Check. Watching a rocket launch? Check. Exploring a Soviet blast from the past? Check. Then you must be in Baikonur, in…
Story Dune buggies in Kazakhstan: the need for speed
Nov 11, 2009 • 1 min read
If Ghenghis Khan were alive today he’d be riding on 220cc! The most fun you can have with your clothes on, bouncing around on a dune buggy is an…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Kazakhstan.

See
Beket-Ata
Some 285km east of Aktau, Beket-Ata is an important and extremely popular place of pilgrimage for those wishing to visit the underground mosque and final…
See
National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan
This huge blue-glass-and-white-marble museum covers the history and culture of Kazakhstan from ancient to modern times. Themed halls comprise interactive…
See
Charyn Canyon
Over millions of years, the swift Charyn (Sharyn) River has carved a truly spectacular 150m- to 300m-deep canyon into the otherwise flat steppe some 200km…
See
Yasaui Mausoleum
This astoundingly beautiful, tiled mausoleum with a turquoise dome is home to Kozha Akhmed Yasaui. The main chamber is capped with an 18m-wide dome, above…
See
Khan Shatyr
Nur-Sultan's most extraordinary building (so far), the Khan Shatyr is a 150m-high, translucent, tentlike structure made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene …
See
Palace of Peace & Reconciliation
This beautiful glass-and-steel pyramid was opened in 2006 as the home for the triennial Congress of World and Traditional Religions, hosted by Kazakhstan…
See
Shakpak-Ata
Perhaps the most intriguing of all Mangistau’s underground mosques, 10th-century Shakpak-Ata is a cross-shaped affair with three entrances and four…
See
ALZhIR Museum-Memorial Complex
During the Stalin years, Akmol, 35km west of Nur-Sultan, housed ALZhIR, a notorious camp for wives and children of men who were interned elsewhere as …
See
Mt Belukha
Right on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia, the myth-rich, snow-tipped peak of Mt Belukha (4506m) – Altay's highest – attracts true mountaineers…

Guidebooks

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