Almaty & the Tian Shan
Altyn-Emel National Park
Home to the “Singing Dune”, which hums in the wind, and the striped Aktau mountains.
Regions
Almaty & the Tian Shan
Almaty lies at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains, a base for high lakes, hiking and dramatic desert canyons.
Landmarks in Almaty & the Tian Shan
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Almaty & the Tian Shan
Big Almaty Lake
A turquoise mountain lake at about 2,500 m in the Trans-Ili Alatau, just outside Almaty.
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Almaty & the Tian Shan
Charyn Canyon
A red-rock canyon about 150 km long, its Valley of Castles section often compared to the Grand Canyon.
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Almaty & the Tian Shan
Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes
Alpine lakes in the Tien Shan. Kaindy is famous for the sunken forest of spruce trunks rising out of the water.
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Almaty & the Tian Shan
Medeu and Shymbulak
The world’s highest-altitude outdoor skating rink, connected by cable car to the Shymbulak ski resort above.
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UNESCO World Heritage Almaty & the Tian Shan
Tamgaly Petroglyphs
Thousands of Bronze Age rock carvings, including sun-headed figures. UNESCO-listed.
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Almaty & the Tian Shan
Zenkov Cathedral (Almaty)
A colourful 1907 Russian Orthodox cathedral built almost entirely of wood, which survived a major earthquake in 1911.