Kazakhstan

Places in Kazakhstan

• Aksu-Zhabagly

  Aksu-Zhabagly, established in 1926, is the oldest nature reserve in Central Asia, located in southern Kazakhstan. It offers unique landscapes, biodiversity, and historical petroglyphs.

  Atlas entry

• Aktau

  Aktau is a young city founded as a uranium mining town, now Kazakhstan's only port. It serves as a base to explore ancient Sufi pilgrimage sites and natural wonders like the Karagiye Depression and Fire Mountain.

  Atlas entry

• Almaty

  Almaty pairs Soviet-era architecture, museums, parks, and easy access to the Tian Shan. Its practical grid plan and cosmopolitan atmosphere make it a useful base for hiking, winter sports, and city exploration.

  Daily budget (USD)

  ~$63

  Best months

  Apr–Oct

• Astana

  Astana is a planned city shaped by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, with futuristic skyscrapers and modernist buildings. It became Kazakhstan's capital in 1998 after replacing Almaty, giving the skyline a distinctly modern identity.

  Daily budget (USD)

  ~$53

  Best months

  May–Sep

• Atyrau

  Atyrau is a gritty oil-industry city at the junction of Europe and Asia where the Ural River flows into the Caspian Sea. While not a typical tourist destination, it offers a glimpse into Kazakhstan's Soviet industrial heritage, a striking pedestrian bridge, and practical transit connections.

  Atlas entry

• Charyn Canyon

  Charyn Canyon is one of Kazakhstan's most popular national parks, praised for its spectacular rock formations resembling a smaller Grand Canyon. Despite being frequented by tourists in summer, its infrastructure remains undeveloped, offering a raw, adventurous experience for hikers and nature lovers.

  Atlas entry

• Karaganda

  Karaganda is a gritty coal-mining city in Kazakhstan's Central Highlands, once a major Soviet forced-labor hub. The name became a wry Russian pun for "where the hell?"—the middle of nowhere—but its Soviet history, former gulag KarLag, and proximity to Karkaraly National Park draw travelers seeking offbeat history and nature.

  Atlas entry

• Kentau

  Kentau is a Soviet-era mining town established in 1952, offering a glimpse into industrial Soviet heritage. The town features distinctive Soviet monumental art including mosaics and metal reliefs on public buildings, alongside kilometers of decaying architecture and abandoned industrial zones that appeal to urban explorers and Soviet history enthusiasts.

  Atlas entry

• Kokshetau

  Kokshetau serves as a quiet provincial capital in northern Kazakhstan, offering a slower pace than major cities with Soviet-era architecture and access to attractive lakes. The city sits on the shore of Lake Kopa Kona though urban design does not fully embrace the waterfront.

  Atlas entry

• Kostanay

  Kostanay is a regional city of 247,000 people (2019) situated on the Tobol River in Northern Kazakhstan's steppe zone. It serves as a practical transit point between Nur-Sultan and Russian cities, with Chelyabinsk being the nearest million-plus city at 260 km northwest.

  Atlas entry

• Oral

  Oral (Uralsk) is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan at the confluence of the Ural and Chagan Rivers, sitting on the European side of the Ural River divide. Founded in 1613 by Cossacks as part of the Russian Empire, the city retains strong Russian cultural and architectural influence despite being in Kazakhstan.

  Atlas entry

• Pavlodar

  Pavlodar is a quiet, uneventful former Soviet industrial city in northeastern Kazakhstan with about 354,000 residents. It serves as a regional capital of Pavlodar Province on the banks of the Irtysh River.

  Atlas entry

• Semey

  Semey (formerly Semipalatinsk) offers a rare window into Soviet-era history, from its 1718 founding as a Russian imperial fort to its proximity to the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site where 456 nuclear explosions were conducted between 1949 and 1989. The city also preserves cultural heritage through the Abai Museum honoring the Kazakh poet and the Dostoyevsky Museum where the author lived in exile from 1857-1859.

  Atlas entry

• Shymkent

  Shymkent compresses 25 centuries of history into a walk from Soviet squares through the medieval old town to Shym-Qala hillfort. Its lively food scene, low prices and transport links make it a useful southern Kazakhstan base.

  Daily budget (USD)

  ~$35

  Best months

  Mar–Jun, Sep–Oct

• Taraz

  Taraz is one of Central Asia's oldest cities, with over 2,000 years of history as a Silk Road crossroads. The city offers well-preserved medieval Islamic mausoleums like Aisha Bibi and Dautbek Shamansur, a relaxed atmosphere, and prices that won't strain a backpacker budget.

  Atlas entry

• Turkestan

  Turkestan draws pilgrims and travelers to the monumental Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a 14th-century Sufi shrine that has been called the 'Second Mecca of the East'. The 1600-year-old city preserves Central Asian architecture and serves as Kazakhstan's spiritual capital; in 2021, the Turkic Council formally recognized it as the spiritual capital of the Turkic world.

  Atlas entry