20 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Kazakhstan - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Kazakhstan

Saty, Kazakhstan

Kaindy Lake

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake.

42.9844, 78.4658

Added by Tawsam

One of many fishing ships now without fish

Aralsk, Kazakhstan

Aral Sea

Rusting ships sit in a desert where a sea used to be.

46.7949, 61.6536

Added by Annetta Black

Rollout of the Soyuz rocket for the Expedition 21 mission, September 28, 2009.

Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Baikonur Cosmodrome

World's oldest and largest space launch facility, once a secret missile testing site.

45.6282, 63.3046

Added by Trevor

Riding on horseback through wild apple groves outside Almaty.

Almaty, Kazakhstan

The Last Wild Apple Forests

Granny Smiths, Fujis, and Pink Ladies can all be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild.

43.0929, 77.0564

October snow and blue hues

Enbekshikazakh District, Kazakhstan

Issyk Lake

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.

43.2531, 77.4847

Added by taotaoholmes

Inside a ruined factory.

Almaly, Kazakhstan

Bayzhansay Ghost Town

An abandoned Soviet-era mining town in the mountains of South Kazakhstan.

43.1655, 69.9223

Added by dwhansen2

Astana, Kazakhstan

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation

Iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world's religious faiths.

51.1224, 71.4682

Added by Nicholas Jackson

Soyuz 11 memorial in original form

Zhanaarka District, Kazakhstan

Soyuz 11 Memorial

The remains of a monument in the remote Kazakhstani desert dedicated to the only men to die in outer space, the crew of the Soyuz 11 rocket.

47.3566, 70.1214

Added by lewblank

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Unique
Food & Drink
from Kazakhstan

Kumis

Gastro Obscura

Kumis

Infants and Genghis Khan enjoyed this fermented mare's milk.

Gastro Obscura

Added by rachelrummel

Kurt

Gastro Obscura

Meats & Animal Products

Kurt

These pocket-sized cheese balls have fueled Central Asian nomads for centuries.

Gastro Obscura

Added by susarm

Get weekly dispatches on the world’s most wondrous food and drink with Gastro Obscura.

Explore Kazakhstan

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elizabeth4 wants to go to Bayzhansay Ghost Town

elizabeth4 wants to go to Aral Sea

andreagangdal has been to Bayzhansay Ghost Town

Neighborhood Squatch wants to go to The Last Wild Apple Forests

Neighborhood Squatch wants to go to Issyk Lake

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