MyPassportStory
Your travels, worth telling.
MyPassportStory › Destinations › Kazakhstan
🇰🇿Things to Do in Kazakhstan
From Almaty's mountain backdrop to the Charyn Canyon's red rock formations - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country in the world, and most trips concentrate in its southeast, where Almaty sits directly beneath the Tian Shan mountains and canyons and alpine lakes are within day-trip reach. Astana (Nur-Sultan), the purpose-built capital, offers a completely different, futuristic contrast further north. Here are 6 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Almaty & the Tian Shan Mountains
Kazakhstan's largest city sits directly at the foot of the Tian Shan range, with the Shymbulak ski resort and Big Almaty Lake both reachable within an hour of the city center.
📍 Almaty
🚉 Almaty has a single metro line through the centre, and bus 12 runs up to Medeu, the high-altitude skating rink, from where a cable car climbs to the Shymbulak ski slopes.
Charyn Canyon
A dramatic red-rock canyon roughly three hours from Almaty, often compared to a smaller Grand Canyon, with the Valley of Castles as its most striking rock-formation section.
📍 Charyn Canyon, near Almaty
🚉 There is no public transport: the canyon is 200km east of Almaty, about three hours each way, and is normally visited by hire car or on a day tour.
Kolsai Lakes
A series of three alpine lakes in the Tian Shan foothills near the Kyrgyzstan border, popular for hiking and horseback trekking between them.
📍 Kolsai Lakes, near the Kyrgyzstan border
🚉 Marshrutkas run from Almaty to Saty village, six hours, then a 4x4 covers the last stretch to the first lake - the second and third lakes are reached only on foot or horseback.
Astana
Kazakhstan's purpose-built capital, constructed rapidly from the 1990s onward with striking modern architecture including the Bayterek Tower and the tent-shaped Khan Shatyr shopping center.
📍 Astana
🚉 Nur-Sultan Nurly Zhol station is the city's rail hub, with the high-speed Talgo trains from Almaty taking 12 hours overnight; the LRT and city buses cover the government district.
Big Almaty Lake
A turquoise alpine reservoir in the mountains above Almaty, at over 2,500 meters, with the water's distinctive color shifting with mineral content through the seasons.
📍 Near Almaty
🚉 The lake sits at 2,500m above the city: there is no bus, and taxis or tours drive the 28km up the gorge - the road passes a checkpoint, as the area borders Kyrgyzstan.
Nomadic Steppe Culture
Much of Kazakhstan's interior remains steppe grassland historically associated with nomadic horse culture - yurt stays and horseback tours in regions like Charyn or further into the countryside offer a direct look at that tradition.
📍 Central Kazakh steppe
🚉 Eagle hunters and yurt camps are found in the Almaty region and around Nura in the centre - all are reached by 4x4 transfers arranged in advance, with no scheduled service.
Mark Kazakhstan, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Kazakhstan?
A week suits Almaty and its surrounding mountains and canyons well. Ten days lets you add Astana, given the distance (and typically a flight) between the two cities.
What's the best time to visit Kazakhstan?
May-September has the warmest weather for the mountains and canyons around Almaty. Ski season at Shymbulak runs roughly December-April; Astana's winters are notably harsh given its northern, continental location.
Is Kazakhstan good for a first-time visit?
Yes - Almaty is modern and well set up for tourism, with organized day tours easily arranged for Charyn Canyon and the Kolsai Lakes.
Do I need a visa to visit Kazakhstan?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays; other nationalities need a visa arranged in advance. Check the official visa information for your nationality: consular.kz.
What are some things to do in Kazakhstan on a tight budget?
Joining a shared-group day tour to Charyn Canyon or the Kolsai Lakes costs considerably less than a private car, Almaty's cable car up Kok Tobe hill is inexpensive for the view it offers, and Kazakh food at local restaurants is cheap.
Can I rent a car in Kazakhstan, and what licence do I need?
Yes, and the distances make it tempting - though they are enormous, and internal flights or the overnight trains often make better sense. Foreign licences are accepted for visitors alongside an International Driving Permit, and the minimum age is generally 23 with a credit card. A 4x4 is needed for Charyn, Kolsai and anything off the main highways, and standard rental insurance excludes unpaved roads. Fuel stops can be 200km apart on the steppe routes. Official information is published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs at gov.kz, with visitor guidance at kazakhstan.travel.