Ecotourism in Kazakhstan

1. Ecotourism in Kazakhstan

ECOTOURISM IN KAZAKHSTAN

2. general

GENERAL
• Kazakhstan is the country of the oldest civilization on the Eurasian continent,
motherland of nomadic tribes, considerable part of Great Silk Way Road (1,400
km). Kazakhstan is a motherland of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, great philosopher,
founder of Sufism. There are about 27 thousand antiques in the republic.
• Kazakhstan is famous with its variety of landscapes: from high snowy
mountains to steppes, from dense forests to near deserts and deserts; lakes
and rivers with pure water rushing waterfalls. The lowest point is Karagiye
hollow (-132m), the highest point is the Khan Tengri peak (7,010m).
• It was announced that Kazakhstan was home to more than 40 eco-tourism
sites, all of which are located in natural reservations and have tourist paths and
routes.

3. TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL TOURISM IN KAZAKHSTAN

4. Altyn-Emel State National Nature Park

ALTYN-EMEL STATE NATIONAL NATURE
PARK
• Located approximately 93 miles from the
city of Almaty, Atlyn-Emel is a nature park
that was established as a place for ecotourism in 1996 in order to preserve the
unique nature of the area.

5. Altyn-Emel State National Nature Park

ALTYN-EMEL STATE NATIONAL NATURE
PARK
• Some of the most popular attractions at Altyn-Emel include:
Singing Dune/Singing Sands
Besshatyr burial mounds/
“Stonehenge” of Kazakh Steppes
Tamgaly Tas
Katutau and Aktau mountains

6. Charyn State National Natural Park

CHARYN STATE NATIONAL NATURAL
PARK
• Charyn State National Natural Park was created
to preserve Kazakhstan’s natural beauty, and has
become a popular spot for tourists visiting the
Almaty oblast. The main attraction here is the
Sharyn River valley/the Charyn Canyon, which is
Kazakhstan’s version of the United States’ Grand
Canyon. All throughout the year, visitors flock to
Charyn State National Park to experience the
unique nature, as well as the historical and
cultural sites such as burial grounds.

7. Alatau – Eliy National Park

ALATAU – ELIY NATIONAL PARK
• When visiting Almaty, tourists should definitely check
out Alatau – Eliy National Park. Established in 1996, the
main tourist site here is Big Almaty Lake, which is
located about a mile and a half above sea level. Not only
is Big Almaty Lake a breathtaking, picturesque site, it is
also used for water supply and hydroelectric power for
the city of Almaty.

8. Kolsay Lakes

KOLSAY LAKES
• Considered “a pearl of Northern Tien-Shan,” Kolsay
Lakes is a gorgeous natural attraction, just a short
drive away from Almaty. Kolsay Lakes is a collection
of three lakes that the Kolsay River flows into: “Top”,
“Mynzholki”, and “Lower.” Visitors love vacationing at
Kolsay Lakes because there are plenty of fun things
to do like camping, hiking, mounting bicycling,
horseback riding, and more!

9. Chimbulak

CHIMBULAK
• An alpine ski resort is located in the scenic
gorge of Zailiskiy Alatau at an altitude of 2,260
meters above sea level, 25 kilometers away from
the center of Almaty city in the Chimbulak gorge.
Ski slopes of Chimbulak are attested by FIS
(International Ski Federation). Tracks of downhill
skiing and giant slalom are by right in the top ten
most complicated tracks in the world.

10. Karagiye

KARAGIYE
• (“black hollow” from Kazakh) is the lowest point in Kazakhstan and CIS (132
meters below sea level). It is remarkable for its fantastic beauty.

11. Burabay (Borovoye)

BURABAY (BOROVOYE)
• “Kazakh Switzerland” is the unofficial name of the
Borovoye (Burabay) region among local guides. Lots of
lakes are scattered in between the mountains: Pike
(Shuchye), Big and Small Chebache lakes, Kotyrkol. Blue
Bay of the Lake named after this place is a business card of
Burabay. Right from the water, in the center of the bay,
stands a “Zhumbaktas” rock (translated as: “mysterious
stone”), reminding sphinx; there is also Ok-Zhetpes rock
(“arrow will not reach”), with peak in the shape of an
elephant, rising against the backdrop of the wooded
slopes.
• Combination of mountains, pine forest and lakes creates
special therapeutic climate. There are a lot of sanatoriums,
tourist centers and boarding houses.

12. Bayanaul

BAYANAUL
• Bayanaul national park is located one hundred
kilometers away from Ekibastuz, city with developed
industry. There are four kinds of vegetation present
on the territory of the park: forest, forest-steppe,
steppe and meadow.
• In the place, named “Goose flight”, paleontologists
have found about one thousand kinds of prehistoric
animal remains; they lived from 7 to 10 million years
ago.

13. Markakol reserve

MARKAKOL RESERVE
• Animal world is rich and diverse. Broun bears, elk, foxes, lynx,
Siberian stags, wolverine, sable, ermine, rare red wolf, falcon,
grouse, black Stork, herring gull, and many other animals can be
found in the woods.
• Scenic rocky ledges of mountains are covered mainly with
greenwoods, less with fir forests. Subalpine meadows are rich in
flowers, rare medicinal plants (golden and maral root, Hedysarum
scoparium, Bergenia crassifolia and others).
• Markakol Lake, which lies in a cavity, is called a pearl of Markakol
reserve. It is 38 kilometers long, 19 kilometers wide and 27 meters
deep. It is fed with 27 rivers and streams, but only Kalzhir river
flows from the lake. Water in Markakol is fresh and very soft; its
main wealth is uskuch fish (Brachymystax lenok) from salmon
family.

14. Alakol Lake

ALAKOL LAKE
• Alakol (“motley lake”) is located in the
northeastern part of Dzhungarian Alatau, and is
rich in mud and mineral salts. Water in the lake is
very clean and clear; it is turquoise in clear
morning or sky-blue at the end of day. Swimming
season lasts for 4 months. There are flocks of
flamingos walking around on the Birds Island;
more than 40 species of birds inhabit the lake:
relict gulls, pelican, bustard and others. Unique
wealth of Alakol Lake is under state protection.

15. Karkaraly national park

KARKARALY NATIONAL PARK
• The name of Karkaraly Mountains came from “karkary”,
the name of national headwear for Kazakh girls, which is
skillfully embroidered with beads, silk, decorated with
velvet, brocade and crowned with owl feathers.
• Height of Karkaraly Mountains is relatively small: the
highest point is the tricipital Komsomol peak, which
height is 1,403 meters above sea level. Mountains are
covered with pine, birch forest and diverse herbaceous
vegetation.

16. EIRC

• Ecotourism information resource center (EIRC) is
the project of KTA, which was opened in 2005
with the support of The Eurasia Foundation.
• EIRC is a key point, around which the program of
promotion of ecotourism, based on development
of local communities in Kazakhstan is being
implemented.

17. Main activities of EIRC:

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF EIRC:
popularization of ideas of
eco-tourism
promotion of ecotourism,
based on communities, to
the tourist market
provision of information
to tourists and visitors of
the center
booking of tours and
advertising support of
project regions

18.

• International tourism, number of arrivals in Kazakhstan was reported at
6509000 in 2016, according to the World Bank collection of development
indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.

19. Statistics

STATISTICS
Statistics
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009 1q.
Total
Eco sites
210
423
508
642
47
1830
Weekend tours
349
594
681
988
30
2642
Individual tours
28
65
277
360
8
738
Center
attendance
351
457
639
492
355
2294
Total:
938
1539
2105
2482
440
7504
International
632
1245
1801
2016
344
6038
Kazakh
306
294
304
466
96
1466