Travel guide
Kazakhstan Travel Guide
Kazakhstan is travelled by corridors: its distances rule out crossing it on one trip, so a visit takes one or two regions and joins them by air or overnight train. Most first visits begin in Almaty, where the Tian Shan rises at the edge of town, and a week from the city holds the mountains, a canyon and a chain of mountain lakes. The capital on the northern steppe and the Silk Road south are the next corridors.
Updated 2026-10-09
Deep dives
Deep dive
Charyn and the Lakes: Red Rock and Mountain Water East of Almaty →
See Charyn Canyon and its Valley of Castles, then the Kolsai lakes and the drowned forest of Lake Kaindy in the mountains of Kazakhstan's south-east. Two or three days from Almaty, by car with a driver.
Deep dive
Baikonur: the Spaceport on the Steppe →
Visit Baikonur, the cosmodrome on the steppe of Kazakhstan where Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin were launched, on an organised trip built around a launch. Entry is by permit only.
Itinerary
Kazakhstan by Corridors: a Week From Almaty →
Plan a first week in Kazakhstan from Almaty: the city, a day in the mountains above it, Charyn Canyon and the Kolsai lakes. Flights and overnight trains add Astana or Turkistan.
Ways to Experience This Destination
The green city at the foot of the Tian Shan, with the skating rink of Medeu, the ski slopes of Shymbulak and Big Almaty Lake in the mountains above it.
The capital on the northern steppe, a planned city of towers, domes and boulevards, with Bayterek and the Khan Shatyr tent on its left bank.
The red rock of Charyn Canyon and the Kolsai lakes and Lake Kaindy in the mountains of the south-east, two or three days from Almaty.
The unfinished mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan, a place of pilgrimage, and the ruins of Otrar on the plain of the Syr Darya.
The cosmodrome where Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin were launched, visited only on an organised trip built around a launch.
Overnight trains and domestic flights across distances the size of Western Europe, with the steppe passing at the window.
City guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I get by with English in Kazakhstan?
In international hotels and on Almaty's tourist circuit, mostly; beyond them Russian is the everyday common language and English thins out quickly. Kazakh is the state language, signs carry both, and learning the Cyrillic alphabet makes menus, station boards and street signs legible. Translation apps fill the remaining gaps.
When is the best time to visit Kazakhstan?
April to June and September to October are the comfortable seasons. The climate is extreme at both ends: Astana's winters fall towards -40 °C, and summers on the steppe run hot, between 30 and 40 °C. Winter brings skiing at Shymbulak above Almaty, but the shoulder seasons are when the country is easiest to travel.
Is Kazakhstan safe?
Kazakhstan is generally safe for visitors, with low crime and a visible police presence. The usual care with belongings applies in city crowds, travellers keep away from demonstrations, and official paperwork can take patience.
Is the capital called Astana or Nur-Sultan?
Astana. The city was called Akmola until 1998, then Astana, Nur-Sultan from 2019 and Astana again from 2022, so older maps and some people still use the other names. It became the capital in 1997, when the government moved there from Almaty.
Entry rules, visa types and practical notes live on the Kazakhstan overview.
Treat this Visaja page as your starting point: verify the current rules directly with the official source before you submit an application.