Kazakhstan in 14 Days

Two weeks in Kazakhstan lets you link the three faces of the country that matter most to first-timers: the futuristic capital, the Silk Road south and the Tien Shan mountains behind Almaty. It suits travelers who want culture and nature in equal measure, at a moderate pace of two or three nights per stop. You’ll use an intercity train to reach Burabay, domestic flights to jump from Astana to Turkestan and from Shymkent to Almaty, a train or bus for the short Turkestan to Shymkent leg, and a hired driver for the canyon and lakes in the east.

Days 1-4: Astana

Begin in Astana, where the skyline on the Left Bank looks drawn rather than built. Give a full morning to the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, among the largest in Central Asia, whose gold hall explains the steppe’s nomad empires better than any lecture. Ride the elevator up the 97-meter Bayterek Tower, styled on a mythical tree holding a golden egg, and walk on to the white-and-gold Hazret Sultan Mosque, which is free to … read more 👉

Two weeks in Kazakhstan lets you link the three faces of the country that matter most to first-timers: the futuristic capital, the Silk Road south and the Tien Shan mountains behind Almaty. It suits travelers who want culture and nature in equal measure, at a moderate pace of two or three nights per stop. You’ll use an intercity train to reach Burabay, domestic flights to jump from Astana to Turkestan and from Shymkent to Almaty, a train or bus for the short Turkestan to Shymkent leg, and a hired driver for the canyon and lakes in the east.

Days 1-4: Astana

Begin in Astana, where the skyline on the Left Bank looks drawn rather than built. Give a full morning to the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, among the largest in Central Asia, whose gold hall explains the steppe’s nomad empires better than any lecture. Ride the elevator up the 97-meter Bayterek Tower, styled on a mythical tree holding a golden egg, and walk on to the white-and-gold Hazret Sultan Mosque, which is free to enter and lends headscarves to women at the door. Winter here regularly drops below minus 30°C, so pack accordingly from November to March.

Days 4-6: Burabay National Park

A train takes 3 to 4 hours to Shchuchinsk, and a short taxi ride brings you to Burabay National Park, where granite outcrops rise from pine forest around a ring of lakes. Locals call it the steppe’s Switzerland, and after Astana’s glass and concrete it’s a welcome change. Rent a bike for the lakeshore, look for the Zhumbaktas rock standing in Lake Burabay and try a bowl of kumys, fermented mare’s milk, from a roadside yurt.

Days 6-8: Turkestan

Day six is your biggest travel day: back to Astana and a direct flight south. Turkestan centers on the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, a UNESCO-listed Timurid shrine with a ribbed turquoise dome, and pilgrims make the trip here from every corner of the country. Visit at dusk, then wander the newly built caravanserai complex next door, where evening light shows play over the canals.

Days 8-10: Shymkent

A 2.5 to 3 hour train or bus brings you to Shymkent, the country’s third-largest city. Treat it as a food stop. The bazaars here are louder and more Uzbek than anything up north, with tandoor samsa, mountains of melons in late summer and shashlik smoke drifting over every courtyard café.

Days 10-12: Almaty and Turgen Gorge

Fly about 1.5 hours to Almaty. Spend a full day in Turgen Gorge, roughly 70 kilometers east, where short forest trails lead to a series of waterfalls and the riverside trout farms grill your lunch to order. Back in town, catch the cable car up to the Kok-Tobe hill after dark.

Days 12-14: Charyn Canyon, Saty and Kolsai

Head east with a driver to Charyn Canyon National Park and time it for late afternoon, when the low sun turns the Valley of Castles a deep orange. Sleep two nights in Saty. That gives you a full day in Kolsai Lakes National Park, where you can walk or ride horseback from the lower lake toward the second. On the final morning, visit Lake Kaindy early, then drive back to Almaty for an evening flight home.

If you have a spare half-day in the south, the Arystan Bab Mausoleum near ancient Otrar is the shrine pilgrims traditionally visit before Yasawi’s, and far fewer foreigners make it there.