Kazakhstan 2025

Day 8

On the 8th day (and last one in the area) I drove first a little to East from Kenge, towards the border with China, admiring the views along the way and enjoying the vastness of space. Weather was again good, though with more humidity, some views were not as clear. I didn't reach the boarder before turning back towards Kenge and then back to Almaty. I, again, stopped at the Black Canyon for a short moment and then (for a longer moment) at, I think, the most famous landmark in the area - Charyn Canyon. Both of them equally scenic.

Charyn is definitely more tourist oriented - with payment for parking, restaurant, even a few rooms to sleep in. There are two routes to follow - either high on the hill, or at the lowest point of the canyon. Given that the sun was already a bit low, I decided to take the upper route as the lower parts were already a bit in the shadows and sun was only going down. The walk is not that long (2-3km one way?), with lower route being a bit longer. And there were options to rent a ride if you have trouble walking too far. It's definitely worth the visit.

The fact that was a bit surprising to me was the complete lack of any safety measures. I loved it from photography POV (nothing to erase from photos or trying to somehow get around), but it was something I noticed actually only after a little while. There were signs encouraging to follow the walking path, but you could pretty much walk everywhere without any issues. I guess, probably, in few years, with more and more tourists (and possibly some accidents), they will put some restraints on the tourists. As it happened with Fjadrargljufur Canyon on Iceland. First time I saw it in 2016 it didn't had and safeguards and upon my second visit on 2024, they were already installed.

I arrived back in Almaty in the evening and went immediately to sleep. :)