Foto: The Charyn Canyon (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Kazakhstan - A good asphalt road leads us to the Charyn Canyon area — a rugged rock formation carved out by the Charyn River. At the location marked by our GPS as the canyon entrance, we wait for the motorcyclists. But they’ve found the entrance somewhere else. Because of poor reception, their messages arrive with a long delay. Calling is impossible. We’re waiting for each other, but not in the same spot. A German couple arrives, driving an overland truck. They’ve been traveling since last August and want to continue to China and Tibet. They too are looking for the canyon. We ask a man passing by on horseback for directions. We understand that the road we’re on leads to a canyon, but the actual Charyn Canyon is further on. We decide to first explore the canyon we’re already near. Driving through the riverbed, we go deeper and deeper into the canyon. On both sides are jagged rock formations carved long ago by water. What a stunning landscape. But we don’t have much time to enjoy it — we still need to find the actual Charyn Canyon. We ask around a few more times, but the directions remain vague. Everyone insists it must be close. But it’s not! When we finally receive GPS coordinates from the motorcyclists via SMS, it turns out we’re still 23 kilometers away. We head there quickly. Unfortunately — hats on the road. Another police checkpoint. From their gestures, we understand our headlights aren’t on. We switch them on. One officer wants to see documents; the other waves us through. We decide to listen to the latter. At Charyn Canyon National Park, we finally reunite with the motorcyclists. From the rim, we look down into the nearly 300-meter-deep canyon. It’s often called the little brother of the Grand Canyon in the U.S. From various viewpoints, we enjoy beautiful views of the canyon below. Everywhere you look, it’s stunning.
AksuZhabagly Nature Reserve
Kazakhstan - In a four-wheel drive jeep, I head to Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Park. Lammert and Elmira come along — they’ll be our guides in the area. Just outside the village, the road quickly worsens. The driver often has to switch to low gear. I’m jolted around ...
Dead trees in Lake Kaindy
Kazakhstan - From the village of Saty, it’s still twelve kilometers along a dirt road to Lake Kaindy. The road is little more than a cart track. Oncoming cars can only be passed by pulling off into the roadside. Suddenly, we reach a river. Other drivers advise us ...
The former capital Almaty
Kazakhstan - From the hotel, we walk to the St. Nicholas Cathedral. A light turquoise-colored cathedral with golden onion-shaped domes. Built in 1909, the cathedral features a beautifully ornate iconostasis inside. A heavy chandelier, filled with candles, hangs above ...