Charyn Canyon

Three hours’ drive from Almaty is a completely stunning place called Charyn Canyon.

The canyon starts quietly and inconspicuously. At first, it seems very small.

And then it grows so much that it takes your breath away.

It’s just like the Wild West.

In fact, compared to the Grand Canyon in the United States, Charyn Canyon is just a dwarf. The American canyon is ten times larger.

And even with such “modest” dimensions, the canyon is an amazing place.

A big advantage is that it’s easy to descend to the bottom of the canyon. In the US, it takes a whole day to do this, while in Kazakhstan, you can do it in just a couple of hours.

At the bottom of the canyon, the Charyn River flows through it.

The bottom of the canyon is twice as interesting as the top.

They say the Weinstein brothers filmed a TV series called “Marco Polo” here. It was cheaper to come to Kazakhstan than to film in the Grand Canyon.

Yes, it’s like a miniature version of the pure Wild West.

In the canyon there’s also a minibus that will take you back to the exit for 100 rubles.