Kazakhstan Road trips
3 curated road trips in Kazakhstan — Almaty to Charyn Canyon and Kolsai Lakes, Mangystau and Ustyurt Plateau, Kazakhstan Steppe Highway. Mapped stops, distance, duration, best season, and practical route notes.
These 3 routes range from 560 to 1300 km and from 2 to 7 days, across 1 country. Top picks: Almaty to Charyn Canyon and Kolsai Lakes, Mangystau and Ustyurt Plateau, Kazakhstan Steppe Highway.
NotableAlmaty to Charyn Canyon and Kolsai LakesThis classic Almaty escape combines open steppe, the sculpted red walls of Charyn Canyon, and the pine-backed mountain lakes of Kolsai. The drive is straightforward yet long, rewarding with changing landscapes, short hikes, and overnight stays in guesthouses or simple camps near the lake district.
IconicMangystau and Ustyurt PlateauThis out-and-back loop from Aktau into Mangystau and across the Ustyurt Plateau showcases Kazakhstan’s most otherworldly desert scenery. Expect chalk cliffs, wind-carved canyons, and vast empty steppe, with highlights including Bozzhyra’s white escarpments, the isolated Tuzbair salt flats, and remote road stops beneath endless skies.
NotableKazakhstan Steppe HighwayAcross the world's largest landlocked country from the former capital Almaty to the space-age new capital Astana, through the Kazakh steppe's infinite flatness, past Lake Balkhash's bisected chemistry (fresh water in the west, salt in the east), and the Soviet-era coal city of Karaganda with its extraordinary Gulag history.