UST-KAMENOGORSK
Ust-Kamenogorsk is located in eastern Kazakhstan. It is the largest city in this part of the country and the administrative center of the East Kazakhstan Region. The tribes of the Kazakh Khanate lived here. Later, the Ust-Kamenogorsk Fortress was built at the confluence of the Irtysh and Ulba rivers, receiving city status in 1868. Today, it is a large industrial city with a distinctive appearance and landmarks.
Recommended attractions:
The Metallurgists’ Palace of Culture is a reflection of the cultural life of the industrial city. Built in 1957 for the workers of the largest metallurgical plant, the palace features 12 columns and figures of workers. The palace’s artistic decoration was created by Kazakh artisans in keeping with national traditions.
The Ust-Kamenogorsk City Mosque opened 10 years ago and has become the third largest in Kazakhstan, accommodating up to 3,000 people. The 40-meter-high dome is covered with titanium nitrite plates, giving it a radiant blue color. The minarets rise to 63 meters—the number of years the Prophet Muhammad lived.
Ust-Kamenogorsk Arbat, a pedestrian street in Ust-Kamenogorsk, opened in 2019, connecting two parks in the city center. The Arbat is decorated with illuminated fountains and small architectural features. Street performers and freelance artists entertain the city’s residents on Arbat Street.
The Architectural, Ethnographic, and Natural Landscape Museum-Reserve comprises several buildings: the main building on Beibitshilik Street, the museum-reserves on Gorky, Golovkov, and Kaysenov Streets, Zhambyl Park, and the Ak Bauyr Historical and Archaeological Complex. It also includes the Kasym Kaysenov Ethnopark, formerly known as Zhastar, and even earlier, Kirov Park. A small ethnographic village is located on its grounds.
The Sibinsky Lakes are five water basins of varying sizes embedded in the cliffs of the Kalbinsky Range in the southwestern Altai Mountains. The water in the pools is crystal clear, and the surrounding mountains and cliffs seem to have weathered the ravages of time and wind. Viewed from above, they appear to be arranged as if on a staircase. The lowest is 714 meters above sea level, the highest at 868 meters.
Katon-Karagay National Park is the largest national park in Kazakhstan, located in the Katon-Karagay District of the East Kazakhstan Region. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its landmarks, landscape, and diverse flora and fauna.
The Kiin-Kerish site is a unique paleontological monument. It is estimated to be between 15 and 30 million years old. The clay rocks formed in the tropical climate of the Mesozoic, an era when dinosaurs inhabited the planet. The area has a characteristic canyon landscape and is surrounded by a desert plain. Traces of tropical leaves are found in the layers of clay and sand, and bones of ancient vertebrates have been discovered.
We also recommend visiting: the Zhambyl East Kazakhstan Regional Drama Theater, Gossimvol Mountain, the Bukhtarma Reservoir, and the Markakol Nature Reserve.