Best national parks in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s most visited parks lie within reach of Almaty. Charyn Canyon, about three hours east, is a red sandstone gorge whose Valley of Castles is walked in an hour or two down to the river; it is usually combined on day or two-day tours with the Kolsai lakes and the sunken forest of Kaindy. Altyn-Emel, to the north, is drier and wilder: the Singing Dune, which hums in dry wind, the striped Aktau mountains and the volcanic Katutau, with herds of kulan and goitered gazelle on the plain. A permit and the entry fee are arranged at the park office in Basshi, and distances inside are long.