Country silence or an island of natural tranquility
The gorge is located 25 kilometers from the western line of the city of Almaty and is part of the Ile-Alatau National Park. This simple natural landmark is breathtaking with the beauty of its nature – sprawling coniferous forests that turn into deciduous and fruit trees as they descend from the mountains. Here you can meet young, not yet gigantic spruces, and enjoy the fruits of barberry, apricot, wild apple and apricot in the fruitful season.
Mysterious Uy-Tas Stone
The main attraction of the Kaskelen Gorge is the Uy-Tas stone, which means «stone-house» in Kazakh because it looks like a traditional yurt. This boulder has the shape of an ideal circle and weighs almost 500 tons. You won’t be able to find a similar unique object anywhere else. No one knows how a stone came to be on a mountain slope and whether humans have anything to do with its origin. There is a version that an ancient glacier brought a boulder, and some people believe that religious rituals were performed at the stone before.
Prepare for the trip in advance
In the gorge, you can entertain yourself by visiting a maral farm, a trout farm, exploring a nursery of rare and indoor plants, or learn a lot about the Kazakh culture in the museum «Honoring the Mother». When going for a walk through the gorge, do not forget a hat and a cream with high SPF protection, since the high-altitude sun is considered one of the most ruthless and dangerous. Be careful with mushrooms – they grow here a lot, but many of them are poisonous.