Three hour drive to the north from Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana there is a place of exceptional beauty. In the middle of the endless steppe, it looks like an oasis. A complex of pristine lakes nestled among the forested hills, with its layered rocks coming out of the lakes and cliffs that look like watch-towers and reflect in the water, it looks like one of the landscapes in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
In winter, when the crew of the Euronews’ “Modern Nomads” series visited it, the lakes are frozen solid, the forests are idyllic under the blanket of snow and the temperature is steady bellow -20 degrees Celsius. Burabay is quieter then as few people decide to brave the cold but that is exactly what gives the place its charm. We enjoyed undisturbed dog-slay rides on the frozen surface of the lake, hike in deep snow, ice-fishing and a relaxing evening in a cozy restaurant looking over the lake.
The summer season is quite different. The park and the adjacent Burabay village team with life, thousands of people spend weekends here and all the restaurants are open, offering great variety of food.
The park offers many more activities over the warmer months – swimming, sunbathing, hiking, cycling, safari with ziplining, rowing, canoeing and taking a boat ride. It has been like that for many years and Burabay, also known as Borovoe in Russian language has been known to everyone in Kazakhstan for decades as a place of beauty and entertainment.
