towards the old capitol, and around

I was heading for the old capitol of Kazachstan; Almaty. what I now consider the best area of Kazachstan. this might have been because the mountains start here again. and they mark the border wth Kyrgyzstan. and have ethereal snow I guess, as it quite warm here 35C and there is still snow to be seen. the heights range up to 4300 meters.

After some rest in in Almaty, that still shows signs of being the capitol. old government building now have an new owner and its a very bustling city. it was time to visit big Almaty lake, an alpine lake at 2500m, just 15 km north of the city. an long pipeline takes the water to the city for drinking.

After i set towards the Charyn Canyon, an place know as the small Grand Canyon. alto I have never been there in the usa. but it dose look like the pictures I have seen. there are some other canyon there to explore so had a look. I liked it very much although the walk was very hot with no shade. it was already getting hot when I was there around 930 AM. temptratures reach 40 this time of year!

Time to cool down in the mountains. onward towards the kolsay lakes. a series of lakes in the likely named national park. there 3 lakes in total. (altitudes 1818m/2252m/2850m respectfully) the first one can be reached by car the second by an 7 km mountain hike. the 3 one is of limits as it is to close to the border. after camping next to a ranchers house set of towards the 2e lake very early in the morning, as I wanted to drive towards kaindy lake after. it was a hard to find an camping spot as most are down at the lake. and would have taken multiple trips up and down to cary all the gear there and back.

Arriving at Kaindy lake it lived up to another name; the sunken forrest. it was apparently formed by an earthquake, forming a dam. the trees that where stilll there still stand with all the branches underwater green, and are preserved by the cold mountain water.

time to have some extra rest in Almaty after some days of camping trekking and hot wheater. and sometimes cold nights. as the Kaindy lake sits at 2000 meters. after an rough 4x4 road.