Bayankol Gorge

It takes six hours to drive to this amazing gorge from Almaty. At the end of the gorge, where you can cross the Bayankol River, there is a small border guard camp. To the south, up the gorge at an altitude of 3200 m (10500 ft), the gorge narrows and ends with the Sary-Jaz Glacier, where the Bayankol River originates. Further, majestic, but almost unknown mountain peaks rise above (five of them exceed 5000 m - 16500 ft): Kazakhstan Peak, Bayankol Peak, Semenov Peak, Karlytau Peak, Pogranichnik Peak, the Peak of the Eleven, as well as one of the most stunning peaks of the Tien Shan - the Marble Wall (6400 m - 21000 ft). On a sunny day, far beyond the ridge, you can see the snow-white Khan Tengri Peak, towering above all the mountains of this region.