About Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan lies in the same latitudes as Italy and Spain, but has an absolutely different climate. The northern areas feature a relatively short summer and very cold winter, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 40°C.

The southern regions do not need to survive long and cold winters, but they suffer from very hot summers.

The climate in Kazakhstan is dry continental. It may snow in any part of the country, but annual precipitation can hardly be higher than 500 mm anywhere.

The summer in Kazakhstan lasts from mid-May to about mid-September. It is dry and hot, with temperatures rising to +35-40°C.

The winter begins in mid-November and continues until April. The air in this season is dry and cold; the average temperature in January is minus 18°C. Most of the days are clear, frosty and windy.

Astana is considered the world’s second coldest capital city after Ulan Bator.

Kazakhstan is a secular state where progressive views predominate. Almost any type of clothes is acceptable in public places. It is next to impossible to see a person dressed in traditional costume in the capital or any other large city.

Choosing your clothes you should only be guided by the time of the year. In summer you should wear light clothes from natural textiles, while in winter you will need warm clothes and footwear, in which you will feel comfortable at minus 20°C. In spring and autumn the weather is quite unpredictable.

Visiting a religious place you should be dressed in clothes covering your shoulders and legs.

As well as in other nomadic peoples, the traditional Kazakh cuisine included cooking methods aimed to preserve food for quite a time.

Meat is the key element in the country’s kitchen and is used in a wide range of meals and to make various types of sausage, the most popular of which is kazy. Kazy is made of meat from horse’s ribs and fat. The piquant taste of this sausage is filled with the warmth of a bright sun and the bitter fragrance of steppe herbs, which makes you feel an ancient nomadic warrior.

Sausage shuzhuk is similar to kazy but has a somewhat more delicate taste. Unlike kazy, shuzhuk is made from any part of horse’s body (not only from that near the ribs) with the addition of fat. The ingredients are stuffed into the small intestine.

Sheep’s breast on a spit also ranks as one of the most popular Kazakh meals. In this dish the skin is not removed but only singed.

Boiled meat is also a common meal for the Kazakhs. They believe that only boiling allows meat to retain all its taste, aroma and good properties.

Those who have tasted true Kazakh beshbarmak can hardly find a place anywhere in the world where it is so delicious.

Foods from fermented milk also play an important part in Kazakhstan’s cuisine. Sour milk tends to retain its properties and does not rot during long journeys across the steppe, supporting and invigorating one’s organism and quenching one’s thirst. Ayran with its pleasant sour and salty taste, shalap - less savoury but more nourishing through the addition of bread, or koumiss (also spelled kumiss, kumis) making one’s body lighter - all these are essential elements on the Kazakh dastarkhan (table).

Ayran is a common drink in some other countries, too. Apart from beverages, sour milk is used to make qurut (also spelled kurut, kurt, qurt, gurt, qort). This food consists of small dried balls or rolls with a particular taste and is perfect with beer.

The citizens of most of the countries in the former Soviet area are not required to have a Kazakhstan visa to stay in the territory of Kazakhstan.

People from many other countries around the world do not need an invitation to obtain a tourist visa.

The citizens of Austria, Australia, Belgium, Greece, UK, Denmark, Israel, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Canada, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, USA, Singapore, Portugal, France, Germany, Finland, the Republic of Korea and Japan are not required to obtain a registration while staying in the territory of Kazakhstan, if they have a Kazakh visa.

Hotel workers register their clients in a special book, upon which they must provide their guest with a document confirming that they are staying at this hotel.

The level of criminality in Kazakhstan is very low and tourists can hardly fall victims to criminal offence. Nevertheless, you should take some general safety precautions: do not walk in the backstreets at night time, avoid taking large sums of money with you and showing them and other precious things to other people. You should also follow the recommendations of your guide and hotel workers.