IMAGE: GETTY


Departures out there Spring in the Steppe Sampling the bucolic pleasures of Kazakhstan's ‘mini Switzerland’. By Daniel Allen


From the windswept summit of Mount


Bolektau, Lake Burabay is a shimmering, sun- kissed expanse of water, ringed by sweeping forests of larch and pine. Towards the horizon, a series of low mountains are silhouetted against a pastel-hued sky. In a country famous for its vast expanse of desiccated, pancake-flat grassland, the Kazakh landscape here is as surprising as it is stunning. As we drink in the view, Diana, my guide, fills me in on a little local lore. "According to legend, the people of


Kazakhstan were unhappy with God after he gave them the featureless steppe to live on," she says. "After they complained, God created Lake Burabay and the surrounding mountains to shut them up." Burabay National Park is home to 14 lakes


fed by natural springs. Early the following day, deep in the larch forest, I watch a family fill plastic bottles and jugs from one fast-flowing stream, kids squealing as they splash each other with its icy, restorative waters. "In Soviet times, only the politicians


could come here to bathe in spring water and medicinal mud," says Diana. "Luckily, everyone is allowed to visit now."


After a high-calorie breakfast of boiled


horse meat and baursaki (savoury doughnuts), Diana and I wander down to the Goluboy Zaliv (Blue Bay), a local scenic spot. Just offshore lies Zhumbaktas ('riddle stone' in Kazakh), a bizarrely-shaped rock that emerges, Sphinx-like, from Lake Burabay's placid waters. Forming an impressive shoreline backdrop is Okzhetpes, a soaring, 1,247-foot cliff. "In the 18th century, a beautiful princess


was captured and brought to Burabay, where many Kazakh warriors wanted her as a wife," explains Diana. "Te princess agreed to marry the first warrior who could reach her with an arrow on the top of Okzhetpes. But after they all failed, she jumped into the lake, creating Zhumbaktas." Today, Burabay's health regime not


only comprises mud and spring water, but copious quantities of kumis too. Tis fermented horse-milk drink, the national beverage of Kazakhstan, is definitely an acquired taste. But with Burabay famous for a particularly therapeutic variety of the drink, I'm curious to go and witness the production process.


Essentials


Where: This Central Asian country is bordered by Russia, Mongolia, China and the 'Stans When: Spring and summer are best, with ideal hiking weather starting from July. Winters can be bitterly cold, but it's worth going for the skiing How: A number of major airlines fly to Astana via Kiev, Ukraine visitkazakhstan.kz


After lunch we drive out to Kumisnai


(literally 'kumis village'), a small settlement on the nearby grassland. At the appointed time, a line of mares is led into a low stable building by a Kazakh babushka, who proceeds to fill two metal churns with frothing milk. "In two days, after they heat the milk and


add yeast, this will be kumis," says Diana. "In ancient times, bread and milk would simply be strapped to the saddles of nomads. Tat way the horse's motion could do the mixing and fermenting. As we say in Kazakhstan, this is the only country in the world where you can eat and drink what you drive."


ASTAnetwork | Fall 2017 | 119


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140