Charyn Canyon is located about 140 miles (226 km) outside of Almaty (just a few miles from China), and with a new roadway system, it is a very easy run from the City. The Canyon has become somewhat known to adventure bikers when Charlie and Ewan ventured down onto the floor during their Long Way 'Round TV series. Numerous other adventure bikers have vlogged and blogged about the Canyon; it has almost become a mandatory stop when passing through Kazakhstan, a cliche in the making, albeit a very beautiful cliche.
The Park is not that well visited, but does have some tourist traffic. I visited on a holiday, weather was 70F and sunny, and there was maybe a dozen people milling about, mostly to shoot pictures in the "golden hour." Charyn Canyon looks very similar to the Grand Canyon in the US, almost like a scale model (Grand Canyon averages 10 miles in width, whereas the Charyn Canyon is maybe 0.25 miles across). The similarity is not lost on the locals. After my motorcycle with the Florida licence plate was spotted, two questions were inevitably asked: 1) Do you like the Canyon? 2) Not as nice as the Grand Canyon, is it? I was somewhat surprised that they knew about the Grand Canyon, or at least knew enough about it to be able to draw a comparison. But they did (schools here run 10 months a year and 6 days a week, so the average Kazakh receives more schooling than we do in the US). Overall the park was enjoyable. Great hiking and nice scenery.
Leg Distance: 1,141 mi (1,840 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 25,935 mi (41,830 km)
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
The Park is not that well visited, but does have some tourist traffic. I visited on a holiday, weather was 70F and sunny, and there was maybe a dozen people milling about, mostly to shoot pictures in the "golden hour." Charyn Canyon looks very similar to the Grand Canyon in the US, almost like a scale model (Grand Canyon averages 10 miles in width, whereas the Charyn Canyon is maybe 0.25 miles across). The similarity is not lost on the locals. After my motorcycle with the Florida licence plate was spotted, two questions were inevitably asked: 1) Do you like the Canyon? 2) Not as nice as the Grand Canyon, is it? I was somewhat surprised that they knew about the Grand Canyon, or at least knew enough about it to be able to draw a comparison. But they did (schools here run 10 months a year and 6 days a week, so the average Kazakh receives more schooling than we do in the US). Overall the park was enjoyable. Great hiking and nice scenery.
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| Trip Map |
Leg Distance: 1,141 mi (1,840 km)
Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 25,935 mi (41,830 km)
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan
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