Remote natural attractions of the Kegen district -
Jeep tour to the upper reaches of the Shilik (Chilik) River -
Kairakty Gorge is a remote picturesque mountain gorge, located at an altitude of 3000 meters above sea level in the Kolsay Lakes National Park. The picturesque mountain river Kayrakty flows through the gorge, which flows into the Shilik (Chilik) River. The beginning of the gorge is in the upper reaches of the Shilik River, there is no road here, you can walk here along a mountain route, and this direction can also be overcome on horseback as part of a special horseback tour. The beginning of the route begins in the village of Saty, which serves as the starting point for the entire natural park. It is best to see these places as part of a horseback tour, which can last from 3-5-9 days, depending on the distance of the route and your personal desires. In addition to these places in the park, you can visit more accessible natural attractions such as the Kolsay Lakes, along which there is also a mountain route through all three lakes. Another equally picturesque place in the park is Lake Kaindy, famous for its flooded pine forest and clear water. For lovers of jeep tours, the Amanzhol gorge is suitable, to the upper reaches of which there is a beautiful mountain road. There are also gorges that are much closer, this is the Kurmenty gorge and the Karasai gorge, along which mountain roads also pass, along which you can climb to the upper reaches of these gorges.
How to get there and visit -
The Kairakty gorge is located in the upper reaches of the Shilik River in the Kolsai Lakes National Park, Kegen district, Almaty region, Republic of Kazakhstan.
GPS coordinates: 42°59'44"N 77°29'38"E
Information -
The Kayrakty Gorge, lost among the rocky masses of the Kungey Alatau, is one of the most picturesque and inaccessible corners of the Kolsay Lakes (Kolsay Kolderi) Nature Park. Situated between the Korumdyk and Kugantor Gorges, this wild stone corridor stretches for 9.5 kilometers along the northern slope of the ridge, keeping the secrets of ancient glaciers in its depths. The sources of the Kayrakty River are born at a dizzying height of 3,731.8 meters, where a complex glacial massif, like a frozen giant, slowly gives its waters to two main tributaries. The western tributary starts from two glaciers separated by a narrow isthmus, in the hollow of which moraine lakes are hidden at an altitude of 3618 meters - these emerald mirrors, framed by eternal snow, reflect peaks up to 4104 meters high. The eastern tributary originates even higher - at 4021 meters, and its icy tongue, sliding north, after two kilometers gives birth to three new high-mountain reservoirs at an altitude of 3688 meters. The watershed between Kairakty and the neighboring Zhamanbulak gorge is marked by an impressive peak at 4457.5 meters - a real guardian of these places, from where panoramas open up that take the breath away even for experienced climbers. The river bed, forming at an altitude of 3162 meters, absorbs the waters of six tributaries and rushes down, carving canyons in the rocks and creating cascades of waterfalls, whose roar is carried far across the gorge. This harsh but beautiful world of glacial cirques, moraine lakes and jagged peaks remains a kingdom of wild nature, where man rarely sets foot, and the only masters here are still the wind, the sun and the eternal snow.
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