My journey to Ust Kamenogorsk
In the seven years living here in Kazakhstan, I’ve had the good fortune to see many amazing and beautiful parts of Kazakhstan. Many places remain on my “bucket list”. However East Kazakhstan was not high on that list – in fact, it was not on my bucket list at all. So when I received an invitation to visit East Kazakhstan in July of this year I accepted - with some trepidation.
Prior to this trip all I knew about East Kazakhstan is that this is a large area jutting into western China just below Siberia and Mongolia separated by the Altai Mountains. Quickly checking Wikipedia just before our flight, we learned that the region is huge - 283 230 square kilometers.
The Irtysh River is a major feature of East Kazakhstan - over 4,200k km in length with its headwaters starting in Mongolia and then flowing through the Xinjiang region of China, then entering East Kazakhstan before turning north into Siberian Russia.
Lake Alakol, a salt lake, lies to the south-west of Oskemen and has been designated by UNESCO as the “Alakol Biosphere Reserve” due to it being an important part of the Central Asian flyway for various migratory birds, including the Dalmatian Pelican, the Eurasian Spoonbill, the Greater Flamingo and the Ferruginous Duck.
Our trip commenced in regional capital of Ust'-Kamenogorsk, now called “Oskemen”, which during Soviet times, was a very important and secretive industrial center. It was founded in 1720 on the orders of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great who sent Major Ivan Vasilievich Likharev to the region in the search of Yarkenda gold. Major Likharev established his new fort where the Irtysh and Ulba rivers meet which is now the center of the city.
All traces of the original fort are long gone and the city now has the feel of a prosperous post-Soviet city with wide tree-lined avenues and parks. That evening, our host invited us to dine at Rezidentsiya Ostrov (Резиденция Остров) owned by Mukhtar Toibazarov which clearly is a work of passion and vison. The restaurant is set in a large garden on the banks of the Irtysh complete with eccentric sculptures, interactive installations and an array of brightly painted vintage Russian cars.
We sat outside in the setting sun and enjoyed an amazing five-course meal - a fusion of Kazakh, Russian and western dishes – which was a gastronomic tour-de-force. We all agreed that the chef could hold his own against any Michelin stared restaurant in Europe and the service of our maître d was impeccable.
Very late that evening we arrived at Sunshine Bay resort on the Irtysh River, just 20 minutes from downtown Oskemen.
Exhausted after a long day of travel and dining, we were shown to our very unique accommodation – a luxurious log-house built atop a large barge floating in the Irtysh.
Early the next morning we boarded the Furmanov, a riverboat constructed in the early 1950’s and lovingly restored by our host. Over the course of the day we slowly cruised up the Irtysh River, passing through the system of locks and dams built in the 1940 and 1950 by the Soviets. By early afternoon we arrived at the Bukhtarma Reservoir, a huge man-made lake. There the Furmanov hooked on to another floating barge on which we had our own banya.
After a few more hours cruising we neared the Blue Lagoon and dropped anchor. With the snow of Altai Mountains in the far distance we jumped into the icy waters of the Irtysh for a very brief swim followed by a long session in the banya to warm-up.
That evening we made it to Sunrise Rocky, another resort located on the banks of the Bukhtarma Reservoir. The views at Sunrise Rocky are as stunning as they are unique. The camp has a true feeling of peaceful isolation allowing us all to decompress and relax.
The next day our group headed by 4x4 into the heart of Altai Mountains with China and Russia in the not- to-far distance, past endless fields of sunflowers stretching to the horizon. We dove towards the Raduzhny Pass to see the gorgeous views of Belukha Mountain - the main peak of the Altai Mountains.
From there we returned to Sunrise Rocky to join the Bukhtarma Discovery Camp, a three day festival of music, art and food. As the sun set over the camp the bands came on stage and played late into the evening.
For those who wanted more, the party moved to a campfire where the singing and dancing continued to sunrise. Although this year was the “beta” version of the festival the houses, tents, kitchens and bars are already in place to welcome an even larger crowd for the festival in 2022.
Author: Michael McNicholas
*The author’s opinion is subjective and may not reflect position of the airline