National parks of Kazakhstan
Protected natural areas: size, year of establishment, entrance tariffs.
Verified: 2026-09
No single reference to Kazakhstan’s protected natural areas with current tariffs exists — not from the state, not from private resources. We are assembling one here.
The one thing worth knowing before visiting any of them: the entrance tariff is set in Monthly Calculation Index units, not in tenge. The index is revised with every January budget, so the amount changes on its own.
Summaries from legal acts
- Entrance tariffs for all 28 protected areas — car entry varies threefold
- What park services cost — guides, filming, yurts, bus entry
- Zapovednik, park, rezervat — where you will be let in
- The largest protected areas — ranked by area
- Protected areas by region — count and total area
- Who runs the parks — why Burabay is a separate system
- UNESCO heritage — seven sites, three natural
All tables are available as CSV and JSON — open data.
Territories
| Park | Region | Area, ha | Established | Pedestrian, ₸ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charyn | Almaty Region | 127,050 | 2004 | 865 |
| Altyn-Emel | Almaty Region | 307,653 | 1996 | 865 |
| Kolsai Lakes | Almaty Region | 161,045 | 2007 | 865 |
| Ile-Alatau | Almaty Region | 199,621 | 1996 | 649 |
| Karkaraly | Karaganda Region | 112,120 | 1998 | 865 |
| Katon-Karagay | East Kazakhstan Region | 643,477 | 2001 | 865 |
| Burabay | Akmola Region | 129,299 | 2000 | — |
| Bayanaul | Pavlodar Region | 68,453 | 1985 | 649 |
| Aksu-Zhabagly | Turkestan and Zhambyl Regions | 131,934 | 1926 | 865 |
| Sayram-Ugam | Turkestan Region | 149,037 | — | 649 |
| Zhongar-Alatau | Zhetysu Region | 356,022 | — | 865 |
| Tarbagatai | Abai Region | 143,551 | — | 865 |
| Kokshetau | Akmola and North Kazakhstan Regions | 182,076 | — | 865 |
| Korgalzhyn | Akmola and Karaganda Regions | 543,171 | — | 865 |
| Naurzum | Kostanay Region | 191,381 | — | 865 |
| Alakol | Zhetysu and Abai Regions | 65,672 | — | 649 |
| Markakol | East Kazakhstan Region | 102,971 | — | 865 |
| Ile-Balkhash | Almaty Region | 450,253 | — | 649 |
Pedestrian tariffs are calculated from the 2026 Monthly Calculation Index of 4,325 ₸. A dash means we have not verified the figure — an empty cell is more honest than a plausible guess.
Aksu-Zhabagly
Aksu-Zhabagly is the oldest nature reserve in Central Asia, set in the Western Tien Shan across Turkestan and Zhambyl regions.
Aktau and Katutau mountains in Altyn-Emel
The banded clay hills of Aktau, where fossils of ancient rhinos and crocodiles have been found, and the dark volcanic Katutau next door. …
Alakol
65 672.01 ha, Zhetysu and Abai Regions.
Altyn-Emel
Altyn-Emel is a desert national park in the Ili River valley: the Singing Dune, the striped clay mountains of Aktau, the volcanic Katutau …
Bayanaul
Bayanaul is a cluster of granite hills rising out of the Pavlodar steppe, with four freshwater lakes: Sabyndykol, Zhasybay, Toraigyr and …
Big Almaty Lake
A turquoise lake at 2,511 m, about 15 km south of Almaty. Since spring 2026 it can only be reached on foot, and swimming is banned because …
Bozzhyra and the wild landscapes of Mangystau
White chalk “fangs” on the edge of the Ustyurt Plateau, 300 km from Aktau. Nearby: Sherkala, the stone balls of Torysh, Tuzbair salt flat …
Burabay
Burabay is a pocket of granite hills, pine forest and lakes in Akmola Region, about 257 km north of Astana.
Entrance tariffs for every protected area in Kazakhstan
The spread is nearly threefold: a car costs 1,297.5 ₸ at Ile-Alatau and 3,892.5 ₸ at Altyn-Emel. There is no single scale.
Ile-Alatau
Ile-Alatau National Park covers the northern slope of the Zailiysky (Ile) Alatau range directly above Almaty: a strip 120 km long from the …
Ile-Balkhash
Ile-Balkhash is a state nature rezervat in the Ili river delta and on the southern shore of Lake Balkhash, created on 27 June 2018 to bring …
Kaindy Lake: the sunken spruce forest
A mountain lake in Kolsai Lakes National Park with spruce trunks rising out of the water. It formed after the 1911 earthquake and sits in a …
Karkaraly
Karkaraly National Park is a cluster of mountains with patches of pine forest and small lakes around the town of Karkaralinsk, about 220 km …
Katon-Karagay
Katon-Karagay is Kazakhstan's largest national park, covering the Central and Southern Altai in East Kazakhstan Region, in a district …
Kazakhstan national park fee calculator
Pick a protected area, the number of people and days and your transport: the calculator adds up the lines of the order exactly as they are …
Kazakhstan national parks and reserves compared: area and fees
All 29 protected areas with approved visitor tariffs: area, per-person charge and car entry. Sort, search and compare any two.
Kazakhstan's protected areas by region
Where the protected territories are and how many: the official register cut by geography.
Kokshetau
Kokshetau National Park is pine forest at the foot of rolling hills, plus a string of lakes, where Akmola and North Kazakhstan regions meet, …
Kolsai Lakes
The Kolsai Lakes are a chain of three mountain lakes in the Kolsai gorge in the south-east of Almaty Region, about 10 km from the Kyrgyz …
Korgalzhyn
Korgalzhyn is a steppe-and-wetland reserve about 130 km south-west of Astana, best known for the pink flamingos that nest on the salt lake …
Markakol
Markakol Nature Reserve protects a mountain lake at 1,447 m in East Kazakhstan, close to the Chinese border.
Nature near Almaty: 15 day trips
From Medeu on the edge of the city to the Singing Dune 250 km away: lakes, waterfalls, plateaus and canyons, compared by distance, travel …
Naurzum
Naurzum is a stretch of steppe with islands of relict pine forest and a chain of endorheic lakes, about 190 km south of Kostanay. It is one …
Sayram-Ugam
Sayram-Ugam National Park covers mountains in the northern Western Tien Shan, in Turkestan Region, about 70 km from Shymkent. The main day …
Tarbagatai
Tarbagatai National Park protects mountain steppe and meadows on the south slope of the Tarbagatai range, in Urzhar district of Abai Region, …
The largest protected areas in Kazakhstan
The country's largest protected territory is not a national park but a zoological sanctuary of 3.4 million hectares.
The Singing Dune in Altyn-Emel
A sand mountain up to 150 m high between the Big and Small Kalkan ridges. You can only reach it through Altyn-Emel National Park, and it …
Turgen gorge waterfalls
Seven waterfalls in the Turgen river gorge on the eastern edge of Ile-Alatau National Park. A short trail from the road leads to Bear …
UNESCO heritage in Kazakhstan: seven sites
Three natural and four cultural. The newest is the rock mosques of Mangystau, inscribed in 2026.
What park services cost: guides, filming, yurts, buses
Entry is one line in an order of twenty-odd. Guides, filming, yurts and bus entry are charged too, and the spread there is wider than at the …- Who runs the parks: four authorities and why it matters 110 of 114 territories report to the Forestry Committee. The exceptions explain why Burabay's tariffs live in a different document.
Zapovednik, park, rezervat: where you will be let in
The category of a protected area decides not how strict the paperwork is, but whether you get inside at all. A zapovednik has no free entry.
Zhongar-Alatau
Zhongar-Alatau National Park protects the Dzungarian Alatau mountains in Zhetysu Region: wild Sievers apple forests, glaciers and high …
Frequently asked questions
How many national parks are there in Kazakhstan?
The national list of protected areas has 114 territories of different categories — national parks, strict reserves, rezervats and others. Visitor tariffs exist for 29 of them, all in the comparison table.
How much does it cost to enter a national park in Kazakhstan?
Fees are set as fractions of the MCI: 0.1–0.2 MCI per person per day and 0.3–0.9 MCI per car entry. Work out your trip in the fee calculator.
What is the difference between a national park and a strict reserve?
A national park combines protection with tourism; a strict reserve (zapovednik) has a tighter regime and visits are limited to designated routes. See protected area categories.
Which national parks are closest to Almaty?
Ile-Alatau (Big Almaty Lake, Turgen), Charyn, Kolsai Lakes (with Kaindy Lake) and Altyn-Emel. A list with distances: nature near Almaty.