Burkhan-Bulak Waterfall, the tallest waterfall in Kazakhstan

Burkhan-Bulak Waterfall is the tallest waterfall in Kazakhstan: four cascades with a combined height of 168 m in the Kora River gorge of the Dzungarian Alatau. It lies above the town of Tekeli in Zhetysu region, about 66 km in a straight line from Taldykorgan and about 270 km from Almaty. It is a mountain trip for summer, and the practical details of getting there are the part you will have to confirm locally.

Where Burkhan-Bulak is and what kind of trip it is

The waterfall is in the Eskeldi district of Zhetysu region, in the Kora River gorge upstream of Tekeli. Russian Wikipedia puts it 130 km from Taldykorgan, the regional capital; the straight-line distance is about 66 km, so the two figures differ; we could not confirm the road distance. From Almaty it is about 270 km in a straight line.

That makes Burkhan-Bulak a trip built around Taldykorgan and Tekeli rather than a day out from Almaty. English Wikipedia gives an altitude of about 2000 m. We could not confirm the road condition up the gorge, the length of any walk to the falls, or whether public transport goes beyond Tekeli. For a visitor without a car or Russian, plan on arranging a driver in Taldykorgan or Tekeli; we could not confirm what is available on site.

How tall the waterfall is: 168 m, 125 m or 114 m

The figure depends on what is counted. The waterfall is a cascade type with four steps totalling 168 m, and only the lower three, about 114 m together, are visible. Kazakh Wikipedia adds that the water falls about 125 m from an untrodden cliff top, and calls it the highest waterfall in Central Asia, while Russian and English Wikipedia limit the claim to Kazakhstan.

For the visitor this means you will not see the full 168 m from one point: expect the lower three steps. Kazakh Wikipedia describes dark granite walls, green moss and heavy spray in which rainbows form along the fall.

A sacred place with a legend about the Kora River

Before the Soviet period the waterfall was considered sacred. The legend tells of a mother who wanted her only son, Burkhan, to marry a quiet, obedient girl. He fell in love with Kora, a proud and self-willed beauty, and his mother locked him in a castle in the rock.

Burkhan broke free and joined Kora forever, which in the story is the Kora River itself. The mother still weeps over her son’s choice, and her grief is a small stream near the waterfall known as Mother’s Tears.

When to go to Burkhan-Bulak

July and August are the warmest months, with nights averaging about 7–8°C at the grid point.

These are computed ERA5 normals for 2011–2020 at a grid point at 2279 m, a little higher than the roughly 2000 m given for the falls, so the waterfall itself is likely slightly milder. Even so, summer is cool: July days average about 17°C and nights about 8°C. From November to March daytime highs stay at or below freezing, and in January nights average about −15°C.

The mountains here are wet. Precipitation rises from April and peaks in June at about 123 mm, with May and July also near or above 100 mm, so a rain shell matters more than sun cream.

Combining it with other places in Zhetysu

Burkhan-Bulak sits in the north of the region, far from the usual Almaty circuit, so pairings are limited. The radon hot springs of Zharkent-Arasan are about 88 km away in a straight line, and the Singing Dune in Altyn-Emel about 137 km. Charyn Canyon is about 181 km in a straight line, which in practice means a separate leg of the trip rather than the same day.