Practical information
Money, tariffs, connectivity, documents. The things worth settling before you set off rather than on arrival.
Verified: 2026-08
This section covers what normally has to be assembled from a dozen browser tabs — and what goes out of date fastest.
The principle is the same as everywhere on this site: every figure carries the date it was checked, and where we have no data there is a “Not verified yet” note rather than a plausible guess.
Start with the MCI if you plan to visit national parks. It is a single value that lets you recalculate any tariff for any year yourself.
Key pages
- Border zone permits — not needed for Kolsai, Kaindy, Big Almaty Lake or Charyn, and the regulation says so
- What permits exist — tariff, border permit, reserve clearance and filming are four different things
- Before you go — six questions usually answered only at the gate
- The MCI and tariffs — why tenge prices change every January
- Money — cash, cards, exchange
- Border zone permits: where you need one and where you do not Kolsai, Kaindy, Big Almaty Lake and Charyn are named in the regulation as places where the border regime does not apply to foreigners.
- Money in Kazakhstan: currency, cards, cash The national currency is the tenge. Cards work almost everywhere in cities; out on the steppe you need cash.
- The MCI: the figure behind most prices in Kazakhstan The Monthly Calculation Index is 4,325 tenge in 2026. Park entrance tariffs, fines and state fees are all calculated from it.
What permits exist and when you actually need them
Four different clearances that get confused with one another: the park tariff, a border zone permit, arranging a reserve visit, and filming …- What to check before visiting a national park Six questions whose answers change the trip. Half of them usually get answered at the gate.