Trip and Hiking Kazakhstan.

“Just give me a stick.
I will leave you the rod of judgment,
and the scepter,
and a staff,
and an umbrella.
Give me just a stick, a simple hobo stick,
and the road that goes beyond the horizon"

Leon Felipe. Translated by V. Stolbov.

Tour to Big Almaty gorge.

Ayusai Gorge (translated from Kazakh - Bear Log) is located on the eastern (left) slope of the Big Almaty Gorge, on the northern ridge of the Zailiyskiy Alatau, on the territory of the Ile-Alatau Natural Park in Bostandyk district of Almaty.
The small river Ayusai of the same name with a length of 6 kilometers flows along the gorge. The sources of the river are located on the northeastern slope of Bolshoy Almatinsky peak at an altitude of 3422 meters above sea level. At an altitude of 2,169.7 meters above sea level, a 1.4 km long tributary adjoins the river on the left.
Approximately in the middle part of the river channel at an altitude of 2079 meters above sea level, there is one of the Ayusai waterfalls with a drop height of up to 6 meters.
Geographic coordinates of the waterfall on the Ayusai River: N43 ° 05'12.63 "E76 ° 56'42.61"
Through 7, 2 kilometers from the beginning of the Bolshaya Almatinka river, the Ayusai tributary flows into the left. The Ayusai estuary is located at an altitude of 1605 meters above sea level at the construction site of a new dam in the Bolshaya Almatinka gorge.
900 meters before the mouth of the Ayusai at an altitude of 1782 meters above sea level, there is also a small waterfall with a water drop of up to 5 meters. The Ayusai gorge is narrow with frequent pinches and movement along it is rather difficult.
Geographic coordinates of the waterfall on the Ayusai River, 900 meters from the mouth: N43 ° 05'46.33 "E76 ° 56'38.35"
There are 5 waterfalls on the river. In 2020, in the lower part of the Ayusai gorge, construction of a tourist infrastructure began, which will contribute to the development of tourism in the Ile-Alatau Park. A visitor center, a camping site and an apple orchard will be built here.
In 2021, the park's tourist center was opened in the summer.
Geographic coordinates of Ayusai gorge: N43 ° 04'23.09 "E76 ° 56'53.73"

Authority and photos by:
Alexander Petrov.