Rest on resorts Borovoye.

“As soon as man seeks to penetrate the secrets of nature - in which nothing is secret and it is but a question of seeing - he realizes that the simple produces the supernatural” 

Honore de Balzac.

Tours from Astana to lake Borovoye.

September is considered the best month to visit Burabay: the birch trees are turning a fantastic golden-yellow, the swarms of mosquitoes have disappeared, the water in the lakes is still warm enough for swimming and there is space in the guesthouses.
Moderate temperatures invite long walks and climbs up the bizarre-looking rock formations. One of these, in the shape of a camel lying down, gave the area its Kazakh name: Burabay, meaning "rich in camels".
In an aul there once lived a batyr who knew no fear. When the Zhungars invaded the area one day, the batyr called upon his peers to march against the enemy with him, but none heeded his call, since feuds between the various tribes prevented them from acting as one.
Therefore, the young warrior took his horse, put on his helmet and battle gear and marched towards the battlefield on his own. He lost his eyesight in the fight, was severely injured but never once backed away. Inevitably, he could not hold out against the overwhelming enemy host on his own, and when finally his mighty body collapsed, the batyr sank into an eternal sleep.
There he lies to this very day, in the forest of Borovoye, his face towards the sky. From a great distance one can discern his profile while looking at the hill called Zheke Batyr - the Sleeping Knight.
The latter is situated to the east of the forest-covered Mount Berkut, which is easy to climb. Its opposite shore, however, is completely unforested. Since 2008, at Kilometre 9 on the Borovoye-Zhana Talap road there has been a Siberian red deer (cervus elaphus maral) farm.
Here, in Bugy-Burabay (tel: 71636 53158, 701 531 1759), devotees of unusual healing methods can undergo a deer horn cure (see Special Topic on p422). A little- known secret is the small lake of Karasu (Karashye in Russian), located two kilometres to the northeast of Lake Shchuchinsk.
The president has a remote, idyllic holiday home here -proving he definitely knows where his country is at its most beautiful.

Authority:
From the advertising guidebook across Kazakhstan. The ministry of tourism of Kazakhstan.

Photos
Alexander Petrov.