Legends of Borovoe nature reserve

Legends of Borovoe nature reserve

One day trip to Borovoe Nature Reserve will open for you a peaceful land of 14 crystal clear lakes surrounded by pinewood. 

Borovoe nature park (or as it is also called “Kazakhstan’s Switzerland”) is a great place for a good rest.

Here you will forget about everyday bustle and enjoy the picturesque nature.

In just 2 hours drive from busy and noisy Astana you will arrive to the park which is famous for its unusual nature, crystal clear lakes, pine trees forest. Located in a center of Kazakhstan, the park contains 14 lakes, numerous rocks and coniferous forests.

While visiting Borovoe park, breathing it’s clear air, riding a boat on one of its lakes, climbing rocks of unusual form, you will hear lots of legends and folk tales that surround this area.

Morning transfer for tour at Burabai (Borovoe) national park (about 270 km from Astana).

Borovoe occupies 85000 hectares of northeastern part of Kokshetau elevation. There are 14 lakes in the park, each having surface area of more than 1 sq.km, and a large number of small lakes.

Despite that there are no monuments of material heritage in Borovoe, you will be definitely amazed by the unique nature and atmosphere created there. The majestic mountain scenery, pure mirror lakes and stunning coniferous trees will form a wonderful ambiance for your trip.

On Abylaykhan Valley you will feast your eyes upon “Ush-kyz”, “Ok-Zhetpes”, “Zhumbaktas” rocks and “Kokshetau” mountain, each having the surprising legends reflecting history and identity of the Kazakh people.

One of the rocks, the most majestic one, is “Ok-zhetpes”. It is located near the lake Auliekol (Borovoe), being the symbol of the national park. Kazakh folklore contains many legends and stories about this rock. One of them, collected by Kazakh famous researchist Shokan Ualihanov says that in XVIII century, when there was a war between kazakh and zhungar folks, Kazakh han Abilay’s headquarters were there, in Borovoe. After the successful campaign against zhungars, Abilay and his warriors started to divide the trophies there. The problem started because of the captive zhungar beautiful girl – nobody could decide who will marry her. Then Abilay decided to give a choise to her. The young beauty tied her shawl on the top of the highest rock near the Auliekol, and the one whose arrow could reach it would take her as the bride. However, nobody could fire that far. After a moment, she jumped into the lake, so no one could marry her. That is why the lake is called “Ok-zhetpes” – in Kazakh it means “arrow-cannot-reach”.

There are also many options to make your experience more colorful, for example horseback riding, trekking or travelling by boat.

Lunch during excursion.

in the evening - Departure back to Astana.