4K | Assy - Bartogay

At a height of 2600 meters above sea level, a boundless green upland valley appears. Of all the zhailaus in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, this is as far as we know, the biggest.

This makes it another interesting landscape if you are doing a tour of Almaty Region. Besides this, it’s also a good place to watch the stars, do outdoor sports, see remnants of earlier civilizations, and to experience a more traditional lifestyle that has died out elsewhere in Kazakhstan.

Bartogay reservoir
East of the plateau, where the Assy river turns, a place called Toraigyr is made up of spires formed from reddish rock. Sheltered from the wind, Toraigyr is a good place to camp. The road continues east to take you along a steep-sided valley until you get to the Bartogay reservoir.

Surrounded by rather barren steppeland, the sky-blue of the lake makes for a beautiful contrast. Bartogay is known to birdwatchers as a top spot, especially during migrations.
Buried under the reservoir’s surface are several big Saka burial mounds with “altars” in front that become visible when the water level is very low.