New National Park to be created in Kazakhstan

In Ulytau ©Saulet Sakenov

Kazakhstan is planning to create a national nature park in Ulytau mountains, Tengrinews correspondent reports.

The announcement was made during a press conference of the National Geographic Society of Kazakhstan that organized an expedition to the region of Ulytau in Karaganda Oblast.

Ulytau occupies a special place in the history of Kazakhstan. Here, many important decisions that affected the development of the whole Central Asia were made. This was the place, where khans became khans and later were buried.

The purpose of the expedition was to revive, promote and popularize the cultural, historical and spiritual heritage of Ulytau, as well as to stimulate social and economic development of the region.

During the press conference on 8 August, the head of the expedition Saulet Sakenov said that one of the goals of the expedition was to create a national park in Ulytau. “Of course, this is not something that can be done in two days. (…) We have to complete all the administrative work, which, unfortunately, takes up much time and involves obtaining approvals, a government decree on the establishment of the National Park, and, in the end, passing of the law establishing it,” he said. Sakenov promised that the National Geographic Society would continue take an active part in developing the tourist potential of the region after the expedition as well.

The expedition was joined by operators of unmanned aerial vehicles, whose work included mapping the terrain, making altitude shots, searching for new archaeological sites and modeling the shape of archaeological objects.

The expedition has greatly contributed to create the Ulytau National Park that envisages creation of tourist routes and GPS maps outlining historical and natural monuments of the region. Photos of all tourist objects make during the expedition will be uploaded on tourist websites and photo stocks like Panoramico and GoogleMaps (Places). The scientists will prepare a schematic map of Ulytau region for tourists (both printed and digital compatible with GoogleMaps versions).

Upon completion of the expedition, a documentary film about the expedition will be released. In addition, a book-album will be published, containing all materials of the expedition and describing the history of the region and its historical and cultural monuments.

Reporting by Altynai Zhumzhumina, writing by Dinara Urazova

tourism Central Asia Genghiz Khan history Kazakh Kazakhstan mountains National Park nature news Asia