Getting there
By car or on a day tour from Almaty.
Red walls carved by a river over millions of years, three hours' drive from the city.
The canyon runs along the Charyn River for about 154 kilometres, though sources differ, and in places it is 150–300 metres deep.
The best-known section is the Valley of Castles: two to three kilometres of weathered towers and walls in a corridor 20–80 metres wide. You walk along the bottom feeling very small.
The national park was created by government decree in February 2004. Today it covers 127,050 hectares and belongs to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Since September 2026 a protection zone at least two kilometres wide has surrounded it.
- From Almaty
- about 195 km, 3–3.5 hours
- Depth
- 150–300 m
- Valley of Castles
- 2–3 km
- National park
- since 2004, 127,050 ha
