Places akiraa1 Wants to Go

An abandoned Soviet-era park that, when viewed from the air, looks like a pentagram.

This small canyon is home to a treasure trove of geological oddities.

Local lore says this 700-year-old tree has sacred and medicinal properties.

This Soviet-era athletic and recreation facility is the highest ice skating rink in the world.

A collection of Lenin busts and other Soviet Era statues sit idly behind the Semipalatinsk Hotel.

A Stalinist prison camp for the wives and children of men accused of betraying the Soviet state is now a memorial museum.

This was once the largest city in Kazakhstan, and a major stop on the Silk Road.

A modern tower, symbolizing the legend of a golden egg on top of the tree of life.

Avenue of trees planted by cosmonauts before their space departures.

An entertainment center in a huge transparent tent.

The remains of a monument in the remote Kazakhstani desert dedicated to the only men to die in outer space, the crew of the Soyuz 11 rocket.

One of the most horrible legacies of the Cold War is a site where the Soviet Union tested nuclear bombs on civilians.

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

Iconic pyramid from famed British architect Norman Foster designed to represent all of the world's religious faiths.

Mysterious spherical rocks in the semi-desert of western Kazakhstan.

This unique wooden mosque resembling a Chinese pagoda was said to be built without the use of nails.

Nicknamed Kazakhstan's Grand Canyon, this natural wonder lies east of Almaty near the Chinese border.

An abandoned Soviet-era mining town in the mountains of South Kazakhstan.

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.

World's oldest and largest space launch facility, once a secret missile testing site.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

Rusting ships sit in a desert where a sea used to be.

Granny Smiths and Fujis can both be traced back to Kazakhstan, where apples still grow wild.