08. September 2026

Day 125: Kazakhstan

Overview

Driving duration: 2:16 h
Distance: 119 km
Avg Speed: 53 km/h
Start: Charyn Canyon
End: At Charyn River
Night Location: 43°48'2" N 79°27'36" E

Kazakhstan

Today we got up early, 05:30, because we wanted to hike into the canyon during sunrise. This also had the big benefit that there weren’t any other people at all. Probably because the canyon national park doesn’t open that early and it’s also quite far. We started the hike down and it was magical, the light and the emptiness. We saw mice, hares and also some kind of antelope. On the way back up, we crossed the first people and this made us realize even more how special it was to just have the canyon for ourselves.

Then it was time to finally say goodbye to Juerg and Ulla, we will really miss them after nearly two months of traveling together. We started the drive towards the Chinese border, where we want to visit a free trading zone tomorrow.