Kazakhstan: Ayrakty Valley of the Castles
Taras Shevchenko, the national hero of Ukraine, a famous 19th century poet and artist was exiled to the remote western Kazakhstan. While here, he traveled to the remote desert valley full of weathered mountain peaks and cliffs and painted a series of paintings, calling them “the Valley of the Castles”. The rock formation are truly surreal with fairytale castles and towers and spires all over the place. There are several places where you can hike half way up the steep terrain for absolutely mindblowing views of desolate desert and almost literally “castle in the sky”. Officially, the mountain range is known as Ayrakty-Shomanay Mountains.
