Kazakhstan Series: Lake Borovoe

It was said that the lakes here at the north of Kazakhstan were given by the gods to the people.  In a country covered by vast steppes, the lakes are, in the words of my Kazakh friend, their Switzerland.

A good 2 ½-hour drive from Astana brought us to the Borovoe lake region.  On this well-paved highway, we passed through village huts, beautiful sight of the Kazakh steppes, and wild and domestic animals. 

在哈薩克這一個到處都佈滿了乾草原的國家，北部的湖泊對於他們來說就是上天的特別欣賜。

從Astana 到這北部湖泊的地區，車程大概需要二小時三十分鐘。車子會經過新築好的公路，一路上盡是鄉郊小屋、美麗的草原景色，以及無數的野生或人們飼養的動物。

My Kazakh friends and his driver

The lake area is a protected nature reserve, so we have to pass through a checkpoint.  About 15km to the lake, we stopped at the foot of a small hill and took a short hike to the top.  People tie pieces of their clothing on trees for good luck, and the view of the surrounding mountains here is beautiful and serene.  Not far from this, and surrounded by pine trees, is a monument that commemorates a great leader and historical figure of Kazakhstan, Abylai Khan. 

We seemed to have left the space age Astana completely behind.​

由於湖泊是一個受保護的自然地區，進入這個地區之前我們要經過檢查站。到達湖泊之前大約十五公里，我們就在一座小山丘腳下作了一個小停留。我們徒步走上山，一路上看見人們在兩旁掛滿了象徵好運的碎布。從山頂眺望附近的山丘，這個景色除了美麗之外它還給你一種很特別的寧靜感覺。就離這裏不遠處，一個被松樹包圍的地方，有一個紀念碑，它留給了人們一個哈薩克偉大領袖 Abylai Khan 的回億。

來到這裏，看來我們已經完全脫離了Astana 這個超時空的城市。

The region is made up of various lakes, the most famous one has a stone sphinx floating in the middle.  The natural landscape is breathtaking, and the Kazakh seemed to have preserved and cherished it very well for generations.  Houses and hotels are sparse, but we do see the occasional vacationers around the lake.

這個湖泊地區是由許多個湖組成，而這個浮在湖中心的巨石是其中一個著名的景點。這裏所有令人目不暇給的地貌都是由哈薩克人世世代代悉心保存下來的。這地區的屋子及酒店都不多，但是你仍會偶爾看見其他遊客到這裏遊覽。