Tallest Mountains In Kazakhstan

Khan Tengri, shared with China and Kyrgyzstan, is Kazakhstan's highest peak at 22,999 feet above sea level. Khan Tengri provided sanctuary and sacred grounds to the indigenous people of Kazakhstan that practiced shamanism, and hence earning the name “Lord of the Skies.” Pilk Tagar, the second highest mountain range in the country provides hard terrains for experienced mountaineers only, as avalanches have been known to kill whole expeditions.

Highest Mountains In Kazakhstan

Khan Tengri (Hantengri)

Khan Tengri Mountain lies at the border of China and Kazakhstan. The mountains have an elevation of 22,999 feet which is the highest point in Kazakhstan. The mountain is situated in a highly glaciated mountainous region. The mountain’s summit and peak are covered in snow and ice. It has beautiful geometric and symmetrical ridges that together look like a perfect pyramid. At sunset, the main summit glows deep red thanks to the marvel rock which makes up the mountain. Khan Tengri means “Lord of the Skies,” a terminology that came to be since the mountain provided the sacred grounds of worship to the indigenous shamanistic culture. The lower elevations are steep hillsides dominated by spruce forests.

Pik Talgar

Pik Talgar is one of the northernmost peaks in Kazakhstan and the highest peak in the trans-Ili Atau mountain ranges. It provides a traditional mountaineering, camping, and recreational destination. The Talgar region also partially holds the Ile-Alatau State National Park and as well as the Almaty reserve. The mountain rises to a height of 16,335 feet, with sharp and steep-sided hillsides. The dominant vegetation in the surrounding mountain region is the alpine meadows, alpine poppies, daisies, Edelweiss, and native high-mountain sedge bogs. In the lowermost elevations, there are many gorges and valleys with numerous downfalls, taluses, and rock falls.

Belukha

Mount Belukha rises to a height of 14,783 feet above sea level. It has 27 square miles of glaciers with Berel, the largest glacier, climbing to an altitude of 14,783 feet. This mountain is located along the Russian and Kazakhstan border in the Katun Mountains. It is a three-peaked mountain with the eastern peak as the highest with a climb of 14,783 feet while the western one is 14,567 feet. The Tronov brothers were the first people to climb Mount Belukha in 1914. The Ob River and others flow through the Russian and Kazakhstan borders source from these glaciers. The central part of the mountain is dominated by an alpine terrain.

Gora Molodezhnaya

Gora Molodezhnaya is a mountain peak near Almaty in Kazakhstan. The peak rises to a height of 13,605 feet making it the fourth highest mountain the Kazakhstan and 2nd highest in the Almaty region. The mountain top is covered by both snow and ice. The mountain stands in a tectonically active landscape and from time to time tremors are felt. As such, it is not an attractive destination for mountaineers and campers.

Economic Activity

The mountains in the south are important for apples and walnuts; both species grow wild there. The forests on the mountain slopes play a significant economic role in the country. They provide valuable wood and timber, as well as the regulation of the flow of rivers and providing a shelter for wild animals. Agriculture is the primary economic activity in the steppe regions of lower parts of the mountain, and some of the crops cultivated include millet, potatoes, wheat, vegetables, and buckwheat.