In late March 2015, winter was still firmly present in northern Kazakhstan, and I went back to Borovoe. This time I went with an American friend who was visiting, and I left Sophia in Astana with her best friend. Yes, I took an adult vacation, sans children, quite a rarity for me!
We drove the "back way" into Borovoe - that is, a route I had never before taken. We went by Lake Schuchye, which I had done before, and then veered north, going around the west side of Lake Borovoe and then veering around it and heading into town, coming in from the north. Usually, we drive straight to Borovoe, bypassing Lake Shuchye, and travel along the east side of Lake Borovoe and come into town from the south.
The view on this drive was beautiful - we were in a snowy pine forest, driving along gentle hills, and then suddenly - Lake Borovoe was to our right, rocky cliffs to our left. The sun setting on this lake was absolutely gorgeous.
Then we went to our hotel, Altyn Kun, which I had chosen because it was in the town of Borovoe, not expensive, and the photos made it look clean. It was a new hotel, and just off the main road (perhaps what made it cheaper) and indeed the rooms were clean. We were the only customers there - it was Wednesday after the Kazakh holiday Nauriz. We later learned that the entire city was practically empty - stores, restaurants, and the bazaar were closed.
They called in their cook just for us, we ate, and then we went to sleep.
The next day we decided to explore some more. Using a map, we decided to go north of Borovoe, see what was there. The town of Borovoe is nestled in tall hills, to the north of these hills are some more lakes and some gentle hills. We drove around here for several hours, enjoying the view, and then entered the National Park from the west, driving through more scenic forest.
After returning to the town and finally finding a cafe that was open, we checked out of hotel and decided to drive home...
We drove the "back way" into Borovoe - that is, a route I had never before taken. We went by Lake Schuchye, which I had done before, and then veered north, going around the west side of Lake Borovoe and then veering around it and heading into town, coming in from the north. Usually, we drive straight to Borovoe, bypassing Lake Shuchye, and travel along the east side of Lake Borovoe and come into town from the south.
The view on this drive was beautiful - we were in a snowy pine forest, driving along gentle hills, and then suddenly - Lake Borovoe was to our right, rocky cliffs to our left. The sun setting on this lake was absolutely gorgeous.
Then we went to our hotel, Altyn Kun, which I had chosen because it was in the town of Borovoe, not expensive, and the photos made it look clean. It was a new hotel, and just off the main road (perhaps what made it cheaper) and indeed the rooms were clean. We were the only customers there - it was Wednesday after the Kazakh holiday Nauriz. We later learned that the entire city was practically empty - stores, restaurants, and the bazaar were closed.
They called in their cook just for us, we ate, and then we went to sleep.
The next day we decided to explore some more. Using a map, we decided to go north of Borovoe, see what was there. The town of Borovoe is nestled in tall hills, to the north of these hills are some more lakes and some gentle hills. We drove around here for several hours, enjoying the view, and then entered the National Park from the west, driving through more scenic forest.
After returning to the town and finally finding a cafe that was open, we checked out of hotel and decided to drive home...
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| Lake Borovoe - I took this photo in February when I drove by the lake as a detour on the way home from our hotel on Lake Schuchye |
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| The forest and the hills |
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| North of Borovoe |
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