Things to Do in Astana in May

The full-day private city tour covers the full sweep of Astana's architectural ambition, from the soaring Hazret Sultan Mosque, its white marble domes cool and silent inside even when the sun beats the plaza outside, to the sharp angles of the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, Norman Foster's glass pyramid that catches light like a prism. A private guide drives the narrative, connecting the Soviet-era grid of the Right Bank to the futuristic Left Bank that rose from empty steppe in barely two decades. Lunch is included, typically at a local restaurant where the beshbarmak arrives in a broad ceramic bowl, the boiled meat tender enough to pull apart with your fingers, the broth rich with dill and onion.

Astana's skyline was designed to be seen at night, and this guided evening tour treats the city as a light installation. The Bayterek tower shifts from gold to white to blue. The Khan Shatyr shopping center glows like a translucent tent against the dark steppe horizon. The Ministry buildings along the central axis throw reflections across the still water of the Ishim. A certified guide walks you through the symbolism encoded in the illumination patterns, which are not random but choreographed to mark national narratives. The air cools quickly after sunset in May, carrying the faint metallic tang of the river and the warmth of grilled chestnuts from the vendors who set up along Nurzhol Boulevard.

Burabay sits roughly two hundred fifty kilometers north of Astana, and the drive itself is part of the experience: flat steppe gives way to pine forest so abruptly it feels like crossing a border. The national park clusters granite outcrops, mirror-still lakes, and boreal forest into a landscape that looks nothing like the open grassland surrounding the capital. This private tour includes lunch at a lakeside spot where the fish comes from the water you can see from your table, pulled that morning, pan-fried with a crust of seasoned flour. The bonus activity rotates but often involves a short horseback ride or a boat crossing of Lake Borovoe, where the turquoise water reflects the jagged silhouette of Zhumbaktas rock.

A half-day format strips the Astana city tour to its essentials: the Left Bank's monumental axis from the Presidential Palace to Bayterek, the interior of the Khan Shatyr with its rooftop beach and palm-lined atrium, and a circuit of the Expo grounds where the glass sphere of the Nur Alem energy museum catches sunlight like a soap bubble. The compressed schedule works for travelers with limited time or those arriving on connecting flights through Astana's airport, which sits close enough to the city center that a four-hour layover can include a meaningful loop. The guide tailors the route to your interests, and the comfortable vehicle means you cover ground without the fatigue of a full walking tour.

This group tour to Burabay National Park offers the same destination as the private option but at a lower price point and with the energy of a small group. The bus ride north crosses the steppe through a landscape so flat that the curvature of the earth feels visible, then dips into the forested hills where the air shifts from dry grassland to damp pine, resinous and cool. Lunch is communal, served at a park-side restaurant where the plov comes in a shared platter, the rice stained golden with carrots and studded with chunks of slow-cooked lamb. The guided walk takes you along Lake Borovoe's shoreline, where the water laps against smooth granite and the forest presses close enough to touch from the trail.

This Burabay trip leans into the active side of the national park. Rather than a standard sightseeing circuit, the itinerary prioritizes trail time: a hike up to the Bolektau summit where the panorama stretches across forested ridgelines to the steppe beyond, scrambles over granite boulders worn smooth by ice-age glaciers, and a lakeside segment where the still water holds the surrounding pines in perfect reflection. The pace is moderate but sustained, and the guide adjusts the route to the group's fitness. The physical effort earns its reward in sensory terms: the crunch of pine needles underfoot, the sharp clean smell of the forest after a brief rain, the warmth of sun-heated rock when you stop to rest on a granite ledge overlooking the valley.