Matthew Traver

Two boys in the distance riding across the Kazakhstan steppe with horses and cows in foreground.

East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan

A horse rider tows his pack animal across verdant Kazakhstan grasslands.

The East Kazakhstan Region is dominated by vast tracts of steppe and arid terrain, covering an area roughly the size of Ecuador or New Zealand. This set of East Kazakhstan photos documents a two-month, 1,100km horseback journey across the region with Jamie Maddison. Any romantic notions of long-distance travel on horseback quickly dissolved in the face of scorching heat, long waterless stretches, mosquito-infested mountains, and a few early wrong turns. It was a gritty, stark, and unforgettable journey. Nights were spent under sweat-soaked horse blankets, breakfasts consisted of dried noodles with salt, and more than once lunch meant gasoline-tainted biscuits after a fuel container leaked.

Despite the hardship, the journey was defined by encounters with people: curious children from herder families, strangers who shared grain to help the horses through poor grazing areas, and spontaneous invitations for tea at remote farmsteads.

Black and white photo in Kazakhstan of man lassoing an oil drum for fun.
Wide shot of two men and three horses walking down a dirt road in Kazakhstan.

For historical photographs of East Kazakhstan and other parts of the country, visit Baribar.kz’s collection, which includes images by late-19th and early-20th century photographers such as Samuel Martinovich Dudin, Mikhail Silvestrovich Weishle, Konstantin Nikolaevich de Lazari, Alexander Lavrentyevich Melkov, Pavel Leibin Solomonovich, and Elena Makhova. More historical imagery of Central Asia can be found in the online archives of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) at collection.kunstkamera.ru.

Travelling to East Kazakhstan is possible by road from Almaty or the provincial capital, Ust-Kamenogorsk. Regional highlights include Lake Zaysan, the former Semipalatinsk nuclear testing site, the Altai Mountains near the Russian border, and the Alakol Biosphere Reserve.

A Muslim Kazakhstan man and boy wave for the camera.
A red-coloured horse carrying pack bags walks past the camera in Kazakhstan's countryside.
Close up photo of spiky baby cactus.
Two boys in the distance riding across the Kazakhstan steppe with horses and cows in foreground.
Two Kazakh men showing a goat they have in their car boot.
A rainbow arches across a stormy Kazakhstan sky with two horses grazing.
Kazakhstan horse man reading a map with Jamie as one horse chews grass.
A man riding on horseback towing a pack horse through green fields.
Black and white close up image of mayfly sat on a wheat husk.
Two horses and one owner walking on a dirt road with his head covered from the sun.
Jamie standing between two horses in a green field on overcast day, photographed in East Kazakhstan.
A Muslim Kazakhstan man and boy wave for the camera.
Very wide angle and close photo in East Kazakhstan of a horse's eye.
Jamie sat on the grass inside of a big floorless green tent.
Two Kazakhstan men with arms over each other's shoulder. One has a big swollen eye!
Kazakh woman with her son smiling.
Horseman and rider travelling across a remote section of steppe in Kazakhstan.
Two Kazakh boys smile for a photograph.
Three kids pose for a photo in East Kazakhstan, giving thumbs up and peace signs.
Two Kazakhstan men smile for the camera in the sunshine, wearing wide hats.
Jamie walking with his horse on a remote Kazakhstan dirt road with Jungar Alatau foothills in the background.
Two men with three horses next to a traditional Kazakhstan graveyard.
A Kazakhstan man sits on his horse in the river.
The faint rainbow ends on top of a sunset-soaked east Kazakhstan farmstead.
Man and horse ascending up a grass hill in Kazakhstan.
Jamie riding along a dirt track and green fields with two horses.
A white and khakhi coloured dog stretches out in a farm yard.
A little boy holding a stick looks at horses being loaded into a truck.
Photo of east Kazakhstan agricultural land with hundreds of sheep grazing beneath blue sky.
A horse rider with pack horse rides down a lonely dirt road in East Kazakhstan.
Black and white photo of a creepy scarecrow on a hill made from oil drums.
Wide photograph in Kazakhstan of three horses grazing on a grassy plateau.
Older horse riding man holding whip on wooden stick in East Kazakhstan region.
East Kazakhstan kids pose for a photograph in town.
Two riders and three horses pose for a photograph with equipment on the ground.
A family of five Kazakhs posing in front of a table of food.
Photo of East Kazakhstan insect on tree bark.
Burial mound surrounded by yellow flowers in the remote Kazakhstan steppe.
A rider kisses his Kazakh horse on the lips.
A lone horse and rider standing in the Kazakhstan steppe beneath a beautiful, big sky.
A rider gallops past the camera on horseback, riding barefoot.
Backside shot of horse rider approaching a remote village in Kazakhstan.
A horse rider tows his pack animal across verdant Kazakhstan grasslands.
Black and white photo in Kazakhstan of man lassoing an oil drum for fun.
Two riders sat on horseback with arms locked together smiling for the camera.
Pretty Kazakh woman in a dress with red and black swirls.
Wide shot of two men and three horses walking down a dirt road in Kazakhstan.
A teenager riding on horseback brandishing a whip to usher his sheep.
Two men stood outside a remote farmstead in eastern Kazakhstan near Lake Balkhash.
Kazakhstan horse man wearing a black beanie and jacket smiles.
A closeup photograph of a dragon fly in Kazakhstan sat on a twig.