The cheat sheet
Every location below is in our database: the location fee is zero for our clients, and we handle the permits.
| Location | Can play | From Almaty | Best season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medeu and Shymbulak | the Alps | 22 km | green June–September, snow November–April |
| Big Almaty Lake | the Himalayas | 34 km | green June–September, snow November–April |
| Turgen Gorge | mountain Norway | 104 km | green June–September, snow November–April |
| Assy Plateau | high-altitude Mongolia | 257 km | green June–September, snow November–April |
| Kolsai and Kaindy | a fairy-tale forest | 296 km | green June–September, snow November–April |
| Charyn Canyon | the Grand Canyon | 211 km | April–June, September–October |
| Singing Dune | the Sahara | 300 km | April–June, September–October |
| Aktau Mountains | Mars | 324 km | April–June, September–October |
| Bozzhyra and Ustyurt | another planet | flight to Aktau + 4x4s | April–June, September–October |
| Burabay | Canada | flight to Astana + 257 km | June–September |
| Almaty | a European city | our base | all year round |
| Astana | a city of the future | 1 h 45 min flight | May–September |
| Turkestan | the Silk Road | direct flight | March–May, September–October |
| Aral Sea | a post-apocalypse | flight to Kyzylorda + car | May–June, August–September |
| Lake Balkhash | an endless sea | 443 km | June–September |
| Caspian coast | a faraway coast | flight to Aktau | June–September |
| Taldykorgan Airport | a military air base | 292 km | all year round |
Four “countries” per trip: routes that work
- Alps, Himalayas and a European city. Shymbulak, Big Almaty Lake and the streets of Almaty. The crew sleeps in the city and is on any of these sets within an hour. The cable car at Shymbulak takes you above 3000 m, up to the glaciers.
- Desert road movie. Charyn Canyon, then Altyn-Emel National Park with the Singing Dune and the striped Aktau Mountains. The crew stays in guesthouses in Basshi village, next to both Altyn-Emel locations.
- Historical epic. The steppe near Konaev (74 km), the ready-built medieval sets of Nomad City (106 km) and the Bronze Age petroglyphs of Tamgaly, a UNESCO site (173 km).
- Another planet and the sea. Fly to Aktau in the west: white chalk pinnacles of Bozzhyra, the Ustyurt plateau and the rocky Caspian shore.
Productions that already used these doubles
- Charyn Canyon — Finist. The First Warrior (2025) for the hero’s escape from the cave, Project Gemini (2022) for alien landscapes, and Rag’n’Bone Man’s Skin video (2017).
- Mangystau and Almaty — Armour of God: Ultimatum with Jackie Chan (2026).
- Nomad City — Day Watch (2006) and the Telugu feature January 12 Vidudala (2026).
- Turkestan and Almaty — Molla Nasreddin: Friend of My Hard Days (2026).
Before you fall in love with a location
- Check the month. Mountains and canyons peak at different times. June and September are the overlap when both work — see our season calendar.
- Count hours, not kilometres. Charyn is 2 h 50 min from Almaty, Kolsai 4 h 25 min, the Aktau Mountains 4 h 35 min. Far locations usually mean moving the unit base, not daily drives.
- Ask about drones early. In national parks drones fly in tourist zones after registration; at Tamgaly they need the reserve’s approval, and in Turkestan they don’t fly over the mausoleum.
- Know where the crew sleeps. Guesthouses in Basshi and Saty, a yurt camp on Assy, resort hotels at Shymbulak and Burabay.