Air transport. Kostanay International Airport is located 2 kilometers south-west of the outskirts of the city of Kostanay and 5.6 km from its administrative center. Air Astana, Fly Arystan, Qazaq Air, Sunday Airlines, Aeroflot, Belavia fly to Kostonay.
Note: during the pandemic, the number of flights, and accordingly the airlines have changed.
Railway. Kostanay Railway station built in 1974 is located in the northwestern part of the city. It is a 1st class train station, and equipped with everything necessary for quick and convenient passenger service. On the territory of the building there are suburban and long-distance ticket offices, a round-the-clock information service, currency exchange offices, 24/h luggage storage room, Sberbank and Kaspi-Bank ATMs, and a 24/h medical center. For passengers with private vehicles near the station, there is a free parking for 100 spaces.
Road transport. Kostanay region route network includes 145 regular routes, 53 of which are urban, 17 – suburban, 44 – inter-district, 10 – intra-regional, 3 – inter-regional and 10 – international. There are 42 bus fleets with 764 buses on regular bus routes, the depreciation of which is 76.8% (587 units over 12 years old). There are 1 bus station, 8 terminals and 3 passenger service points in the region.
Kostanay region is home to about 300 small rivers, more than 5 thousand lakes, 106 hunting farms and 225 fishery reservoirs, contributing to the development of adventure tourism – hunting and fishing. The total area of the region’s hunting grounds is 16 million 648 thousand hectares.
The diversity and richness of the unique nature of the Naurzum Reserve allows the development of ecological tourism. This Reserve is included in the list of UNESCO cultural heritage sites. 6 itineraries have been developed on the territory of the Reserve.
Also in the region there are 1141 monuments of history and culture, including 38 sacred places (28 regional, 10 of national importance), which are integrated into the cultural and educational itineraries.
Sosnovy Bor Health Resort located in a picturesque resort area, is a special attraction for tourists. The Resort provides a wide range of services used by residents and citizens of other countries. There is also a recreation and entertainment complex “Dzhailyau KZ” that has everything for good rest and health improvement. The resort area of the Altynsara region houses “Selena”, “Derevenka v Boru” recreation centers, as well as “Bolashak” children’s health camp.
On the territory of the regional center there are Russian and Kazakh Drama theaters, unique museum complexes, a large number of family cafes and restaurant bars. Therma Park with bath complexes, water attractions, swimming pools, incl. thermal, food court, located on the territory of the Kostanay Plaza shopping and entertainment center.
Kostanay region was formed on July 29, 1936. The region’s land area is 196.0 thousand km², and it is home to 866.5 thousand people (as of 09/01/2020). The region has rich cultural heritage with 1141 historical and cultural monuments, 38 sacred and memorial sites on its territory.
Kostanay region is the sacred land of the Kazakh history, as it is the birthplace of wise biys and mighty batyrs, the famous sons of Kazakhstan. The first among the noble Kazakhs to receive the honorary title of Tarkhan was the talented military leader, the hero of battles with the jongars, Shakshak Zhanibek Koshkaruly. The main hostilities of the national liberation uprising of Kenesary Khan took place on the Kostanay land. Here in 1916 the brave warriors Amangeldy Imanov and Keiki-batyr fought for the freedom and happiness of their native people.
The great scientist and traveler Chokan Valikhanov, the inspired enlightener Ibrai Altynsarin gained worldwide fame. Outstanding public and political figures Akhmet Baitursynov and Mirzhakyp Dulatov stood at the origins of the Kazakh sovereign state. Our fellow countrymen – Elyubay Umurzakov, Seraly Kozhamkulov, Kapan Badyrov – became the founders of the national performing arts. The first Kazakh sculptor, People’s Artist of Kazakhstan Khakimzhan Nauryzbaev and Kazakh composers Bakhytzhan Baikadamov, Ablakhat Espayev are also from our region. Our fellow countrymen Spandiyar Kubeev, Mukhamedzhan Seralin, Beimbet Mailin, Mariyam Khakimzhanova, Syrbai Maulenov, Gafu Kairbekov made a significant contribution to the development of Kazakh literature.
By the very nature and hard work of many generations, the Kostanay region was given to become an outpost of animal husbandry in the north of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the breadbasket of the vast Eurasian continent. The third part of the export of Kazakh wheat supplied to dozens of countries around the world is the gold grain of our region. Kostanay land is a unique storehouse of minerals: iron and gold ores, chrysotile asbestos, bauxite, titanium, nickel, zinc, coal, building materials, facing and ornamental stones.
Festivals and Celebrations
The Kostanay region annually hosts such events as the International Forum of Choral Conductors, International Vocal Competition “Altyn Microphone”, International Festival of Choreographic Art “Nauryz Dostaryn Shagyrady”, International Festival of Ensembles and Orchestras of Folk Instruments “Turki Alemi”, International Jazz Festival “Jazz Beau Monde”, International festival of ancient technologies and cultural communications named after Thor Heyerdahl “Desht-Thor”, republican aitys, republican competition of young authors of fine, decorative and applied art “Zhas tolgyn”, Tulips regional festival (Open air) “Ainaldym senen, Atamekenim”, regional festival of amateur folk art “Onerimiz sagan, Kazakstan!”, regional folk dance competition “Tobyl tolgyndary”, regional festival of ensembles of Kazakh folk instruments “Kasyrlar pernesi”, national theatre show “Bastagy”, “Night at the Museum” event, personal and thematic exhibitions of Kostanay artists in the art gallery and many others.Nights in the Museum”, personal and thematic exhibitions of Kostanay artists in the picture gallery and many others.
Gastronomy
Hospitality is the main feature of the Kazakh people. There are traditionally many meat dishes in Kazakh cuisine. One of the most popular is kuyrdak – a hot fatty roast made from lamb liver, kidneys, heart, lungs and tail fat.
The main traditional dish is besbarmak – boiled horse meat or lamb with small pieces of dough boiled in broth, served on a large oval dish. However, it is only in Kostanay region that a not quite traditional besbarmak is prepared: in the Turgai region, known as the hunting and fishing center, besbarmak is made with the most delicate fillet of carp and other types of fish.
The climate is sharply continental and extremely dry. Winters are long, frosty, with strong winds and blizzards; summers are hot and dry. Annual precipitation is 250-300 mm in the north of the region and 240-280 mm in the south. The growing season is 150-175 days in the north and 180 days in the south.
There are about 300 small rivers within the region. The largest rivers are the Tobol (800 km within the region) with tributaries and the Torgai (390 km). The Verkhnetobolskoye, Karatamarskoye and Amangeldinskoye reservoirs are located on the Tobol River.
There are more than 5 thousand lakes in the region, the largest of them are: Kusmuryn, Teniz, Koibagor, Akkol, Sarykol, Alakol and others. In the region there are 354.4 thousand hectares of specially protected natural areas, including the Naurzum state nature reserve, 3 state nature (zoological) reserves and 9 state natural monuments.
The region is distinguished by a wide variety of natural conditions, from the northern border of the region to the southern one, the West Siberian forest-steppe landscapes are successively replaced by landscapes of moderately arid steppes, giving way to dry steppes and semi-deserts in the south of the region.
The northern part of the region is dominated by chernozems with red-grass-forb vegetation, birch-aspen groves and pine forests (Arakaragai, Amankaragai); in the central part there are chestnut soils with forb-red-grass vegetation, pine forest of Naurzymkaragai, on the basis of which the reserve of the same name is organized, in the southern half there are light chestnut soils and sierozem with fescue-feather grass and wormwood vegetation.
Kostanay region is characterized as an industrial-agrarian region, where industry, agriculture, small and medium-sized businesses are successfully developing.
The mining industry is based on the following enterprises: SSGPO JSC, Varvarinskoye JSC, Kostanay Minerals JSC, Komarovskoe Mining Enterprise LLP, Orken LLP Lisakovsk branch, KBRU branch of Aluminum of Kazakhstan JSC. The mining industry production is the main region’s export item and the main source of foreign exchange earnings.
A significant part of the processing industry of the region is food production, including beverages, mechanical engineering, metallurgical industry, production of other non-metallic mineral products, light industry.
The basis of the machine-building industry of the region are the companies: JSC “AgromashHolding KZ”, LLP “SaryarkaAvtoProm”, LLP “Kostanay agromechanical plant”, LLP “Dormash”, LLP “Don Mar”, LLP “Composite Group Kazakhstan”, LLP “Kostanay tractor plant” and others.
EvrazKaspianStal LLP, SSGPO JSC Metal Rolling Plant, Rudnensky Plant of Metal Structures – Imstalkon LLP, and MehLitKom LLP are the producers of metallurgical products in the region.
Ferrous metallurgy is developing in the region. LLP “EvrazKaspianStal” provides the domestic market and construction industry enterprises with high-quality rolled products.
Non-ferrous metallurgy is based on Varvarinskoye JSC, Brandt LLP, and Integrated Geological and Environmental Expedition LLP, which process gold-bearing ore to produce unprocessed and semi-processed gold or in powder form.
Enterprises of the food industry produce dairy, flour, meat products, confectionery, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, vegetable oil, which are sold both within the republic, and in the countries of far and near abroad.
