A walk through a timeless passage – Charyn Canyon

 

Among the various geographical features of our planet, the canyon is arguably the most awe inspiring. It is the outcome of a battle between water and stone culminating in the ultimate triumph of water. To understand this battle, we have to wrap our head around a geological timescale of several millions of years. It all begins with the rise of a landmass due to the collision of subterranean plates. This is a slow process, probably a few millimetres each year, but nevertheless presents a challenge to the flowing river. The water takes this challenge head on and starts carving the rock downwards to maintain its steady forward flow. As the landmass keeps rising, the river bed keeps sinking. And after millions of years, we stare at this spectacle of a canyon. The walls of the canyons remember the water that once kissed them, leaving behind timeless memories.

Not all rivers can carve deep canyons because not all rocks yield to their persistent force. That’s why canyons are both rare and awe-inspiring — the river has only “won” where the stone was willing to give way. Rivers can carve soft to moderately hard sedimentary rocks like sandstone, limestone, or shale over millions of years. Fractures and joints in the rock make it more susceptible to erosion — without them, even flowing water struggles to carve deeply.

Recently, I had the good fortune to walk through the Charyn Canyon, the second largest canyon on earth after the Grand Canyon of Colorado. Charyn Canyon is in south-eastern Kazakhstan, about 200 km east of Almaty. It is approximately 150 kilometres long and up to 300 metres deep. It has been carved out by the Charyn River from sedimentary rock, primarily sandstone, over a period of 12 million years.

The “Valley of Castles” is a popular walking trail along the Charyn Canyon. It gets its name from the dramatic rock formations along the trail, resembling ancient castles and fortresses. The carvings initiated by water has been polished by wind and sand. The sandstone deposits that constitute the walls of the canyon have different hardness. Some are harder and more resistant to erosion, while others are softer. The result of differential erosion is a phantasmagoria of turrets, spires, battlements, and whatever else your mind can conjure up. The sunlight striking the rocks at varying angles accentuate the shapes further. At places, the erosion of wind has left boulders precariously perched as if they would tumble down any moment.

Charyn Canyon holds spiritual meaning to the Kazakh people. As a plaque located midway along the trail explains, the canyon exemplifies duality – the forces within us and those that are external. The forces within earth caused the land to rise up as mountains, while the external forces of water and wind shaped and sculpted them.

The trail is about 3 km long and it takes a little more than an hour with enough stops to admire the topography and take photos.  At the end of the trail, we waited more than an hour for the minibus to take us back to the starting point. If your legs are strong enough, I would recommend a walk back for a different perspective.

Charyn Canyon reveals itself differently to everyone. For some, it is enchanting and mystical; for others, haunting and formidable. Some see it as a marvel of geological science, while others search for a deeper, spiritual meaning. Whichever way you experience it, it is impossible to leave the canyon without its rocks having touched your heart in some way.