Esik
Kazakhstan
Town at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains in Kazakhstan's Almaty Region, Esik is the base for visiting the nearby Issyk kurgan, burial site of the celebrated "Golden Man." Founded by Cossacks in 1858, it sits on the Issyk River close to Issyk Lake — formed by an ancient landslide, destroyed by another in 1963, and later rebuilt — with Almaty a short drive to the west.
- Population32,995
- Nearest water5.7 km
- Nearest mountain4.0 km
- UNESCO within 50 km1