The strikingly beautiful Kora gorge is located hidden between the mountains of Dzungar Alatau in the Southeastern Kazakhstan. These mountains also provide a natural border with China. Kora gorge extends for a distance of 90 km and it is also the valley where the largest waterfall of Kazakhstan, named Burkhan-Bulak, is located in. Kora gorge is also known as the gorge Karinskoe. From the north, the valley is limited by the Karatau ridge and the Minshukur mountains. 

The main ridge of the Zhetysuiskiy Alatau also reaches here from the south, separating the valleys of the Kora and Koksu rivers. The Zhamankol and Mynzhilka mountains separate the Kora gorge to the middle and lower reaches of the river from the Chizha river gorge. The mountains here reach their maximum height at the eastern end with a height of 3919 in the form of the Bezsonov glacier. The Kora Gorge is fairly deep in the lower parts  and also narrow as well occasionally when the river fills almost the entire bottom of it. It is still possible to hike and trek in the gorge.

While hiking in the Gorge you can see a large variety of flora and fauna. There are more than 3000 species of plants, including edelweiss and sievers apple trees, which are considered being the progenitor of all the apple species in the world. There are also several rare mammals living here like  ermines, foxes, bears, wolves and even snow leopards.