Tourist Routes 1 and 3
Distance of the two routes: 250 km in both directions (routes are marked in yellow and red on the map).
Route: Basshi village → 6 km → Shygan post → 30 km – Mynbulak post → 10 km → Singing Dune → 2 km → Valikhanov's spring → 7 km → Oshaktas Menhirs → 33 km → road turn to Basshi village → 28 km → Kosbastau post → 10 km → Zhagalbaily post → 34 km → Aktau Mountains → 25 km → Katutau Mountains → 47 km → Basshi village.
Travel Information
⏳ Duration of the trip: 2 days.
☀️ The park is open to visitors only during the daytime. Traveling within the park is prohibited after dark.
🔛 Distance from Almaty to the beginning of the route (Basshi village): about 250 km one way.
🔛 Distance from the Kolsai Lakes to the Basshi village: about 330 km one way.
🔛 Distance from the Charyn Canyon to the Basshi village: about 220 km one way.
🔛 Distance inside the park: about 250 km in both directions, including the Katutau Mountains.
🚙 The main part of the route from Almaty is a toll highway. The road to Basshi is paved, including the serpentine road at the Altyn-Emel mountain pass. The Zharkent highway is asphalted. The roads inside the park are unpaved, with chatter bumps, dusty, cause strong vibration. The section of the road to the Katutau Mountains is the worst, rarely leveled by a grader. A reliable 4x4 or crossover with tires suitable for unpaved roads is a must.
⛽ Good gas stations nearby are in the village of Saryozek and the village of Chundzha (with payment by card). Near the village of Basshi there is one very old gas station, which sometimes does not have fuel.
🏧 There are no ATMs in the park or nearby; the nearest ATMs are in Konaev, Zharkent, Saryozek, and Chundzha.
⛺ Overnight stays and camping near the Singing Dune are prohibited. The nearest camping site is the Mynbulak post, 10 km from the dune. There are toilets and gazebos near the Singing Dune. In the Aktau Mountains you can spend the night and camp in your tents (you must notify the national park employees about this when purchasing a pass/permit). There are toilets and gazebos near the Aktau Mountains.
💧 There are no water sources in the Aktau and Katutau Mountains.
🏡 You can stay overnight in the village of Basshi.
🍽️ There is no cafe in the village of Basshi; tourists usually take snacks with them from the city or have food at the hotel where they stay overnight.
📶 There is almost no mobile phone coverage and no Internet service inside the park. The village of Basshi has good network coverage and 4G Internet.
⛔ Passage through the park to the Besshatyr Mounds is prohibited. Travel to the Singing Dune and the Aktau Mountains is possible only through the Basshi village. You cannot drive to the Aktau Mountains from the Zharkent highway and back.
📝 You can buy a pass/permit in the Basshi village.
Recommended Travel Program
Day 1:
Leave Almaty (Kolsai, Charyn) at 8-9 am.
Arrive in Basshi around 12 noon in order to have time to buy passes at the national park office before lunch break.
Go to the Singing Dune (4-5 hours).
Spend the night in the village of Basshi.
Day 2:
Leave for the Aktau Mountains at 8 am.
Go to the Aktau and Katutau Mountains (5-7 hours).
Leave the national park.
Places to See
On the way from Almaty:
You will pass through the city of Konaev with its casinos, the Ili River at its widest point where it flows out of the Kapchagai Lake, and along the banks of Kapchagai, as well as the picturesque Arkharly and Altyn-Emel mountain passes.
In the Altyn-Emel Park:
The road to the Singing Dune passes through the steppe with views of the Dzhungarian Alatau, Katutau and Kalkan Mountains.
Along the way there will be the Shygan and Mynbulak posts, Valikhanov's spring, turanga groves, Oshaktas Menhirs, and the “Dinosaur Trail” (infoboards).
The most commonly seen animals are gazelles, kulans, foxes, and hares. At the Shygan post, you can ask the ranger for permission to see the pen where Przewalski’s horses are kept.
From the top of the Singing Dune there is a view of the Ili River and the mountains on all sides (Kalkans which surround the Singing Dune; Dzhungarian Alatau in the distance in the north; Sogety, Bogety, Zaili Alatau in the south across the river). Climbing the dune is not difficult.
The road to the Aktau and Katutau Mountains passes through the villages of Nurym and Aktobe, along the steppe with views of the Katutau and Big Kalkan Mountains.
On the way to the Aktau Mountains or back, you can stop by the Kosbastau post with a 700-year-old willow tree, a pond and a warm radon spring near an abandoned geological village.
On the way to the Aktau Mountains there will be the Zhagalbaily post and turanga groves.
In the Aktau Mountains there is a main tourist trail - a long canyon. You can also climb to accessible places.
It is better to go to the Katutau Mountains better on the way back.
Don’t lose your mobile phones in the sand of the Singing Dune, be careful in the Aktau and Katutau Mountains and read the Travel Advisory.
Individual 4x4 tours from Almaty to the Singing Dune, Aktau and Katutau Mountains.
Individual 4x4 tours from Basshi to the Singing Dune, Aktau and Katutau Mountains.
