Tourist Attractions

In the Altyn-Emel National Park there are both natural and cultural-historical places, from which the following attractions are available for visiting:

• Singing Dune
• Aktau cretaceous mountains
• Katutau volcanic mountains
• 700-year-old willow
• Besshatyr Saka burial mounds
• Tanbaly Tas petroglyphs
• Oshaktas stone steles
• Chokan Valikhanov's spring

The Singing Dune Aigaikum, making an unusual sound, is one of the seven wonders of Kazakhstan >>>

The cretaceous mountains of Aktau ("white mountains") are the most grandiose attraction of the Altyn-Emel National Park >>>

Katutau ("frozen mountains") are the remains of an ancient volcano in the form of hills of solidified lava >>>

700-year-old willow is a sacred tree in the Kosbastau oasis with thermal radon springs >>>

Besshatyr is burial mounds of Saka leaders, dating back to the 1st millennium BC >>>

Tanbaly Tas petroglyphs are the rock art of ancient nomadic tribes >>>

Oshaktas steles are the lonely mysterious stone menhirs of the Saka period (1st millennium BC) >>>

It is the place where Shokan Valikhanov, a famous Kazakh traveler, stayed with his expedition >>>

There are also little-known, but no less interesting places in Altyn-Emel, such as the Akbulak (Snowy) waterfall and the Ungirkora cave. The 15-meter Akbulak waterfall in the Kyzylauyz gorge of the Dzhungarian Alatau mountains can only be observed during the rainy and snowmelt periods. The large cave of Ungirkora is located far from tourist routes, therefore it is not available for visiting.

The Akbulak (Snowy) waterfall is a rare phenomenon in the dry climate of Altyn-Emel >>>

The Ungirkora (Ungirtas) cave is one of the ancient sites of primitive people in Kazakhstan >>>

Some of the ranger's posts in the Altyn-Emel National Park, which are small oases in the middle of the desert, are used as places for rest and camping.

The Mynbulak oasis, 10 km from the Singing Dune, not far from the Small Kalkan mountain, is fed by many underground streams >>>

The Kosbastau oasis, located halfway to the Aktau mountains, is famous for its warm underground springs and long-lived trees >>>

Shygan, 6 km from Basshi, with an artesian well and a magnificent view of the mountains and the steppe, is an ideal place for camping >>>