Kosbastau Oasis

The Kosbastau oasis is located east of the Ulken (Big) Kalkan mountains, 28 km from the village of Basshi, on the way to the Katutau and Aktau mountains.

The Kosbastau post, with relic turanga groves and long-living trees, including the famous 700-year-old willow, is a popular place to rest on the way to the Katutau and Aktau mountains or back.

In the summer heat it is always cool here, with a cold stream, a lot of greenery and a small lake - all making a contrast with the surrounding desert.

The Altyn-Emel National Park is one of the few places where turanga groves, which are several thousand years old, have been preserved.

Turanga is a unique relic Asiatic poplar which survived the Ice Age and adapted to life in a hot and arid desert climate.

It is one of the common plants of the Ili river valley. There are two varieties of turanga - the diversifolious poplar and the glaucous-leaved poplar (the latter is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan).

Under normal conditions, on sandy saline soils, turanga has the appearance of a tree with a spreading crown and a relatively straight trunk. However, in the Kosbastau oasis, turanga trees, twisting, stretch their tops towards the light. Turanga acquired this “dancing” appearance due to unusual growing conditions - humidity and heat.

This happens due to the unusual conditions for the trees - here flows a radon stream, the soil is wet, there is a lot of shade and grass, and the turanga trees grow very close to each other.

Turanga is easy to recognize by its specific small rounded leaves.

There grow trees in the Kosbastau oasis which have the age of several hundreds of years. The largest of them, 20 meters high, has a trunk girth of 15 meters.

The age of the ancient willow is estimated at approximately 700 years.

Legend has it that Genghis Khan himself rested under the tree during his campaign in Central Asia, but this is nothing more than a legend, because then the tree must be much older, since the Mongolian army passed through these lands in 1219.

Nevertheless, this amazing tree is respected by local people as sacred, which should not be harmed in any way.

The 700-year-old willow in the Kosbastau oasis is usually visited by tourists on their way to the Aktau and Katutau mountains.

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In the 60s and 80s of the 20th century, a large uranium deposit, Sulucheki (or Sulushoky), was explored on the territory of the Altyn-Emel National Park. Here, on the basis of the Geological Exploration Settlement, exploration of uranium reserves and experimental uranium mining were carried out.

By the end of the 80s, this production and the activity of the geological settlement itself were completely stopped, the bore-holes were liquidated, and the lands were reclaimed. According to the experts, there are no negative environmental effects, the established indicators correspond to the accepted sanitary and hygienic standards of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Subsequently, the settlement of geologists practically ceased to exist for the industry and as a populated area. Only a few houses remained.

The Sulushoky deposit was transferred to the long-term reserve of the mining industry of Kazakhstan.

There is only one place, located within the boundaries of the Kalkan seismic station, where the equivalent dose of gamma radiation in the contour of the self-flowing well significantly exceeds the permissible values.

The radon water is supposed to cause genetic and chromosomic mutations of the giant 700-year-old willow.

At present, the available data do not allow for a consensus on the effect of chronic irradiation (long-term exposure at low dose rate) on plant growth. Some researchers point to inhibition (delay) of growth, others reject the presence of any consequences of radiation exposure, and still others note the possibility of hormesis, that is, a positive effect of relatively low doses of radiation on accelerating tree growth.

It is also known that warm radon springs are curative for humans and are widely used in balneology for the treatment of various diseases.

We are based in the village of Basshi near the central office of the Altyn-Emel National Park.

We have our own tourist transport and the largest Caravansarai campsite with stationary and mobile caravans, a Kazakh yurt and a spacious guesthouse in a large country estate for comfortable stay in Basshi.

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Phone: +77089711687

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