The Mynbulak oasis is located north of the Kishi (Small) Kalkan mountains, 10.5 km from the Singing Dune. It is a cluster of small oases, each of them feeding by a spring that gushes out of the ground (myn means "thousand" and bulak means "spring" in Kazakh). Turanga, saxaul, reed, willow, oleaster, salt tree, tamarisk, wild rose, barberry grow here.
Through the Mynbulak oasis, along the foothills of the Small Kalkan mountains, there are migration routes of animals towards the Kapchagai reservoir. For example, gazelles come here to the park from the Panfilovsky district of the region, for wintering; kulans also often migrate here from the protected area of the national park due to increased drought and reduction of the area of pastures and the number of watering places.
Gazelles can be seen along the road and next to the Mynbulak post, near the barrier and the local spring. From the Mynbulak oasis to the foothills of Small Kalkan, gazelles move daily in the morning, and go down back to the plain in the evening.
The spring in the Mynbulak oasis is also visited by argali, during seasonal migrations from the Small Kalkan to the Sholak mountains and back.
See also:
Arba Travel offers tours from Almaty and transfer service from the village of Basshi to the Singing Dune with a stop at the Mynbulak oasis.
