Roads and Nearby Sights

The road to the Altyn-Emel National Park goes along the Almaty-Konaev-Saryozek highway through the Arkharly mountain pass (toll road).

Then, from the village of Saryozek towards the city of Zharkent through the Altyn-Emel mountain pass there is a single-lane asphalt road.

After descending from the Altyn-Emel pass, turn to the right right towards the village of Basshi (asphalt road), where the central office of the Altyn-Emel National Park is located.

See also:

Location of the Altyn-Emel National Park >>>

The Almaty-Kapchagai two-lane toll highway passes through the "city of entertainment" Kapchagai (now Konaev), with casinos, cafes and a museum of retro cars. The road leads on through the Kapchagai bridge with picturesque views of the Ili river, then along the Kapchagai reservoir and through the Arkharly pass.

The road after the village of Saryozek to the village of Basshi (the main entrance to the Altyn-Emel National Park) passes through the picturesque Altyn-Emel mountain pass and has a distance of about 80 kilometers.

After you pass the city of Konaev (Kapchagai), in the middle of the village of Shengeldy, you can turn to the right through the village and drive to the Altyn-Emel National Park to the Besshatyr necropolis via Checkpoint 1 if you have purchased a permit remotely - learn more here >>>

The distance from the village of Shengeldy to Checkpoint 1 is about 20 kilometers.

From the village of Shengeldy to the shore of the Kapchagai reservoir there is an asphalt road in poor condition, then along the shore up to Checkpoint 1 there is a dirt hilly road that requires off-road transport.

Inside the park, the dirt roads are with chatter bumps, or "washboarding", which, unfortunately, damages vehicles. The total length of the network of unpaved roads from the village of Basshi through the territory of the Altyn-Emel National Park is about 450 km.

Inside the Altyn-Emel park, the road is paved only from the village of Basshi to the villages of Nurym and Aktobe, the length of this section is about 16 km.

A through passage in the national park is prohibited, from the Degeres mountains (Besshatyr mounds) to the Kalkans mountains (Singing Dune), where kulans, gazelles and other animals migrate from the mountains to watering places on the Ili river.

There are many interesting sights in the vicinity of the Altyn-Emel National Park. These are the Ili river, on the banks of which the Kapchagai mountains, the Nomad Town and the Tamgaly Tas petroglyphs (not to be confused with the Tanbaly Tas petroglyphs in the Altyn-Emel park itself) are located. You can also visit the museum of Chokan Valikhanov and more distant attractions, such as the famous Eshkiolmes petroglyphs, the Zharkent mosque and the sacred Auliye Agash tree.

The distance from Almaty to the Basshi village is 250 km. The Ili river is very picturesque in its widest place when driving across it over the bridge between the stone rocks.

Just before reaching the bridge, you can turn to the left towards the village of Kazakhstan to enjoy the magnificent view of the rocky Kapchagai mountains cut through by the Ili river.

On the left bank of the Ili river, at the foot of the Kapchagai mountains, the "Ancient Town" filming set was built for "Nomad", a 2005 Kazakh-French movie based on true historical facts.

On the right bank of the Ili river (if you turn to the left behind the bridge), there is Tamgaly Tas, a complex of ancient petroglyphs (including images of Buddha).

10 km from Altyn-Emel, in the Shankhanai village (between Saryozek and Basshi), there is a grave and a museum of the great Kazakh scientist Chokan Valikhanov.

Before reaching the Altyn-Emel mountain pass, you can stop for a rest in a picturesque valley with a small lake overlooking the Altyn-Emel ridge of the Dzhungarian Alatau mountains.

On the way back from Altyn-Emel to Almaty, near the entrance to the city of Konaev, you should definitely visit Tulpar Retro Car Museum with unique expositions of the Soviet era.

In the Eshkiolmes mountains (Dzhungarian Alatau) one can find the largest cluster of petroglyphs in Kazakhstan included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

The Borohudzir highland (Dzhungarian Alatau), the field of the famous battle of Orbulaq between the Kazakh Jangir Khan and the Dzhungars, is a place for summer pastures (jailau).

The road to the town of Zharkent, the main attraction of which is the Zharkent mosque built in 1895, runs across the Altyn-Emel park from the village of Basshi.

In the village of Auliyeagash near the town of Zharkent bordering on China, there is a place of pilgrimage, the 700-year-old sacred tree Auliye Agash with a trunk of 6.5 m in girth.