altyn emel national park

If there was one thing that I'd say you HAVE to do in Kazakhstan, I'd say it was this. I lived in Almaty for 5 months on a student exchange programme, and we organized a trip to the Altyn Emel National Park. It was not easy, because many Kazakhstanis have not even heard of the Altyn Emel National Park, so it was hard to find a guide who was willing to bring us there and around. Eventually we did, and it was amazing. We travelled to different places in the park, the red rocks, colourful mountains and singing sand dunes. I really enjoyed walking on the dry riverbed at the bottom of the colourful mountains - they crunched as you walked! Each landscape was so different from the rest! The scenery was breathtaking and we were the only ones there throughout our time there. We ended our trip at the Charyn Canyon.We didn't shower the first night, and had a quick rinse in a very cold river at Charyn Canyon on the second night. No luxury accommodation for us, but it was good enough in our tents and sleeping bags. =)

Not easy to reach and not easy to explore but definitely worthy. The so called singing dunes are beautiful sand dunes in a desert landscape and although they are not so imposing like the one in Namibia, they are fascinating. There are some animals to spot now and then, we saw gazelles, the mongolian donkeys and birds. The necropolis is absolutely astonishing. Lots of kurgan in the middle of nowhere with spirals of dolmens around the bigger ones. Kind of mystic experience, even if you're not an archeologist. The landscapes are wonderful too. You must be prepared to bad roads or pistes.

This was difficult to arrange because we were not starting our travels in Almaty, but it is worth persevering if you encounter difficulty with this as this was a fantastic experience. In the event, we managed to book accommodation at the guest house immediately behind the park offices in Basshy and then to arrange a guide on arrival the night before. This probably worked because we were relatively early in the season, but would not work at busy times. The guest house was not luxurious, but perfectly comfortable and we ate the best plov of three years living in Central Asia (and that is a lot of plov eating time!) for dinner. The bathrooms are shared, and not modern, but of an acceptable standard, and with hot water and flushing loos. The guest house has a lovely garden area with balcony and vines for sitting out in. Take your own booze if you want a drink. Comparatively with other accommodation in rural Kazakhstan the guesthouse is not particularly good value for the standard provided - 10,000 kzt a night for two, plus 1,000 kzt for dinner and 500 for breakfast (food better value), but it is worth spending this for the location. We were driving ourselves in our own car, and did not have an external guide; we also have some Russian, so were able to communicate with the compulsory park guide, but this would have been difficult without any Russian and we missed some of the finer points of his explanations, by lack of familiarity with the vocabulary, but much of what he said is available in the guide books to Kazkahstan - The Bradt Guide and The Odessey Guide. We had a long day doing the dune and the two rock formations - the red and the white one, plus the ancient willow tree. All were extraordinary and worth the bumping around on the variable tracks -although small children might not feel the same way. If you have to miss anything out because of time, the willow and the red rocks might be the things, although the willow is only about 5 or 10 minutes off the main route. We did spend a lot of time in the car, and on arrival at our hotel that night were asked by the receptionist if we were archaeologists, so covered in sand and dust we were! We were there in early May and it was already hot (late 20's) - the temperatures in mid summer may be fairly unbearable.Our one slight disappointment was that we had hoped we might see more of the animals which live in this park. We did see some groups of Kulan, but at a great distance, and one goitered gazelle, otherwise the area seemed pretty lifeless, and without the population of raptors that we have seen elsewhere - but maybe we were unlucky. Our guide suggested that in order to see the animals, one really needs to ride rather than go by car.For the stunning scenery and extraordinary and varied landscapes this visit is highly recommended, but if driving yourself make sure you can deal with minor repairs/punctures to your car, have plenty of water and a full tank of fuel (filling station near Basshy on the main road). There are a couple of small shops in Basshy in which picnic food can be purchased, but once leaving the village, there did not appear to be any options for purchasing food. To go to all three of the main sites, get out and walk around a little and get back took us from 9 in the morning until 6 at night. The dunes are by far the most visited area, and so best to go there and do them first before the crowds on a day trip from Almaty arrive. To do the area justice it would be best to allow a day and a half in the park.

Whilst the hostel in nearby village is simple, it is clean and has friendly staff and an ok breakfast. The sand dunes and mountains are great to hike and explore also with young children. Allow two nights to make the drive from Almaty worthwhile.

В заповедник приехали в средине лета, когда дневная температура была около +35+37. Нашей целью был поющий бархан и 700 летняя ива. В управлении заповедника нам дали проводника-егеря, мы проехали около 160 км, по территории национального парка, дорога грунтовка. Видели стада куланов, нескольких самок дейранов с детёнышами и их папашу))),множество разных птиц.К сожалению, лошадей Пржевальского держат на специально отведённой для них территории и туда нас не пустили(((( Впечатления от поездки самые положительные! Бархан- действительно поет! а старая ива,такая огромная. Чтобы поехать к цветным горам, желательно приехать с вечера, переночевать в посёлке , а на рассвете отправиться в горы. До гних около 150 км по грунтовке. Все маршруты начинаются и заканчиваются у управления.