Jeep tour from Almaty to Aktau Mountains in Altyn-Emel Park -
Geology and geological tours in Almaty region -
Aktau Mountains - the most beautiful chalk mountains, white as the bones of a giant, also known as the "White Mountains", an open-air paleontological museum, famous for their multi-colored beauty and the fact that here you can find fossilized remains of ancient animals and plants. The mountains resemble the landscape of another planet, the world before man, before time, before everything. Here the earth does not speak - it is silent, but in this silence, there is so much power that you forget to breathe. Aktau Mountains are located in the Almaty-Emel National Park and Reserve and are one of its natural and frequently visited attractions. In these places you can meet the rarest representatives of the fauna - steppe lynx-caracals, graceful gazelles and golden eagles circling above the canyons. In the spring, after rare rains, the slopes of Aktau briefly come to life, covered with a carpet of scarlet poppies and delicate tulips, and relict plants that have survived millions of years of evolution here are hidden in the crevices of the rocks. The path to the Aktau mountains begins in the village of Basshi, where the visitor center of the reserve is located and where you need to get a pass to the reserve and register your stay here.
The Aktau mountains are unlike anything in Kazakhstan. Their colors - white, milky yellow, gray, with shades of blue and pinkish - seem unreal. The color of the mountain’s changes depending on the sunlight and the phase of the day: at dawn they glow as if covered with frost, during the day they become shining and sharp, and at sunset they acquire a crimson-golden aura, as if performing the last song of the day. You walk between these ridges - and it is as if you have entered a prehistoric fairy tale. In every break, in every crack you can read the history written by winds, waters and millions of years of evolution. These mountains are made up of chalk rocks formed in the era when the sea splashed here, and prehistoric lizards roamed the coast. Scientists have found fossils of ancient fish, turtles and even crocodiles in Aktau. Imagine that you are walking along a dry gorge, and under your feet there may be a bone of a creature that lived here 60 million years ago. This is not just geology - this is the living memory of the planet.
How to get there and visit -
The Aktau Mountains are located 300 kilometers from Almaty, on the territory of the Altyn-Emel National Nature Park, between the Ili River and the Katutau Mountains, Kerbulak District, Almaty Region, Republic of Kazakhstan.
GPS coordinates: 44°02'23"N 79°17'28"E
Information -
The Aktau Mountains (White Mountains) are very unusual and beautiful, white color prevails here, so the mountains were called "white mountains" or Aktau. We recommend traveling to the Aktau Mountains in spring and early summer, because here you will see a blooming desert and it will not be as hot as, for example, in July or August. Here you can take excellent photos or shoot a video, the main predominant colors here are white, pink, red and green. When traveling to the Aktau Mountains, you need to prepare well, it is better to use 4x4 jeeps with high cross-country ability, you also need to have at least 2 liters of water per day per person, a Panama hat, sunglasses, good trekking shoes, a windbreaker. If you want to stay here overnight, you need to have all the necessary equipment, a tent, a sleeping bag, food, etc.
The Aktau Mountains are absolutely lifeless at first glance - no trees, no water, no shade. But this is where their mysticism lies. This emptiness cleanses. Here you feel how the unnecessary goes away: thoughts, worries, vanity. Only you and the earth remain. The air is dry, clean, ringing. The wind is like the voice of the spirit, which says: "Look. Be silent. Remember." There are different legends about these places. They say that these are the frozen walls of an ancient city swallowed by the sands. Or that once upon a time titans fought here, and these mountains are their traces. But, be that as it may, each peak here is like a guard post of the ancient world, each slope is like a frozen wave, each canyon is like a frozen moment of creation. A journey through the Aktau mountains is not just a walk. It is a revelation. It is a meeting with the world's past and, perhaps, with yourself. There is no need for music here - the silence itself sounds. There is no need for words here - everything is said in forms, colors and light. You walk among white stone waves and feel: you are in a temple, but not built by hands - created by nature itself.
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