Altyn-Emel

National Park Altyn-Emel is a place where the diversity of the local nature is best seen. With an area of more than 520,000 hectares, the park is the largest in the country. It stretches from the Jungar Alatau in the north across the plain to artificial Kapchagai Lake in the south. The animal life is unique, with 56 species protected by the state. There you can see herds of the graceful jeyran antelope and, with a little luck, encounter a swift mountain goat, tau-teke, or a timid wild horse, kulan. The latter endangered species is being restored in Altyn-Emel. The plant life is just as rich and distinct. Of the 1,800 local higher plants, 21 are protected and 60 are classified as endemic or rare.

Altyn-Emel’s claim to fame is the so-called Singing Dune, which can be seen from a distance as a giant goldish spot in front of brown mountains in the Ili Valley. This dune, 3 km wide and 80 m high, was named for its ability to produce a powerful buzzing sound resembling that of a jet. Another special feature about the Singing Dune is that this huge "sand pile" has retained its distinct shape for centuries despite strong, permanent winds.

 

Visitors should also see the famous sandwich-like mountains of Aktau (Kazakh for "white mountains"). These lifeless, oddly incised rocks, painted white, pink or red, look like the pieces of a giant pie and impress a newcomer at once.