Altyn Emel National Park in Balkhash

The willow tree is not worth a visit at all. White mountains are amazing, you can park up and go for a walk through them, but road to get there is atrocious (around 70km each way. We were in a 4by4 and nearly turned back). Small entry fee for the park, a few dollars pp.

Nice park but very big distances to drive on bad gravel roads beween the sights...it can be done with normal car also up to Alatau but its quite hard...sand dunes are the closest from the village and probablly the most interesting if you never visited sand desert before...the Katutau and Alatau mountains look on photos much more nice then in real...I guess photoshop does its work 😉 Accomodation in Basshy expensive compare to Zharkent...room with breakfast for 2 persons per night 13 000 tenge...no restaurant in the village just 2 shops...

Beautiful scenery, quiet, great camping spots

Established in 1996, Altyn Emel is a national park in Kazakhstan that covers around 4,600km: around four times the size of Hong Kong.It’s home to several unique landscapes that include relic forests and majestic dunes.On your journey, you might even spot one of the many hoofed mammals that roam Altyn Emel National Park throughout the year.

Altyn-Emel National Park (Kazakh: Алтынемел саябағы, Altynemel sayabaǵy ; Russian: Алтын-Эмель национальный парк , Altyn-Emel Natsionalnyy Parkis a national park in Kazakhstan. It was created in 1996.[1] The park covers about 4,600 km2 (1,800 sq mibetween the Ili River and the Ak-Tau mountain range, near Lake Kapchagai, and consists mostly of desert and rocky terrainAltyn-Emel National Park is located in the Ili River Valley, Kazakhstan. It comprises various landscapes, including sand desert, mountains, and flora. The park was founded on April 10, 1996, with the objective to preserve a natural park complex, as well as archaeological and historical monuments. It is the largest reserve in Kazakhstan and part of UNESCOs world heritage.It consists of two main parts – the plain that adjoins the right Bank of the Ili river and the mountain – the spurs of the Dzungarian Alatau and the macro-slope of the Altyn Emel range. Small island mountain ranges are located on the plains. On the territory of the Park, Carboniferous deposits (300 million years oldhave been identified, which are mainly represented by volcanites, Permian and Carboniferous deposits, and the most ancient deposits are Silurian. The Parks mountains are mostly composed of Paleozoic rocks that are 200 to 400 million years old.Located within the park, the Besshatyr Burial Ground is a historical monument of Saka mounds. The burial mounds date back to the Iron Age (the VII-VI centuries BC), and were built by the nomads of Central Asian steppes. Objects found within the burial mounds include gold-plated trappings, gold adornments and utensils, weapons and armor.Another prominent feature of the area are the Aktay mountains. The Aktay mountains are also referred to as the "lunar mountains" on account of their particular colors.[3][4] Aktau, which means "White mountains"in Kazakh. In translation from the Turkic-Mongolian Altyn-Emel means: "Altyn" - gold and "Emel" - saddle, which means"mountain pass".

Visited this park in 2017. Its huge, we drove approximately 80 km of dirt road to get to the mountains. You had to get a guide at the entrance back then. Be sure to keep an eye on the guide, our guide tried to steal from us. Nonetheless, the guide was friendly, and even friendlier after a bottle of vodka. Do not miss this park when in South Kazachstan.

Awesome but terrible road conditions 4x4 may 50km/h we went with 2wd not faster than 30km/h

I like Altyn Emel for its wild animals and quietness. No mobile signal, no shouting and city noises. Just you and nature. Feel it and enjoy it. But summer is not good time, extremely hot

Singing dune is a must-see, especially at sunset. I would also recommend going to the white mountains (the further ones, going left from the entrance).The road itself is also a great attraction, youre driving through emptiness with some mountains far away on the horizon.The road to the mountains is worse than to the dune, but in both cases some small 4WD will do without any problem. I wouldnt go there with 2WD, but if you must I guess you can get to the dune, but it wont be very pleasant (road is very bumpy).

Amazing scenery! Especially the white mountains. The singing dune at sunset is also very nice.

Singing dune and Clay mountain were awesome

Altyn Emel is the jewel of Kazakhstan. It takes quite a while to get there and although they say it’s fine to go with a 2WD car, I would highly recommend a 4WD. You will be on bumpy dirt road for kilometres.

Nice natural park, but curious lack of wildlife.

It is not easy to reach there.

Wonderful place! Worth to visit Definitely! We had a private tour by 4x4 car, roads are not very good. Car rentals in Almaty usually do not rent cars to this national park. I recommend to ask a tour agency with a driver.Slept in a small Village there and had a 2 day tour to Aktau Mountains, Katutau and a dune.

Remarkable park with very few tourists.

The park is very quiet and nice to take a stroll in the evening. Do take note that you need permit to enter the area. I would suggest you to sign up a tour group to go in.

Cool place with crazy road, need 2 days to see everything here

The visitor’s centre to the park. 2 main attractions - Singing Dune and the Aktau Mountain, which are each a distance drive away from here. The short walk to the top of the singing dune was moderately challenging, but the rest of the way was easy. The hike at Aktau was also moderate, some parts the path is really loose. Our guide said that it typically takes 3-4hrs depending on which routes you take. We went in June, so it was really hot.

Awesome and beautiful nature reserve. Everything is great but the roads inside it!

Beautiful scenery

Amazing landscape. Worth going there!In May 2019 we didnt need a guide. Just pay the fees at the office.

What an amazing place. You can visit so many different sides in this national park and everything is super unique. There is the singing dune that is beautiful and majestic and the white mountains which are absolutely otherworldly. Make sure to treat the nature respectful, dont leave any waste and stay on the road with your vehicle at all times.You will need a local to travel around this park as far as we heard. We had a driver who took us. You need to pay a small fee upon entrance. It is possible to camp in the park if you have the permission. However, theres a nearby hotel not far from the park entrance.

Wondeful place! I recomend it for visit

Main entrance to the Altyn Emel Park.

Amazing place - Singing Dunes and the White Mountains are a "must see" - worth the 4 hour drive from Almaty. Keep your eyes peeled for the wildlife.

Very beautiful sights! Worth seeing though pretty far from Almaty

Lovely place!

Amazing natural park with many different horizon and nature to discover! You do not need a guide to do it and it is very cheap. Everything can be done in one day (if you have a good car and know how to drive😅)

Great landscape, you may come across to wild horses. Own transport recommended, because the park sells only a ticket, but none possibility to get to the park...

Must see near to Almaty

An amazing and unique national park. I have never been to such a remarkable and novel place that is unlike anywhere else in the world. Amazing and beautiful.

Beautiful places, but higher clearance car preferred.

Really huge and beautiful place! You can see how steppes are changing from desert to grassy fields!

I liked it, but its very hot in summer . Approximately 40-50 degrees. Therefore it is better to ride either in spring or in autumn.

Nature is fantastic there. It has pretty stunning views.

Beautiful landscape of white and red mountains. Bring a drone if you have one to capture the beauty of it.

Beautiful scenery, lots of animals. Lousy and rude park rangers though.

Definitely one of places you should see in Kazakhstan

Beautiful

Amazing park. There is at least two days ot activities there but even better to plan full three days visit. The highlights are Aktau mountains and singing sand dunes.

Well looked after Municipal park. Children love to play in this very friendly and family oriented neighbour hood. The city workers do a fantastic job on the municipal facilities in Oshawa.

Must visit places.

An extraordinary landscape, well worth the effort needed to get there.

Great great place

Extremely beautiful and really worth going to. Very exclusive, even though it is mentioned in all travel guides. A mix of Sahara, vulcanic rock formations and colourful mountains. Just go there!

Great nature, decent accomodation and terrible roads. All in all - a must-see in Almaty region.

Great place to feel the vibes of Mother Nature and enjoy the beauty and wilderness of Kazakh steppes. If youre lucky, you can watch some rare animal species. The Singing Dune is a must see. At Aktau you can feel what it means to have not a soul around within 80 km area!

Aktau and Singing Dune are two big attractions here. Great experience here. Camping in Aktau is very enjoyable. Noted that there are a lot of locusts and grasshoppers on the way to Aktau and few of them flew into our car.

Singing barkhans