Photo tour of the wild nature of Zhongar Alatau

Photo tour of the wild nature of Zhongar Alatau

During this tour you will visit amazing places of wild nature of Kazakhstan, Altyn Emel National Park and mountain landscapes of Zhongar Alatau, where you will meet representatives of our wild fauna and flora, including species listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan, get to know the history of ancient Kazakhstan.

Another stop along the route will be a peculiar steppe sea, the second largest among the inland waters of Kazakhstan, Lake Alakol, where you can enjoy warm medicinal waters.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Altyn Emel National Park, Kazakhstan

07.00 Meeting with a guide in Almaty, transfer to Altyn-Emel National Park. (270 km, 5 hours).
12.00 Arrival to the park, accommodation at the guest house, lunch.
After lunch, go to excursion at Signing Dunes.
18.00 Return to the guesthouse. Dinner and overnight.
There are many places in Kazakhstan, which can be called with full justification the cultural and natural heritage of the nation. One of such natural pearls is rightly considered the State national natural park "Altyn-Emel". Here live the largest populations of gazelles and Turkmen kulan - rare endangered animals listed in the international and republican Red Books, a large number of birds of prey.
The Altyn-Emel National Park is the only place in Kazakhstan where takes place a unique experiment on the return to the nature of the disappeared Przewalski horse.
The nature of the national park is unique, there is the only Singing Dune in Kazakhstan, which received the status of one of the "7 wonders of Kazakhstan", the white lunar mountains Aktau and the red lava mountains Katytau. In addition, the national park has a huge historical and archaeological significance - there is a large necropolis of the burial of the Saks 6-4 centuries BC. There are also gorges with necropolis with ancient petroglyphs and Buddhist inscriptions.



Duration: 1 day

Stop At: Altyn Emel National Park, Kazakhstan

Day 2. Altyn-Emel
05.30 Early rise for the shooting of the dawn on the dune. Return to the guest house, breakfast.
10.00 departure for excursion to the mountains Aktau-Katytau.
Lunch-boxes.
Next stop is a 700-year-old willow tree.
18.00 Return to the guest house. Dinner and overnight.
The Aktau Mountains are the most picturesque and unique place in the national park. It is the bottom of the ancient sea that once filled the Ili basin. With the disappearance of the sea, nature created here beautiful gorges and canyons of sheer walls, composed of multi-colored layers of rocks: from green and red in the lower part to the motley and white upper.
The mountains of Katytau are not less picturesque than the Aktau mountains and are formed as a result of the action of volcanoes. Lava after the eruption of volcanoes has frozen and formed many fantastic in its appearance figures, rocks and caves of a dark red color. The mountains of Katytau in ancient times were inhabited by people, as evidenced by rock paintings in the form of argali, goats, deer, domestic animals.
The 700-year-old willow also grows on the territory of the national park, its branches of thick trunks rest on the ground, and a few people can clasp the tree, holding hands.
Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner



Duration: 1 day

Stop At: Lake Alakol, Kazakhstan

06.00 Early risen. After breakfast, drive to Lake Alakol, the Akchi village (520 km, 8 hours)
15.00 Arrival to the Alakol lake. Accommodation in guest houses, lunch. Free time. Walk along the beach. Dinner and overnight.
Alakol in Kazakh means a multi-colored lake. Alakol is a saline drainage lake located on the Balkhash-Alakol lowland. To the south-east of Lake Alakol is the Zhongar Gate Pass.
It is known that many years ago the famous Great Silk Road passed by water "cups" called Alakol. Already in those days the caravanners, unable to give up after a tedious journey from refreshing in the waters of the lake, noticed: salty waves miraculously restore strength and strengthen health. By themselves skin deformities on the body disappear, wounds on the body heal faster, those suffering from sciatica forget about the pains in the lower back, even quarrels and grievances aside. Also, modern medical research confirms the medicinal qualities of water of lake. Sea breath of Alakol in combination with the dry, hot air, refreshed by the aroma of the steppes favorably affects the environment.
Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner


Duration: 1 day

Stop At: Zhongar-Alatau National Park, Kazakhstan

Day 4. Alakol - the Tastau gorge
09.00 Breakfast. Departure by car towards the Tastau gorge (140km, 5 hours)
15.00 Arrival to the base. Accommodation at a guest house, lunch. Free time for a walk. In the evening, guests can visit the Russian sauna.
Here, while in the guesthouse, you can watch Siberian mountain goats and some species of birds of prey with binoculars. It’s the place where animals don’t afraid of people, that means that this place is really untouched by human.
The gorge Tastau covers an area of 36,851 hectares, in the mountains of the Zhongar Alatau, which occupy an intermediate position between the Tien Shan, a typical Central Asian mountain system, and the mountains of the south of Siberia.
About 600 species of plants grow here. From an altitude of 1200 m above sea level grow apple orchards, overgrowths of apricots, then above grow aspen trees, and from about 1500 m begins the belt of spruce forests, reaching up to 2800-2900 m, then thickets of shrubbery to Alpine meadows. This is a strikingly beautiful corner of the earth. The unique natural conditions of the territory - a favorable climate and a significant aesthetic appeal of the mountain landscape - are complemented by the richness and diversity of the plant world, especially the picturesque coniferous forests and a significant number of species of animals that live in this region.
Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner


Duration: 1 day

Stop At: Zhongar-Alatau National Park, Kazakhstan

Day 5. Tastau
08.00 Breakfast, collecting things and equipment. After breakfast with guide you will go on a horseback tour of the surroundings.
You will walk through the green fields with flowering flowers and crystal mountain springs in search of animals for photo and video filming. Closeness of this area to borderlands over the decades has allowed us to maintain a high population of brown bear, maral, mountain goat, wild boar, which are quite often encountered by travelers. In pure mountain rivers, originating from glaciers crowning mountain peaks, the Osman fish lives. You will have a picnic on the river bank, and you can feel yourself like travelers on the Great Silk Road. By the end of the day, you will arrive at the halt site to spend the night and have dinner by the fire. Overnight in tents. For those who wish, it is possible to extend the tour in the mountains for another overnight stay.
Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner



Duration: 1 day

Stop At: Zhongar-Alatau National Park, Kazakhstan

Day 6. Tastau
08.00 Breakfast, collecting things and equipment. After breakfast, continue the tour of the surrounding area in search of wild animals. Wherever you look, there are boundless expanses of alpine meadows and quaint granite rocks, and in the distance, you can see the peaks of Zhongar Alatau.
Lunch near river. After a little rest return to the base. Dinner and overnight in the house.
Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner


Duration: 1 day

Stop At: Zhongar-Alatau National Park, Kazakhstan

Day 7. Tastau - Almaty
07.00 Breakfast, departure to Almaty (about 15 hours, 740 km). Stop for lunch at the transshipment point Usharal (210 km, 6 hours). Then stop for a snack in Taldykorgan.
22.00 Arrival to Almaty.
So, our excursion to the wild nature of Kazakhstan is coming to an end. We hope you have enjoyed the tour and you will definitely come back for new experiences.
Meal: breakfast, lunch



Duration: 1 day