Altyn Emel National Park Off-Road Tour

Singing Dune, reaching a height of 120 meters and a length of about 3 km, located in one of the corners of the Altyn-Emel National Park, a few kilometers from the Ili river between the mountains of Big and Small Kalkan. This sandy hill consists of very fine pure sand, which starts to "sing" in windy weather and its sound reminds the organ music. Before a sandy storm the dune sounds like a drum. From the top of the Dune you can observe the grand panorama of the surroundings. In the south - thin strip of the Ili River is visible as well as purple mountains of Sogety and Boguty, looking out from the white peaks of the Ketmen ridge. On the west the horizon is obstructed by the steep slope of the Big Kalkan, and the Small Kalkan – from the east. In the north - violet-blue ridge of Djungarian Alatau mountains, Chulak mountain, Matai and Altyn-Emel are visible.

Aktau Mountains (White Mountains) is the most picturesque and unique place in the national park. It is the bottom of the ancient sea that once filled the Iliyski Basin. As the sea disappeared, nature has created here the beautiful gorges and canyons from the steep walls lined with colorful layers of rocks: from green and red at the bottom to motley and white at the top. The height of sediments reaches 1000 meters. These mountains are an enchanting spectacle of diverse shapes and shades. The chalk mountains of Aktau are a world famous paleontological deposit. Well-preserved remains of ancient animals whose age is estimated at 25-30 million years have been found in the layers of paleogenic lake deposits. Among the finds are the remains of giant rhinos, crocodiles and turtles, as well as tree trunks and prints of ancient plants.

The name of Katutau Mountains comes from the Mongolian dialect. There is no literal translation as such, but for many years the local population has described this area as "severe mountains". The mountains are really severe, this is confirmed by geological studies, the results of which indicate that the mountains are entirely of volcanic origin. In ancient times, there were volcanoes in these places, not inferior in size to such volcanoes as Vesuvius and Etna in Europe, Avachinsky in Kamchatka. Once upon a time, a huge prehistoric reservoir was located at their foot, which disappeared millions of years later and the exposed bottom of the reservoir gradually began to collapse under the influence of wind and water. Buried volcanic vents, lava streams, volcanic ash and bombs were exposed. From all this nature has created bizarre surreal compositions and individual forms.