Altyn Emel tour
Do you want to see a Kazakh desert that feels like planet Mars? Let us go to Altyn Emel national park.
Aktau mountains that have a variery of colors
Katutau mountains of volcanic origin
Singing Dunes that stopped singing
- Start/finish: Almaty city
- Distance: 750+ km to and from
- Duration: 2 days / 1 night
- Starting time: 07-00
- Restricted access: December-February
- Languages: English and more
- Activities: Sightseeing | Walking
Itinerary
| 1 DAY | |
|
06-50 |
Meet and greet |
|
07-00 |
Driving to Basshi village |
|
11-00 |
Arrival to Basshi village |
|
11-10 |
Lunch |
|
12-30 |
Driving to mountains |
|
14-00 |
Aqtau/Qatutau tour |
|
17-00 |
Driving to Basshi village |
|
19-00 |
Arrival to Basshi village |
|
19-10 |
Dinner |
|
20-30 |
Check-in at guest house |
| 2 DAY | |
|
07-50 |
Meet and greet |
|
08-00 |
Driving to dunes |
|
09-00 |
Singing dunes tour |
|
12-00 |
Driving to Basshi village |
|
13-00 |
Arrival to Basshi village |
|
13-10 |
Lunch |
|
14-30 |
Driving to Almaty |
|
18-30 |
Drop-off |
Included:
-
1 night guest house accommodation with breakfast
-
vehicle
-
guide
-
tickets
-
off-road vehicle from Bassi village to Aqtau/Qatutau and Dunes
-
water
Excluded:
- lunch and dinner
-
personal expenses
Notes:
- tour is subject to change
- weather must be taken into consideration
- Basshi village is 250+ km away from Almaty
- on the road there will be a stopover to see Qapshagai water reservoir
- do not expect 5 star service in the province
- state of infrastructure in the province is not as good as in city
- do not expect mobile Internet, Wi-Fi, hotel service in the province to be as good as in city
- road from Basshi village to Aqtau/Qatutau and back is 170+ km of "hell on earth" (subject to motion sickness)
- road from Basshi village to Dunes and back is 80+ km of "hell on earth" (subject to motion sickness)
- after Basshi village there will be a special off-road vehicle (old Soviet-Russian Uazik or Mitsubishi Delica or similar) for trips
- special off-road vehicle has bad AC/heater and is dusty
- in nature there is a risk of an insect bite
- veg food is available but not Indian
Remarks:
-
USD KZT exchange rate is volatile
Basshi village info:
- lunch is from 5-10 USD per person, dinner is from 10-15 USD per person
What to take with you:
-
original passport or ID
-
rain ponchos if rain is expected
-
proper clothes and shoes (if you want to hike)
-
paper money and coins to pay for goods and services in the province
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
- You will see Altyn Emel National Park. More info
- You will see the typical Kazakh province and the Kazakh steppe.
- You can taste authentic local cuisine.
- The site is similar to planet Mars, sort of.
- It can be very hot in summer - FYI
- It is possible to organize a big picnic.
This tour can be served as a Jeep tour. Jeep goes up to Aqtau/Qatutau and Singing Dunes directly without any shuttle service.
Altyn Emel Tour Reviews
John
Sunil
Peter
Standard tour
Price per person (based on 10 people group size)
from 140 usd
Different group sizes
Price per person depends on the size of the group: for example, different rates are applied for 2, 4, 5, 7, 20 people and so on
from N usd
