Excursion to the Karatau Mountains
Tours to Mangyshlak
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Geographical location. Mangystau region includes the territory of the Mangyshlak peninsula, a major part of the Usturt plateau and the southern part of the Caspian depression - the Buzachi peninsula. That amounts to more than 16 million hectares of natural desert and semi-desert. There are several beautiful landscape areas here:
- shore of the Caspian Sea, including a large number of canyons and ravines;
- mountain massif of Karatau;
- chalky and limestone cliffs;
- sand dunes;
- clay and salty surfaces of dry lake beds;
- hollows.
Trees and shrubby vegetation are rare. The Earth is naked "to the bones" in Mangyshlak, which is what gives geologists such a superb possibility to investigate the ancient aquatic geology.
The climate of the region is extreme continental. Winters are harsh and windy, and snow is rare. Spring is short, dry and windy. Summer is hot, cloudless and long lasting. Autumn is warm and long as well. The Caspian Sea surrounds Mangyshlak from three sides but influences only the weather of the narrow seaside. The climate there is more humid, temperatures are lower in summer and higher in winter. Annual average temperature is about +10.5 + 11.5°C. Absolute annual minimum temperature is +26 + 34°C; maximum + 43 +45°C; surface heat reaches +60 +70°C. The hottest period is from the middle of July to mid-August. Autumn frosts start at the end of October, and the spring thaw begins in April.
Precipitation is poor. Annual average precipitation is from 140-160 mm in the north to 90-12mm in the south. Rain showers are common in spring and early summer. In mountainous areas they may cause mudslides.
Snow cover on Mangyshlak and Ustyurt is weak (3-7 cm) and short lived. Not all areas are covered with snow. As a result of the high temperatures, poor precipitation and windy weather, evaporation exceeds precipitation by 10-15 times and air humidity is only 40-60% .
The Program:
Duration: 4 days;
Accommodation: 2 nights in hotel, 1 night in tents;
Category of difficulty: A;
Season: April 15 - October 15;
Size of group: no more than 10.
Travel itinerary: Almaty - Aktau - Fort Shevchenko - Jygylgan valley - Sultan-epe canyon - Shakpak-ata - Aktau - Almaty
Day 1. Departure from Almaty. Arrival in Aktau. Meeting at the airport, transfer to the "Rakhat"**** hotel, accommodation. City sightseeing: city historical museum, orthodox church, monument to Taras Shevchenko, city square, city embankment, and cape Melovoi . Lunch and dinner at a local cafe. Night in hotel.
Day 2. Departure from Aktau. Transfer: Aktau - Fort Shevchenko (135 km, asphalt road). We will visit a complex of museums dedicated to the ethnography of the region, a local writer named Muryn and to Ukrainian poet and artist Taras Shevchenko. Lunch at a local cafe. Transfer: Fort Shevchenko - Jygylgan valley (60 km on dirt road). Visit a grand cave near the sea. We will also have the opportunity to view the petrified remains of animals of the Neocene (sabre-toothed cats and hoofed creatures, dated to 15 mln. years ago). Visit to the archaeological monument of Tubezhik on the way. Hike (3 km) up and down the plateau (100 m). Transfer: Jygylgan - Sultan-epe canyon (30 km, dirt road). Along the way, visit to the family graveyard of Kargashty-aulie and Ushtam (9th-16th cc). At the entrance to the canyon, on the right side is the grave of holy Sultan-epe and an underground mosque. Visit to the mosque, Free time. Dinner. Night in tents.
Day 3. Breakfast. Transfer: Sultan-epe - Shakpak-ata underground mosque (30 km, dirt road).Stop at the chalky canyon of Kapamsai, hike (6 km). Lunch en-route. Visit to the underground mosque of Shalpak-ata, cutout of the rock. We will see unique drawings and inscriptions (10th-13th cc.) on the walls of the mosque. Transfer: Shakpak-ata mosque - Aktau (140 km, dirt road, asphalt road). Our route runs through the wide chalky canyon of Shakpakatasay, where we will stop for a walk. Arrival in Aktau, accommodation at the "Rakhat"**** hotel. Dinner at a local cafe. Night in hotel.
Day 4. Transfer to the airport and departure from Aktau to Almaty.
| Cost of program includes: |
Cost of program does not include: |
- Visa support to Kazakhstan;
- all land transfers;
- meeting and seeing off at the airport;
- interpreter and guide services;
- cook and helper services;
- accommodation in hotels according to the program (double rooms with breakfast);
- entrance and ecological fees;
- police registration;
- special area passes;
- tea/coffee in the morning during autotrekking;
- tents for 2 pax during autotrekking;
- necessary kitchen equipment;
- full board in the cities and on the tour;
- box lunch and drinking water during transfers;
- guide consultations.
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- Air tickets;
- visa costs;
- tips;
- medical expenses and insurance;
- additional excursions not indicated in the program;
- personal expenses like excess luggage;
- laundry and cleaning;
- phone/fax/e-mail;
- alcoholic drinks;
- mini bar and other hotel services.
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Additional information
1. Transport and roads. For the transfers on the tour we use 4WD minibuses of Russian manufacture - UAZ 452 (the "pill").
2. Various wild animals may be seen during the tour: saiga, steppe gazelle, Usturt moufflon, wolf, fox, hare, jackal, snakes and lizards, and different birds of prey.
3. Under the cliffs of the Usturt plateau, in the Basjira valley it is extremely windy.
We hope you like the program and assure you that we are absolutely open to any suggestions to increase the range of our services for the entire satisfaction of our clients and are happy to meet your special requirements.
You can alter the duration of your tour and places of visits by adding one of the extensions. Our tour operator will work closely with you or your travel agent to carefully prepare an itinerary based on your stated interests.
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