Tour to Altyn-Emel National Park: Singing Dune and Aktau · 3 days

A walk through Panfilov Park, a shady green area in the city center with the memorial to the 28 Panfilov heroes who fell near Moscow in 1941. Centuries-old oaks, quiet alleys, the ringing of bells, and the atmosphere of old Alma-Ata preserved inside a modern metropolis. In the first half of the day, visit the Central State Museum, Kazakhstan’s main cultural and historical complex. One hall is dedicated to the Golden Man, while the others focus on ethnography and Bronze Age archaeology. Closer to lunch, take a walk along pedestrian Zhibek Zholy, Almaty’s Arbat, with street artists, guitarists at sunset, stalls selling local handmade goods, and cafés where you can take a breather after an active route. Return to Almaty by evening.

Visit Tamgaly-Tas, Tibetan Buddhist petroglyphs from the 14th-18th centuries on the banks of the Ili River. A rare combination of cultures carved in stone. In the first half of the day, walk along the Ili River, which flows into Lake Balkhash. A slow mirror of water, sandy banks, and a sunset that washes everything in pink. Return to Almaty by evening.

Transfer and overnight stay in Basshi village, the gateway to Altyn-Emel. A quiet aul at the foot of the ridge, where the air smells of steppe and burnt straw, with guesthouses serving a simple but hearty dinner. In the first half of the day, explore Altyn-Emel National Park, 4600 km² of desert landscapes with herds of kulans and goitered gazelles. The scale here is felt physically, almost like in Arizona. Closer to lunch, visit the chalk mountains of Aktau, with pink, green, and blue layers of Paleocene-era rock. A colorful echo of an ancient sea that disappeared 50 million years ago. In the second half of the day, make a short stop by the 700-year-old willow in Basshi village, a living tree whose trunk remembers the era of the Golden Horde. After lunch, stop at the colored mountains of Katutau, volcanic rocks sculpted by the wind into dramatic forms. Here, geology seems to have chosen to work by hand. By evening, climb Singing Dune, a 150-meter dune 1.5 kilometers long. As you descend, the dry sand hums with a deep sound, like the engine of a car warming up, and that sound really comes from under your feet.