Almaty Day Trip: Mars-like Walk in Aktau Canyon

When searching for Almaty day trip notes, the most mentioned spots are the Two Lakes and One Canyon or Big Almaty Lake. Few people mention the Altyn-Emel National Park, located over 200 km from Almaty. This national park mainly has two routes: 1. Singing Dune - 100 km round trip on rough roads The Singing Dune consists of two sand dunes, large and small. If you've seen many deserts, this might be skippable (P16-P18). 2. Aktau Mountain (Aktau Canyon) - 150 km round trip on rough roads This is the highlight of the entire national park. After 75 km of bumpy roads, the parking lot marks the starting point for the canyon hike. A 3 km walk along the riverbed leads to the White Canyon and Red Canyon. The entire canyon is filled with sparkling gypsum crystals, with well-preserved Danxia landforms and many Mars-like landscapes. Perhaps due to the extremely poor road conditions in the park, visitor numbers are low. On the day we visited, we were the only ones in Aktau Canyon. ‼️ Self-drivers must be mentally prepared: The sandy, rough roads are truly terrible. The washboard roads will make you question your life choices. Even at 60+ km/h in a 4WD, you may still skid or get stuck. Don't ask why we didn't drive at 20-30 km/h - slowing down makes the bumps even worse. After 250 km of washboard roads, even the fridge and microwave in our RV had shifted from their mounts. ‼️ Don't rush to the park entrance to buy tickets: There's no ticket office at the entrance, only a checkpoint. First navigate to Basshi village and purchase tickets at the Kassa Office. For 2 people, 2 days, 1 night + RV camping inside the park, the total cost was 7,550 KZT. ‼️ Before entering the park: - Fill up your gas tank - Bring enough drinking water and food There are no gas stations, no phone signal, and no supply points along the way. Designated camping spots are available.