Altyn Emel National Natural Park is one of the must see places for tourists visiting Kazakhstan.
The state park is located in Almaty region in Ili River valley. From the south, the park is bounded by the Ili River and the Kapshagai reservoir, and from the north by the Sholak, Matai and Koyandytau mountain ranges, and from the east by the mountains of Aktau.
The name of the complex Altyn Emel is translated from the Turkic Mongolian as “golden saddle”.
The park was founded in the spring of 1996 in the territories of the Kapchagai hunting reserve, the Almaty nature reserve and the Baschi agricultural enterprise. The area of the park today is 307 653 thousand hectares.
The most popular attraction of Altyn Emel is the Singing Dune, a dune of 1.5 km long and 130 m high. Such objects as the clay mountains of Aktau and Katutau and the Chokan Valikhanov spring are also very famous among the tourists.
In the Kosbastau tract, there is another natural monument of the park a 700 year old willow. It was found during geological work in 1960. The mountains of the park are formed by Paleozoic rocks of 200 and 400 million years old.
Altyn Emel Natural Park has a rich flora with over 1800 plant species. Of these, 21 plant species are listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, and 60 species are endemic.
The fauna is also very diverse. The park is a home to over 78 species of mammals, 260 species of birds and 26 species of fish. 56 species of animals are included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan, including argali and gazelle.
