Tour Kazakhstan | Mangystau: from the Caspian Sea to the Ustyurt Plateau
25 Apr - 2 May
8 Days / 7 Nights
Tour Overview
Eight days of expedition travel in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, between the shores of the Caspian Sea and a desert that holds tangible traces of an ancient ocean.
By 4x4, we head towards the cliffs of the Ustyurt Plateau and walk among limestone walls and rock formations resembling castles, yurts and shipwrecks, sleeping in comfortable, fully equipped tented camps under starry skies.
From fossils and underground Sufi mosques to Aktau’s Soviet-era districts, discover how a region that may seem peripheral has been, and remains, central to the history of the country.
Tour Highlights
- Ustyurt Plateau Cliffs, escarpments and limestone pinnacles overlooking the remains of an ancient ocean.
- Tuzbair salt flats Monumental arches, the Sphinx and a sunset over the salt crusts of the marsh.
- Boszhira Valley Hike to the viewpoint over the Boszhira Fangs, the valley’s two legendary pinnacles.
- Underground mosques Shakpak-Ata and Karaman-Ata, Sufi sanctuaries and pilgrimage sites carved into the rock.
- Torysh Valley of Spheres A surreal landscape of giant rounded rocks emerging from the sediment.
- Kyzylkup and Bokty Hills striped with white, red and ochre bands, and an isolated mountain rising from the plain.
- Desert camps Five nights in fully equipped tented camps, with hot meals cooked on site and starry skies.
- Aktau and the Caspian Soviet microdistricts, the bazaar and a sunset walk along the coastal Skalnaya Tropa.
The price includes
- 2 nights in a hotel in Aktau.
- 5 nights in fully equipped tented camps during the journey through steppe and desert*.
- Unlimited use of camp facilities: dining tent, electricity, Wi-Fi, hot shower, toilets and drinking water.
- A cook travelling with the group to prepare hot meals on site.
- Full board from 26 to 30 April (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and breakfast and lunch on 1 May.
- Transport in 4x4 vehicles with experienced drivers.
- English-speaking local guide from 26 April to 1 May.
- Tour leader Tommaso Aguzzi: fee and expenses for the entire trip.
- All entrance fees for the museums, national parks and sites included in the itinerary.
- VAT and local taxes.
* Tented camp facilities: spacious inflatable tents, each with two camp beds, sleeping mats, warm sleeping bags with an individual fleece sleeping-bag liner, and pillows. You can stand upright in the middle of the tent. Each camp also has a toilet tent, a dedicated dining tent, a charging station and an internet connection.
Not included
- International flights.
- Airport transfers: local taxis booked through Yandex are recommended.
- Meals not expressly listed under “The price includes” (lunch and dinner on 25 April, dinner on 1 May).
- Travel health insurance (mandatory).
- Trip cancellation insurance.
- Tips, personal expenses and anything not expressly listed under “The price includes”.
Booking conditions
- Deposit: 30% of the total trip price, payable within two days of booking.
- Balance: payable no later than 60 days before the trip begins.
Cancellation conditions
If you cancel the trip, the following charges apply to land arrangements:
- More than 61 days before departure: 30% of the total trip price.
- Between 60 and 31 days before departure: 90% of the trip price.
- 30 days or less before departure: 100% of the trip price.
Useful information
- Tour leader: The trip will be led by Tommaso Aguzzi, founder of Arbustan and an experienced Central Asia tour leader. Tommaso lived in Kazakhstan for 4 years and holds a PhD in economics focused on the region. For over 10 years, he has explored Central Asia, combining academic research, hiking, photography projects and backpacking.
- Season and weather: dry, semi-desert environment, around 20°C during the day and about 10°C at night. Stay hydrated and bring a hat, sun protection and skin moisturiser; if you wear contact lenses or have dry eyes, bring eye drops containing hyaluronic acid.
- Meals: from lunch on 26 April to lunch on 1 May, all included meals are hot and prepared on site. Vegetarian, vegan and other dietary needs can be accommodated if communicated in good time.
- Transport: a maximum of three passengers per 4x4, so everyone has a window seat.
- Group size: maximum 14 travellers.
Travel itinerary
Itinerary Highlights
DAY 1 – MOONLANDING IN MANGYSHLAK
- Departure on 24 April and arrival in Aktau in the early hours of 25 April; transfer to the city centre and meeting with tour leader Tommaso Aguzzi.
- Visit to the Mangystau Regional Museum: geological history, settlement and religious traditions of the region.
- Walking tour of the city, from the Soviet World War II memorial to the monument to Taras Shevchenko, the Ukrainian poet exiled here under tsarist rule.
- Stop at the bazaar to taste local products such as the famous Caspian caviar.
- Afternoon in Aktau’s Soviet microdistricts: the city’s origins, energy resources and today’s social and environmental issues.
- Sunset walk along the Skalnaya Tropa, the coastal path between the cliffs and the Caspian Sea.
- Overnight at a hotel in central Aktau.
DAY 2 – FROM THE CASPIAN SEA TO THE TORYSH VALLEY
- Meeting with the drivers and the local guide, departure from Aktau by 4x4.
- Zhygylgan viewpoint: a vast ground collapse overlooking the sea, made of coquina, a rock formed from shells, molluscs and corals.
- Kapamsai Canyon, with its high white walls, eagle nests and hollows shaped by erosion.
- Necropolis and underground mosque of Shakpak-Ata, the oldest Islamic site in Mangystau (9th–10th centuries AD).
- Walk among the giant rock concretions of the Torysh Valley.
- Late afternoon arrival in Airakty, among hills resembling towers and fortified walls; dinner cooked on site.
- Overnight at a fully equipped tented camp in the Airakty Valley.
DAY 3 – AIRAKTY, SACRED PLACES AND LEGENDARY ROCKS
- Breakfast in the first morning light in the Airakty Valley.
- Visit to Karaman-Ata, an underground Sufi sanctuary and an important pilgrimage site for believers from across Central Asia.
- Walk through Ybykty Canyon, one of the most remote places of the journey, where erosion has carved extraordinary hollows into the rock walls.
- Detour to Mount Sherkala, a striking and legendary place for the nomadic peoples who once lived here.
- Afternoon walk around camp and sunset over Airakty.
- Overnight at the same tented camp in the Airakty Valley.
DAY 4 – ON THE SEABED OF A VANISHED OCEAN
- Viewpoint above the Airakty Valley, then drive east towards the Tuzbair salt marsh.
- Escarpments and ravines at the edge of the Ustyurt Plateau, with stops at viewpoints over a vast salt depression.
- Visit to the formation known as the Sphinx, near the salt marsh.
- Search for ancient shark teeth and other marine fossils, witnesses of the region’s oceanic past.
- Overnight at a fully equipped tented camp in the Tuzbair area.
DAY 5 – EXPLORING THE TUZBAIR SALT FLATS
- Morning walk among canyons and eroded walls, reading the layers of rock and looking for ammonites in the sediment.
- Lunch and rest at the camp in the middle of the day.
- Afternoon by 4x4 to a secluded canyon and a natural arch, walking beneath Tuzbair’s monumental arches.
- Sunset over the salt flats, one of the most striking moments of the trip.
- Dinner with a dish from Kazakh tradition and stories about local customs with our guide.
- Overnight at the same tented camp in the Tuzbair area.
DAY 6 – DESERT WONDERS
- Sunrise over Tuzbair, then a desert crossing along tracks linking landscapes of strikingly different shapes and colours.
- Hike among the white, red and ochre striped hills of Kyzylkup, known as the “Tiramisu”.
- Drive around Bokty, an isolated mountain rising from the plain whose outline keeps changing shape.
- Afternoon at the legendary Boszhira, with views over the Ustyurt escarpments and the limestone pinnacles of the valley.
- Overnight at a fully equipped tented camp in the Boszhira area, our last night in the desert.
DAY 7 – THE BOSZHIRA VALLEY
- Hike to the Boszhira Fangs viewpoint (Klyki Bozhyry), overlooking the two pinnacles, ravines and walls enclosing the valley.
- Drive back to Aktau through Zhanaozen, discussing the region’s recent history and its relationship with the extractive industry.
- Late afternoon arrival in Aktau, and final dinner together.
- Overnight at a hotel in Aktau.
DAY 8 – DEPARTURE FROM AKTAU
- Breakfast and check-out.
- Free time for a last walk around Aktau, depending on flight times.
- Assistance from the tour leader with departure arrangements and the transfer to the airport.
No items found.
.png)
Eng