Mangystay jeep tour from Aktau (2 days)

Departure from Aktau city in the morning. First stop is Karagiye depression which is the deepest dry depression in Kazakhstan (132 meters below the mean world ocean level). It stretches from  northwest to southeast of the Mangistau half-island (peninsula) and is part of the Karagiye -Karakol wildlife reserve. It attracts tourists not only for its unique beauty, but also for its origin. As a legacy of the ancient and mighty Tethys ocean, the depths of the basin contain a huge number of different minerals.

For two centuries, pilgrims have been meeting together in our second stop, the Beket-Ata mosque, in order to worship at his grave. Knowledgeable people say that he does not leave in trouble those who sincerely turn to him for help. In the Western Kazakhstan, it is believed that just mentioning the name of Beket-Ata in conversation can avert trouble and prayer in a Temple can perform miracles.

Third and final stop of the day is called Panoramas of Bozzhira. It is located in one of the most popular areas in the Ustyurt plateau, the Bozzhira valley with incredible stone shapes. When the edges of the plateau collapse frequently due to erosion, they leave behind bizarre rock formations. They are called the outliers. They remind every traveler of different things based on their imagination. 

The local outlier mountains have an amazing feature they change their shape beyond recognition when looked at from different viewpoints. Bokty Mountain as one of the outliers is the first stop of the second day. It is located on a table level clay surface-takyr. On one side it appears as a shape of a giant keel-turned boat with a dark-brown seaweed-covered bottom and snow-white sides outlined by a red-and-yellow waterline. On the other hand, there is a magnificent human making a pyramid. But the most amazing thing here is the red chalk. Bokty Mountain is depicted on the 1000 tenge bill of the old model of the National Bank of Kazakhstan.

Second and last stop of the tour is the Kyzylkup mountain area that got its name from the kyzylkup reservoir, which was located in the northeastern part of the tract. The mountain area is located on the north side of Bokty mountain. The length of The kyzylkup mountain area from east to west is more than 10 kilometers, from North to South the mountain area stretches for more than 8 km. Kyzylkup is an unusual combination of chalk of different colours. Blurred horizons of chalk with red layers are very pleasing to the eye.