Getting there
By car, preferably an SUV, or on a tour from Almaty. A guide is recommended and sometimes required.
A mountain of sand in the middle of the steppe that, they say, hums in dry weather.
The dune stands in Altyn-Emel National Park. Sources give different dimensions: most often about 150 metres high and up to three kilometres long, but 120–130 metres and a kilometre and a half also turn up.
You cannot simply show up. Permits are issued at the park office in the village of Basshi, the only entry point, and from there it is another 50 or so kilometres on a dirt road to the dune.
Climbing the crumbling ridge takes more effort than it looks from below. At the top you understand why you came.
- Height
- 120–150 m
- Length
- 1.5–3 km
- Entry
- by permit, via Basshi
