Altyn-Emel National Park

Altyn-Emel is a desert park on the north bank of the Ili where three separate things sit within a day of each other. The Singing Dune is a three kilometre ridge of sand that hums when it slides, the Aktau hills are banded chalk in pink and white and green, and the Katutau hills next to them are black volcanic rock. On the plain below stand the Besshatyr kurgans, Saka royal burial mounds of the fifth century before Christ. Kulan and gazelle are the reason the park exists, and the herds are easiest to find at first light. Entry needs a permit and in practice a vehicle.