5 mysterious places of Kazakhstan, about which you did not know

Cretaceous outcrops

Meetings with wildlife, the mysterious world of caves and amazing natural monuments, hiking adventures - all this can be done find on the Cretaceous outcrops of Akkeregeshin and Aktolagai, as well as Mount Imankare (in Zhylyoi region).

This is a trip for those who like exotics or just enjoy geology and paleontology. When you first get on the chalk outcrops of Akkeregeshina, you can not take your eyes off the bizarre weathered white rocks for a long time. There is an unusual silence and whiteness here. If you come closer and wander at the foot of the rocks, you can see the prints of extinct marine animals of Upper Cretaceous deposits - bebmi, ammonites, sea urchin. And can be lucky enough to find a black tooth of an ancient shark or spine of a dinosaur. Opposite the rocks of the Three Bogatyrs, a panorama of the chalk outcrops opens. Paleontological expeditions for schoolchildren are organized here annually.

Photo: kapital.kz

Sherkala: mountain"/h2>

Sherkala is a legendary mountain, where in the Middle Ages a fortress was built guarding the caravan trails of the Great Silk Road. The Sherkala mountain lies between the central and western systems of the Karatau ridges, in the northern part of the Akmyshtau mountain. At the foot of the mountain, there are remains of the walls of an ancient caravan-shed, on the slopes there are niches for guards, traces of rope ladders and rests of a secret passage, which led to the top of the mountain. A lonely standing mountain of unusual shape is located 175 km from the city of Aktau and 21 km from the village of Shetpe. If you look at it from one side, the mountain resembles a huge white yurt, and on the other - a sleeping lion, who laid his huge head on his paws.

Therefore, the mountain was also named: "Sherkala" in Turkish "The strength of the lion" ("sher" - the lion, "kala" - the fortress). The lion's mountain is surrounded by a halo of legends. Its limestone slopes are vertical and only become to the top of the hill, forming a giant tent resembling the top of the yurt.

You can climb the mountain if you have special equipment. To get around Sherkala, it will take at least three hours. And if you want to look into some of the many caves, wander around the site of an ancient settlement, looking for shards - witnesses of old civilizations - time will need even more. There is a folk belief: if you make a wish, before going around around Sherkaly, it will come true.

But the main thing is that behind every bend, a new twist opens an amazing view: so unusual that sometimes it seems as if you were on uninhabited planet. In one of the caves there was a well. The locals drank his delicious water, hiding from the enemies on top of the mountain. Now the well is filled up. Still around Sherkaly there is a scattering of stone balls (concretions) of various sizes. Many cracked under the influence of the wind, others are broken.

Inside, on the walls of the caves - prints of shells and fish. And not far from Sherkala, near the road, there is a green oasis: a spring and a small river Akmys.

Island on Lake Imantau

Imantau Recreation Area is a natural oasis not far from Kokshetau: mountain forest, clean reservoirs and, of course, Lake Imantau, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the region. Imantau - a monument of nature of national importance. From the height of the bird's flight the island on it has a heart shape. Imantau is one of the largest lakes in the Ayrtausky region. Its basin is located in a depression between the hills. The length of the lake is 13.3 km, the maximum width is 4.8 km, the maximum depth is 10 m. The surface of the lake is almost completely open. The south-west coast is steep, rocky, covered with mixed forests with a predominance of pine. The remaining banks are shallow, low and covered with steppe vegetation. The lake is rich in a variety of fish: here are found carp, pike, perch, crucian carp, ripus, peled. A real fisherman's dream!

The Valley of the Balls

For many kilometers the plain, and then on you - stone balls-concretions, like peas scattered across the valley. Where did they fall or who put them on the peninsula of Mangyshlak? The overseas giant Atlant or brave batyr Yersary Baba fired a cannon and the stone nuclei fell to the ground, forming the Valley of the Balls? For 250 years scientists have been racking their heads, plunging into conjectures, but never came to unified opinion. One thing is clear: these mineral formations of a rounded shape are filled with special energy.

Be sure to admire this fascinating phenomenon of Mangistau nature - a landmark of the Kazakhstani region.

Lake Saura

For many kilometers the desiccated desert, and here - the trunks of age-old willows, which over time curved and transformed like roots. Thick thickets of rocket, which people call "Kazakh lilac", accompany the traveler along the entire gorge. Overcoming the winding path, the traveler is rewarded with an amazing spectacle - one of the wonders of the stingy Mangistau nature, Lake Saur. The pond on three sides is surrounded by steep stone walls of a spherical shape: like a half of a huge bowl about 50 meters high. It beckons with its mysterious gorge Saur. Here there are marsh turtles-old women: they are content with a small lake and are not going to be friends with desert tortoises.

All people are looking for a couple. Old residents of Mangistau know that the second half is also near Lake Saura - its twin lake is located 500 meters from the gorge. Having overcome a small hill, fans of new roads and impressions can admire the second part of the broken bowl. But this is not all surprises of Mother Nature. Not far from the fresh lake is a salty sea! Its coast is covered with silky sand, and the bottom is spotlessly smooth. And what is surprising: there are a lot of huge shells, not crushed by the wheels and feet of visitors. Silver under the sun is a small lake formed during the tide ... And next to it - small streams of sources from different sides flow into a lonely lake, filling it with life.

Photo: kapital.kz

Source: kapital.kz.