Altyn-Emel National Park The Altyn-Emel National Park is very big: it covers
4,600 km² in south-east Kazakhstan. It lies between
the River Ili and the Aktau Mountains. This is a very
dry part of the country where life is hard. But in this
difficult environment there are around 1,800 species
of plants, including willows and honeysuckles; 32
types of fish, and around 260 species of vertebrates
(animals with backbones), with 11 on Kazakhstan's
red list of endangered species. The rich wildlife makes
the park a paradise for birdwatchers: along with other
rare birds, you can see four types of eagle including
imperial and golden eagles, as well as eagle owls.
Other attractions of the park are the singing sand
dunes and the Aktau Mountains. They are both
amazingly beautiful and interesting landscapes.
The dunes are over 3 km long and 500 m high. As
the wind moves the sand it makes a sound like an
organ. The sound is really loud in dry weather and
can be heard several kilometres away.
There are signs that people lived in this area many,
many years ago. The paintings on some of the rocks
of animals and everyday life are thousands of years
old. There are archaeological sites from around
3,000 years ago.
