Altyn Emel Singing Dune Tour: UNESCO Explore and Adventure in 1 Day

Embark on an unforgettable adventure in Altyn Emel National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Explore the historical sites, encounter rare animals, hike the Singing Dune, and learn about the area’s fascinating history with an English-speaking guide.

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Altyn-Emel National Park - Duration: 1 day (Pick up at 6am, drop off at 18:00)
    Route: Almaty
    Basshi village (250km)
    Singing Dunes (40km)
    Dinner in Bashy (40km) - Almaty (250km)
What's Included
  • Lunch
Additional Information

During the tour you will:
• Visit the sites at the ALTYN EMEL National park (included in the UNESCO Historical list)
• See rare animals a like Kulan, Przewalski’s horse
• Visit the Singing dune, hiking to the top and enjoying the wonderful view of this ancient area
• Enjoy stories about the history of the areas you will be visiting by your English-speaking guide

Location
Altyn-Emel National Park
Nawai Street 208/2
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(9 Ratings)
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1 star
Song_s
May 4, 2025
Thanks to the guide, it was a fun trip. - The Charn Canyon, Kindy and Kolsai lakes were spectacular views that could not be felt in pictures. They were the best scenery that gave me shivers all over my body, and they were a valuable experience in my life. Thank you to the guide who helped us on this wonderful journey.
Review provided by Viator
122sammyk
Apr 23, 2025
Amazing tour - highly recommend! - Fantastic day with Kazia tours to Altyn Emel. Guide (Elnura) and driver were both wonderful and very accommodating to any need we had eg stopping at a pharmacy. The drive to and and from Almaty is fairly long - about 3 hours to the park and then another 1 hour in the park itself - but well worth it when ones get to the dunes. We had an amazing time hiking on the dune and admiring the views but what made the whole experience even more special was that the driver was an ex photographer with a drone and took the most incredible videos and photos all for free! You would pay substantial money for this elsewhere so they really went above and beyond! Would highly recommend seeing if he is available when you book. All in all one of best tours I’ve ever done anywhere and I’ve done a lot of tours!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Diptangshub2025
Apr 6, 2025
A Duney Dessert treat - This was an amazing trip for us. Firstly, let me brief through the trip. We were picked up from our hotel at the specified time. And then we started the trip to the Altyn Emel national park. We had a couple of stops in between to, freshen up and have a small breakfast. We took a small break at the Basshi village from where we took the permit and then we went off into the park. It was like being in a set of cowboy movies. Desert kind of vegetation all around us and we could see a smokey layer above the desert plains. We have never seen such a place, where you could see a rocky-desert region having a snowy mountain in the background. It was such a magnificent scenery. When we arrived at the dune, it looked like a majestic little hill standing proud of itself. We scaled the dune as much as we could, before getting a bit exhausted and then came down from there. We probably took a thousand pictures of us and the scenery. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear the singing as the conditions were not in our favor. Also, we missed the tulips as it was not the season yet. While returning, we saw some rare sightings of the deers (we were told that we were extremely lucky to have spotted them as these sightings are incredibly rare) and also saw some camels. We had our lunch at a local family's home. And my god, it was such a wonderful experience. We finally experienced, how legendary Kazakh hospitality is which we kept hearing about so much. The food they served were the best food that we had during our Kazakhstan trip. It was fresh, hot and so delicious. Finally, on our journey back we were dropped at out hotel in the evening. Now, coming to the host and the travel agency. Out guide for the day was Lana. However, I must say, not for a single moment we felt like were out with a guide but rather a dear friend. We had such lively and fun interactions with her throughout the trip. She is an extremely knowledgeable guide, she kept providing interesting info about places and its history and people. We learnt a lot from her about the Kazakhs and this beautiful country. My wife shared a strong bond with Lana throughout this trip. They shared, all kinds of shopping info and Lana provided such invaluable tips and tricks to her. The trip although was long, we never felt any dull moment, and its all thanks to Lana. Regarding our driver, he was very polite and drove wonderfully. Our driver also offered to provide a drone shot from our small dune trek. We didn't avail it, but people interested in it must not miss it. The agency made a great itinerary, we were comfortable with it. Below are my final ratings, Singing Dune - 4.5/5 (not the full marks because unfortunately, we couldn't hear it sing) Operator and its itinerary - 5/5 Host - 5/5 Driver - 5/5 Vehicle - 5/5 Thank you so much, Lana and the Kazia tour team for such a wonderful trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
U5503dtbernhardk
Jan 31, 2025
Singing Dune with Kazia-Tours - We had an amazing guide with Kazia Tour and were able to experience an extraordinary landscape in the national park in an impressive way. The park itself had some surprising wildlife encounters in store, the winter weather had almost disappeared, and we had the singing dune all to ourselves. So, be sure to head out into nature outside the peak season! Kazia provided us with a great driver and, most importantly, an incredibly friendly guide. Everything worked out perfectly as planned, and the day trip from Almaty to Altyn-Emel National Park was worth every kilometer – the journey itself was the goal, and the singing dune was the ultimate reward. To top it off, we had the chance to enjoy a traditional Kazakh lunch with a local family. Thanks again – we will definitely be back! Bernhard Küppers, Heidelberg
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Go44199336516
Dec 16, 2024
Amazing and beautiful Kazakhy experience - Had an amazing time with Kazia tours during the singing dunes visit. Inspite of having challenges while climbing the dunes, our guide was extremely patient and helpful! Coupled with a hot local Kazakh meal , I and my spouse had a great time!!! Got some great clicks with my phone, our guide takes better pictures than me for sure! Surely will recommend for travelers!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roving44729410768
Oct 6, 2024
Memorable Experience - The overall experience is excellent. It's a memorable adventure to hike up a dune. The guide Diyas is so nice and gentle and told us how the dune is developed and under what condition the dune will sing. Unfortunately we didn't hear the dune sing, but I enjoyed the trip very much! BTW the Jaguar vehicle and the driver are very cool.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
538richaj
Sep 21, 2023
Had a most sublime visit to the Singing Dunes and the Altyn Emel Park. Couldn’t experience the ‘singing’ bit tough! - I had a most amazing experience, all thanks to Gulzat accommodating my absolutely last minute request for a tour the following morning! I got there around 1pm on a rather still day, so in the absence of any wind, I missed the ‘singing’ part of the dunes. But the overall experience of getting to the place, climbing up the Barakan dunes and then relishing the unbelievable quite and solitude around (plus great views) from that height was an unforgettable experience. Qyuanish was the driver who took me to the dunes and I ended up spending some truly memorable moments that day with him, despite our language barriers. A big thank you to both him and Gulzat for everything!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $113
up to 6 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).