Karagiye Depression

Its southernmost point is several kilometres east of Eralievo town, which has a train station, and is near the E-121 and R-114 roads leading to Kuryk Port. The northernmost point peters out near the A-33 road, which connects Aktau and Zhanaozen city.

Despite the rugged and hostile-looking landscape, it’s home to a wide variety of animals, such as caracal, Pallas’ cat (aka manul), corsac and steppe fox, and mouflon. There’s also plenty of monitor lizards, tortoise, snakes, centipedes, and scorpions living around the depression’s cliffs and ravines. Its rich biodiversity also makes it a popular spot for hawks and vultures.

Together with Lake Karakol, 30km+ to the west, the depression is part of the 130,000+ hectare Karagiye-Karakol Nature Reserve. The reserve area also has some human activity, with oil derricks, camel farms, and watermelon and tomato plantations dotted around parts of the desert.

Ashchisor Depression, Capes, and a Lighthouse

Less than 15km west of Karagiye is the 15-kilometre-wide, bowl-shaped Ashchisor Depression*, which is inland of Cape Peschaniy and Cape Sarzha. Since 2018, there are discussions of developing a hotel and recreational area in Ashchisor and turning part of it into a reservoir for leisure use. The plan involves cutting a channel, at a cost of US$130+ million, from the Caspian Sea to the depression to flood the area. For now, the project appears to be on hold as the local government and environmental groups assess how to minimise the development’s environmental impact.

Less than 5km north of Cape Peschaniy, meaning ‘sandy’ in Russian, is a lighthouse. With an off-road vehicle, it should in theory be possible to drive most of the 100-kilometre length of coastline between Aktau and Kuryk Port. The lighthouse is on the route, along with extensive stretches of sandy beach and a hot spring that’s popular with Mangystau’s residents.

* The ‘ashchi’ prefix derives from the Kazakh word for ‘bitter’.