Torysh Valley
Eight kilometres east of the Aktau–Buzachi Peninsula road and 30km west of Sherkala is the ‘Valley of Balls’. Locally known as Torysh, the valley lies
The Buzachi Peninsula’s far eastern edge overlooks the 15km x 100km Kaydak Bay salt marsh. A western branch of the bay’s shallow marshes extends more than halfway into the peninsula. Less than 200 years ago, when the Caspian Sea levels were a few metres higher, seawater covered these marshes, making the southern region of the Buzachi an isthmus linked to the Tub-Karagan Peninsula.
Depending on salinity, organisms, and water temperature, the marsh’s colours vary from grey and brown to pink and light green. Over the years, the retreating sea has led to coastal villages turning into ghost towns, like Prorva on the north side of Dead Kultuk.
Running along the bay’s east side, from the Kyzylsay Ravine area to southern Beineu town, is the 200-kilometre-long Western Chink Ustyurt. Some sections of the cliff line rise more than 200m above Kaydak Bay, offering stunning views – New Alexander Fort is located here, too. By comparison, the west side rises only 10m above the bay and marks the beginning of the Buzachi Peninsula’s deserts.
Kaydak Bay (Qaidaq Şyğanağy/Залив Кайдак): 44.9124, 53.5524
Prorva (Прорва): 45.9893, 53.2657
Kyzylsay Ravine (Qyzylsai Saiy/Овраг Кызылсай): 44.1791, 53.2711
Beineu (Бейнеу): 45.3412, 55.1798
Eight kilometres east of the Aktau–Buzachi Peninsula road and 30km west of Sherkala is the ‘Valley of Balls’. Locally known as Torysh, the valley lies
Eight kilometres south of Kyzyl Ravine is Sor Tuzbair*, a salt marsh stretching 15km along the edge of the Western Chink Ustyurt. Along with Boszhira,
Fifteen kilometres north-west of Shetpe town is Ayrakty-Shomanai, or as 19th-century Ukrainian artist-poet Taras Shevchenko preferred to call it during his stay in Mangystau, ‘The