Make a journey Kazakhstan. 

“In books I have traveled, not only to other worlds, but into my own” 

Anna Quindlen.

 The short description of a route of a trip on lake Inder and plateau Akkergeshen in Atyrau province: 

Atyrau - tomb of saint Onay-ata - Dossor - settlement of Kulsary - cretaceous plateau Akkergeshen - bituminous field Munayly Mola - cretaceous plateau Aktolagay - mountain and cave Imankara - Atyrau - ancient settlement Sarayshyk - settlement of Inderborsky - lake Inder - career lakes - Atyrau.

Distance a route: 1151 km.
Season: from June till Sepnember.
Best time for travel: June - August.
Size of group: at most 8 person.
Duration of tour: 6 days, 5 nights.

 Detailed program of a travel for natural sights of Atyrau province: 

Short detour Kazakhstan.

Day 1. Almaty - Atyrau - settlement of Kulsary (215 km).
Transfer to airport. Departure to Atyrau (3 hours 10 minutes). Arrival in the Atyrau airport, a meeting at the airport. An excursion on Atyrau, visit: city museum of local lore, visit of the regional museum of arts and crafts, visit of the city mosque "Iman", visit of the cathedral Uspeniya Mother of God, walk on Walking Bridge through Ural River, walk on the area at city administration, walk on Ural River quay from hotel of "Chagalla". A sightseeing tour on the city "Bridges of Atyrau" from Europe to Asia. Lunch.
Transfer: Atyrau - tomb of the saint Onay ata (64 km). Our way goes to the northeast of the city of Atyrau. Approximately in 38 kilometers from the city, in 5 kilometers to the right of the road, in the east, it is visible the settlement of Karabatan. From it in 13 kilometers there is the largest in Kazakhstan the petrochemical plant "Bolashak".
To the left of the road there is Onay-ata tomb of the saint, short walk in the neighborhood of tomb of the saint.Through 90 kilometers, from Atyrau, we pass the big settlement of Dossor, here in 1911 the first oil production in Kazakhstan was begun. In Dossor there are a lot of modern monuments devoted to this event. At desire it is possible to visit some of them. 
Transfer: Onay-ata tomb of the saint - Kulsary (151 km). Further way not interestingly. Arrival in Kulsary, transfer to hotel, accommodation, dinner and overnight.
Day 2. Kulsary - cretaceous plateau Akkergeshen - bituminous field of Munaily Mola - cretaceous plateau Aktolagay (144 km).
Breakfast. Departure at 7:30. Transfer: Kulsary - cretaceous plateau Akkergeshen (55 km). Through 15 kilometers from Kulsary, we turn to the right, and we move the northeast on the old highway which conducts on the oil field. From all directions we are surrounded by the boundless steppe. Soon far ahead there are outlines of the massif of Imankara, and to the left of it there is a white wall - it is the cretaceous plateau Akkergeshen. Transfer to the central part of the plateau, walk in vicinities, searches of flora and fauna of a paleontologic age.
Further transfer: Akkergeshen - bituminous field of Munayly Mola (45 km). After visit of the central part of the cretaceous plateau Akkergeshen, the road brings us to a top part of the plateau and soon we come out to the old road again. We pass the oil field and our way lies to Munayly Mola. Arrival on Munayly Mola. The most interesting, on this field, is stone spherical concretions which are on the Earth's surface.
On some spherical concretions, there where bitumen with sand under the influence of wind, a rain and the sun separated, on a stone the smooth surface opened. In decreases in the bituminous field and in the neighborhood of the lake there is a large amount of spherical concretions and several salty lakes. Walk on vicinities. Lunch.
Transfer: Munayly Mola - plateau Aktolagay (44 km). Arrival on the cretaceous plateau Aktolagay, walk on vicinities. The cretaceous plateau Aktolagay, is located on border of the Atyrau and Aktyubinsk regions, very long time ago represented a seabed. Therefore, now here it is possible to find many fossilized remains of mollusks, corals, sea hedgehogs and other sea fauna who lived tens millions years ago. Accommodation in tents, dinner and overnight.
Day 3. Aktolagy - Kulsary - Atyrau (325 km).
Breakfast. Transfer: Aktolagay - Munayly Mola - field camp - Imankara cave (73 km). We come back on the road on which we arrived to the cretaceous plateau Aktolagay. After the field camp before us the view of the mountain Imankara which towers over boundless steppes of the Atyrau region opens. On southwest side of the mountain Imankara, there is Imankara cave which was constructed at the beginning of the XIXth century, the first British geologists who investigated oil reserves in the Western Kazakhstan. Walk in a cave and vicinities.
Transfer: Imankara cave - cafe at the road (53 km). Return to the automobile highway of Atyrau - Aktau. Here in roadside cafe, we are expected by a lunch.
Transfer: cafe at the road - Dossor - Atyrau (199 km). Arrival in Atyrau. Accommodation in the hotel, dinner and overnight.
Day 4. Atyrau - ancient settlement Sarayshik - settlement of Inderborsky (206 km).
Breakfast. Transfer: Atyrau - settlement Saraishyk - museum Saraishyk - ancient settlement Saraishyk (53 km). From Atyrau the way goes to the North in the direction on the city of Uralsk. On the 50th kilometer after Atyrau, we turn to the right and we go to the settlement Saraishyk. Arrival on the settlement Saraishyk, transfer to the memorial complex "Khan Ordaly Saraishyk". Visit of the Khan Ordaly Saraishyk complex.
The complex consists of the one-storey building of the museum, the small mosque and a pantheon in honor of seven khans buried in the territory of the ancient city. A complex Saraishyk of Makhambetsky district of the Atyrau region was open in 1999 in the village. It is considered that in Sarayhyk seven khans of the Golden Horde - Sartak, Burke, Toktakiya, Zhanybek (according to other data and Mengu Timur), Kazakh - Kasy, the Nogai khans Ismail and Uraz were buried.
In the center of a pantheon there is a dry sacred tree - Auliye-Agash. Visit of the mausoleum and museum.
Transfer: a memorial complex - the ancient settlement Sarayshyk (3 km). Visits of archeological excavations on the ancient settlement Sarayshyk, walk on the river bank Urals. The ancient settlement Sarayshyk is on the river bank Urals. Now here (2017) the protective dike which will stop destruction of the ancient settlement Sarayshyk waters of Ural River is under construction. The ancient settlement the Shed is the remains of the city of Saraychuk. Its basis, written tradition, carries to the XIIIth century. The earliest archaeological date received as a result of excavation - belongs to the beginning of the XIVth century.
Further transfer: Saryyshyk - settlement of Makhambet - settlement of Inderborsky (150 km). Arrival in the settlement of Inderborsky, transfer to hotel, accommodation. Lunch. Visit local
history the museum in the settlement. Return to hotel. Dinner and overnight.
Day 5. Inderborsky - lake Inder - career lakes (85 km).
Breakfast. Transfer: Inderborsky - lake Inder (12 km). The lake Inder (the local name Tuzdykol) the large drainless, salt lake in a northern part of the Atyrau province of the lake region - about 110 kilometers square. A lake form roundish, extended from the northwest on the southeast. Diameter of the lake from the northwest on the southeast of 13 kilometers, from the southwest on the northeast - 10 kilometers. The rivers do not flow into the lake, lake food generally underground: salt spring which there is a lot of at coast, also thawed and rain snow in the spring. Walk on the lake and in vicinities.
Transfer, to the old abandoned mine where extracted boricacied ester (2 km). Walk in the neighborhood of the mine. In Indersky mountains there are about 20 lakes which were formed in pits where extracted ore.
Transfer to career lakes on the platform 99 (11 km). Here in a big pit there are 7 lakes with salty and clear water, walk in vicinities, searches of crystals of quartz. Lunch.
Transfer on the platform 98 (2 km), here in a huge pit is the biggest salty lake in Inderborsky mountains, walk in vicinities.
Transfer on the 102nd site, is 5 big and small lakes with salty water (14 km) in a huge pit here.
Return to the settlement of Inderborsky (18 km). Transfer to hotel, dinner, overnight.
Day 6. Inderborsky - Atyrau (176 km).
Breakfst. Return to Atyrau. Lunch. Flight to Almaty.   

The note:
 The Program is Alexander Petrov author program. Copying and use of a material - from the sanction of the author petrovsra@mail.ru

Photos by
 Alexander Petrov.