Trip to mountain Shomanai on Mangistau

"The feather grasses are silvering,
Bend, gently tremble,
Pull thin threads
They follow the wind.
Aromas of the steppe
They float in a wave
The pungent smell of wormwood
Filled it all up"

"Mangistau". Raisa Yasonovna Grigorashvili.

Trip to mountain on Mangyshlak

Shomanai mountain range is located 5 kilometers east of the eastern part of the Ktayrakty massif, the northeastern slopes of the massif border on the southern slopes of the Northern Aktau ridge, 3 kilometers northwest of the East Karatau ridge and 10 kilometers northeast of the Western ridge Karatau in the Mangystau region of the region of the same name.
The highest elevation in the Shomanai massif is a nameless mountain in the southern part with a height of 368 meters above sea level. The next highest mountain is Japyrakty, 363.8 meters above sea level, located in the southernmost part of the mountains.
Along the western and southwestern parts of the massif there is a railway with the Aktau-Beyneu message. The Akmyshtau massif is located 4 kilometers northwest of the Shomanai massif. The length of the massif from southeast to northwest is 11 kilometers, the maximum width in the central part reaches 6 kilometers.
Mount Shomanai looks like fairy-tale castles with spiers, towers, colonnades and fortress walls. A wild winding path on one of the mountains leads to a small platform from which a panoramic view of the distant Aktau mountains opens.
In damp spring the valley is covered with small but gently fragrant Sogdian tulips. The mountain range from the system of small remnant mountains is known among the local population under the name Airakty-Shomanay.
In 1851, while in exile in Fort Shevchenko, the great Ukrainian poet and artist T.G. Shevchenko. These mountains made such an impression on him, and he made a series of drawings here under the poetic name "Valley of Castles".
On the eastern side, the ridge of the Shomanai mountains is adjoined by an area of ​​outcrops of small spherical concretions. There are spheroids here that are just perfectly shaped, like bowling balls. If you are lucky, then you will come across a couple of cautious moufflons - mountain sheep.
On the eastern side, the ridge of the Shomanai mountains is adjoined by an area of ​​outcrops of small spherical concretions. There are spheroids here that are just perfectly shaped, like bowling balls.
Geographical coordinates of Shomanai massif: N44°13'23.10" E52°13'28.27"

Authority:
Alexander Petrov.
 Andrey Astafyev, city of Aktau.

Photos by
Alexander Petrov.