To the Aral Sea - a Tough Journey

The main goal of this varied and demanding tour program is reaching and visiting the notorious Aral Sea. Notorious because this inner sea, ever the fourth largest inner sea in the world, has become smaller and smaller from the fifties when the feeding rivers Syr Darya and Amur Darya were tapped on a large scale for irrigation purposes. The result has been this man-made natural disaster, the largest of its kind in the world. 
On a positive note, the smaller northern part of the sea - 'lesser Aral' is being preserved and even growing larger since a dyke has been built that prevents water from running into the larger of the two current seas.
You will visit the Aral Sea and its environment, and much more than that! Starting in Almaty you will first cath a flight to Kyzlorda (1,500 km) and continue by train (500 km) to Aralsk. Returning from Aralsk three days later you will go all the way to Almaty by train with two main stops.
The first stop is in Turkestan, where the famous Mausuleum of Khodja Ahmed Yassawi is located, Kazakhstans most important monument.
The second stop is a completely different story, as you will be accommodated in the small village of Jabagly, located nearby Central Asia's oldest natural reserve, the Aksu-Jabagly natural reserve. Here you will have two days of hiking in wonderful and remote nature.
Finally, both in the beginning and the end of the proposed tour you will have a day in the metropole Almaty, with its beautiful surroundings and open and friendly atmosphere.
Be warned: this program is intensive and because of poor infrastructure (roads) and simple facilities in certain places (esp. at the Aral Sea) this tour is quite tough.
Individual travellers can adjust the tour to their specific wishes in cooperation with us.