Ustyurt
This vast plateau (area of 200 000 sq. km) is part of the territories of three countries - Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Caravan routes ran through the deserted roads of Ustyurt, cluttered with caravanserais and cemeteries with Mazar mausoleums... According to some scholars, it is along the edge of this geological formation that the boundary between Europe and Asia runs.
Ustyurt is a majestic desert covered with vegetation here and there. Boundaries of the plateau are rimmed with chalk and limestone cliffs – steep walls, the height of which reaches 400 m in some places. The color of cliffs is fast-changing and striking – from pastel blue and pink to lily-white.
In Kazakhstan Ustyurt forms a part of the Mangistau Region. Part of the Ustyurt Plateau (223 thousand hectares) is under the national protection. The State Natural Reserve was created here in 1984, designed to preserve the unique flora and fauna of the region, first of all that listed in the Red Book: 5 species of plants, 11 species of birds and 9 species of mammals...
Ustyurt remains one of the little-known and at the same time sparsely populated places on earth. Perhaps this is why this plateau is so appealing to hundreds of travelers from all over the world with its pristine beauty, archaeological mysteries and stunning sceneries.
