Other than buses to even more remote outposts in the desert, Aktau is an extremely out-of-the-way place, so getting out of town usually means backtracking in the direction you have just come. Also, the situation with Turkmeni visas has not been investigated well or at all by any of the travel agencies in Aktau. Therefore, you should not plan to come here first before getting a visa to continue to Turkmenistan. If you do have a Turkmeni visa that authorizes a crossing from Mangestau to Turkmenbasi, then you can make your way easily to the border. There are frequent morning buses to Zhanaosen about 140 km east of Aktau and then at least one daily bus from there to Turkmenbasi about 300 km south.
Tourist agencies in town can make arrangements for visits to Suni shrines and very distant caravansarais.
The most famous of these shrines is Beket Ata - which is not very old - but already has many superstitions about magical properties of the site. Built into a cave, this shrine to a 18th century Kazakh wise man is usually visited in groups. First, you will drive 3-5 hours from Aktau on poorly paved or unpaved roads to reach the shrine of Shapak Ata mentor of Beket. After visiting Shapak Ata you will travel another 30 minutes to Beket Ata. You will need to take a live goat with your tour group that will be sacrificed later that evening. After consecrating the goat, you will feast on the meat and relax and pray in the dormitories next to the site until very early the next morning. At that point, you will get back on your tour bus with the leftovers and drive back to Aktau.
Radon Hot Springs offers a slightly radioactive relaxation experience. It is a very primitive location that is about 54 km South of Aktau, with 13 km of that journey offroad. The hot springs are free, but room or yurt rental will cost 500 Tenge per hour. The facilities are very primitive no electricity, no restaurant, no potable water nor western toilets or toilet paper so you have to take everything with you. There are mudbaths about 3 km beyond Radon on a nearby dirt road. In both cases, you MUST have a local guide as the roads are completely unmarked and hazardous to drive on at night and there is no public transportation.
150km from Aktau, Samal / Sherkala is an area formed by extreme geological instability. Although Aktau does not experience earthquakes now, it used to have extreme earthquakes millions of years ago. These resulted in the created of the big depression north of the city as well as the valley of Samal. This valley is under "Black Mountain" ÐаÑаÑÐ°Ñ and "Fire Mountain" ÐÑпанÑаÑ. The fire mountain has a natural eternal flame on top as well as a monument to wolves. Nearby, the holy mountain of Sherkala attracts the superstitious who believe circumambulating the mountain between 1 and 7 times will result in good luck. You will need locals to show you how to get there as nothing is signposted and there is no public transportation.
Fort Shevchenko has nothing of historical or cultural note save that Mr. Shevchenko himself stayed there during his exile from Ukraine. It is about 150km north of Aktau and some buses leave district 8 infrequently to get there. This is one of the few signposted locations in Mangestau.
Two desert oases are within reach of Aktau by day trip. Saura is about 50 km north and Tamshali is about 130km northeast. You will need locals to show you how to get there as nothing is signposted and there is no public transportation.
A high-quality tourist agency by local standards is
Riviera Tour. Address: 4-52-14. Tel 50-74-24, 50-41-14. Mobile 7701 489 31 60 or 7.777.613.44.44. They can also be reached at [email protected].[www.riviera-tour.kz]
