Bozzhyra

Bozzhyra — "grey ravine" in Kazakh — is a stretch of the western edge of the Ustyurt plateau in Mangystau, in far western Kazakhstan, where the flat tableland ends in a wall of white cliffs and breaks up into a valley of isolated peaks, ridges and mesas. From the rim the view is of something closer to another planet than to the surrounding steppe: blinding white and pale grey slopes banded with ochre and pink, flat-topped buttes standing in a sandy basin, and, deep in the valley, two great pointed spires that are known as the Fangs and have become the emblem of the whole region.

The rock is limestone and chalk, layers more than 250 metres thick laid down on the floor of the Tethys, the ancient ocean that covered this part of the world tens of millions of years ago. When the sea withdrew, wind and the rare rains set to work on the soft sediments and carved them into the forms seen today. The same erosion keeps exposing remains of the marine world that formed them: shells, sea urchins, belemnites, fossilised algae and even sharks' teeth weather out of the slopes. The tract as a whole is vast, around 3,000 square kilometres, but its most striking scenery is concentrated in a few dozen square kilometres around the valley.

People have used this landscape for a very long time. The gorge holds archaeological sites ranging from the Palaeolithic to the early Middle Ages, and Bozzhyra is counted among the regional sacred places of Kazakhstan. It lies within the Zhabayushkan state nature reserve, one of the protected areas of Mangystau, and visiting requires a permit.

There are three classic viewpoints. The first, often called the Martian Panorama, looks over the whole basin from the edge of the plateau; the second, the Dragon's Crest, lies about 10 km further south; the third brings you close to the Fangs themselves, after a dirt track and a short climb on foot. The landscape is at its most beautiful in the low light of early morning and evening, when the white walls turn gold and pink and the shadows of the buttes stretch across the valley floor.

Getting there

Bozzhyra lies in Karakiya District of Mangystau Region, about 100 km in a straight line from Zhanaozen and roughly 270 km by road east of Aktau, the regional capital. The nearest airport is Aktau International Airport (SCO), about 250 km away. The approach from Aktau follows an asphalt road through Zhanaozen, after which unpaved tracks lead to the viewpoints; around 60 km of dirt roads link the three main lookouts, so a four-wheel-drive vehicle or an organised tour is the usual way to visit.