Day 13 (July 12, 2025): Exploring Aktau

Yawwwwn...  It was a late night last night.  By the time we got settled away at our Aktau hotel and got to bed, it was pushing 1:30AM.  Kazakhstan, despite its great width as a country, is all on one time zone.  So we didn't even benefit from gaining an hour or two, as happens when one flies west in Canada.  In any case, today was our day to see what this small city in western Kazakhstan has to offer.

Aktau sits on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.  To situate it, please see the map below. The Caspain -- the world's largest lake at 371,000 square km -- is bounded by Kazakhstan to the northeast, Russia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the southwest, Iran to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southeast. The Caspian is about the size of Japan.

With a population of 270,000, Aktau is the largest city in Mangystau Region, one of Kazakhstan's 17 regions.  Its port plays a key role in Kazakhstan's maritime trade, especially oil and gas exports, as Mangystau is one of Kazakhstan's primary sources of oil. The region had little population prior to Soviet times, due to the scarcity of fresh water.  (The Caspian Sea consists of salt water.)  In 1958, uranium prospectors settled the site of Aktau. Town status was granted in 1964.

It was 10:30AM by the time we hopped into a Yandex and got a lift to the start of the wonderful boardwalk along Aktau's coastline. The sun was a-blaze as we started our 3KM walk in 38C. Wherever we could, we sought shade from the tall limestone cliffs.  Where the cliffs meet the water, sun-bathers and swimmers perched on large boulders at the water's edge, as it is more of a boulder beach area than sandy.

By the time we reached the top of the cliffs at the end of our walk, we were parched beyond parched.  Fortunately, we found a kiosk that sold cold ice tea -- the staple of this trip -- and rejuvenated.  From there, we set out by Yandex and by foot to take in the very limited number of sights that Aktau is known for.

By early afternoon, we were done with the heat and the accumulated going-going-going of the last 12 days. The clerk who checked us into the Holiday Inn last night told us about a great sea-side restaurant where we could try the Kazakh national dish, so we found that place and settled in for a wonderful, leisurely meal overlooking the Caspian and whiled away the afternoon.

Tomorrow will be an early start and a long day, as we are headed into the desert.

Aktau's location on the Caspian Sea, the world's largest lake.  Tehran, Iran is to the south;  Baku, Azerbijan (of Formula 1 racing fame) is to the west.

We were drawn to the Holiday Inn Aktau Seaside by the portrayals of this massive pool in the hotel's promotional photos.  Only to find out upon arrival that the pool is owned by the waterpark next door, which turns into an absolute kid zoo at 10AM when it opens!

Still fresh and smiling, as we started on our walk of the Aktau coast in 38C heat.

Mermaid and Pam on the Aktau coastline.

The turquoise waters of the Caspian Sea and Aktau's boulder-ridden coastline.

Swimmers and sunbathers perch on rocks and vie for the small sandy spaces available.

The huge limestone cliffs along Aktau's coastline.

Petroglyphs chiseled into the limestone cliffs on Aktau's seacoast.

From 1964 to 1991, under the Soviets, the city was named Shevchenko, after the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, who was exiled in a nearby settlement.

How's that for killing two birds with one stone? Those creative Soviets!  A Soviet-era apartment building doubles as a lighthouse near Aktau's coastline.

Aktau's very moving memorial to World War II soliders who lost their lives.


The memorial has an eternal flame.

The Soviets did one thing especially well:  honour their war dead.  The magnitude of Soviet war memorials all over the former Soviet Union has always impressed us.

Another of Aktau's most famous landmarks is its MiG-21 fighter memorial.  

This park bench shows Aktau’s logo, which truly encapsulates the city’s raison d’être: oil, plutonium, sea shipping, and tourism. 

‘Dombra’ (stringed instrument) monument. 

Baursak is a Kazakh fried dough appetizer or dessert made with flour, yeast, milk, egg, butter, sugar and oil. It is often served with tea.  We tried it at Aidyn, the seaside restaurant recommended to us by the clerk who checked us in to the Holiday Inn. 

 Beshbarmak is the national dish of Kazakhstan. The word translates as "five fingers", referring to the traditional practice of eating the dish with one's hands, a common eating method of Central Asia's nomadic peoples. Beshbarmak is usually made from finely chopped boiled meat - most typically, horse, mixed with dough and chyk, an onion sauce. It is typically served on large communal platters and shared among several people. A bowl of the meat broth is also served to help with settling the stomach. The restaurant where we ate is famous for making a fish version of the dish. We decided, however, to ask for ours to be made with beef, instead of fish or horse.

The view of the Caspian Sea that we enjoyed from Aidyn Restaurant.

Aktau has several large shopping malls. We had seen a mall in Astana with a hockey rink next to the food court, which we thought was quite amazing. But here we found another hockey rink in another mall. So I guess it is a relatively common thing in these parts!

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