Bozzhira

Bozzhira is a section of the Ustyurt escarpment where the plateau breaks away into a bowl several kilometres across, and the floor below it is what remains of the bed of the Tethys sea: white chalk and marl eroded into ridges, cones and isolated pinnacles, of which the pair known as the fangs are the most photographed feature in Mangystau. A yurt camp operates near the rim in season and most visitors watch sunset and sunrise from the escarpment edge, when the low light picks out the forms. There is no road as such, only tracks across the plateau, and getting there means a hired four-wheel drive and a driver who knows the route.

What's there

• The fangs - the twin chalk pinnacles standing in the bowl.
• The escarpment rim - the plateau edge and the drop into the amphitheatre.
• The chalk floor - the eroded white seabed below.
• Sunrise and sunset - the low light that makes the formations read.

When to go

April to May and September to October; summer temperatures on the plateau exceed forty degrees with no shade or water, and winter brings wind and impassable tracks. Spring gives flowers on the plateau.

Practical notes

There is no road, no fuel, no water and no phone signal; a hired vehicle with a driver is essential and going alone is dangerous. The escarpment edge is unfenced and undercut in places. Accommodation is a yurt camp or camping. Costs for transport are high.

Nearby

Sherkala lies north; Aktau is west on the Caspian.