Koytendag Nature Reserve

In the country's remote east, where the Koytendag range rises toward the highest point in Turkmenistan, a limestone plateau preserves the country's strangest attraction: hundreds of dinosaur footprints marching across a tilted Jurassic lagoon floor - trackways so long and clear they read like a stampede caught mid-stride. Around them spreads a wilderness of deep canyons, juniper slopes, and cave systems among Central Asia's most extensive, home to blind cave fish and markhor on the crags. Access runs through permits and local guides, which keeps Koytendag essentially private for those who make the long journey.

What you actually see

• The dinosaur plateau - trackways of hundreds of Jurassic footprints.
• The canyons - Umbar and Kyrk Gyz gorges cutting the range.
• The caves - vast karst systems with their blind fish.
• Markhor country - spiral-horned goats on the high crags.

When to go

Spring and autumn for bearable temperatures and clear plateau light; summer bakes and winter closes the heights. The trackways photograph best in low morning or evening sun that shadows the prints.

Honest expectations

This is the hardest-won site in a hard-to-travel country: long drives from Turkmenabat, mandatory permits and guides, and accommodation of the homestay-or-camp variety - it rewards committed travellers and defeats casual plans. Paths are rough and the plateau exposed. The payoff is having a Jurassic wonder effectively to yourself.

Nearby

Kerki and the Amu Darya crossing, and the long road back to Turkmenabat.