The Singing Dunes (also known as Singing Barkhan or Singing Sand) is a mountain of sand in the Altyn Emel National Park €“ itself a stretch of desert and canyons across 4,600 square kilometres.These naturally occurring dunes are an impressive 150m high and 1.5km long but what makes them phenomenal is that they sing out a whistling sound when the wind skims across the sands. Beware: the sound can be as much as 105 decibels loud.Access is easy from Almaty into the national park, especially if you have a 4×4 as the drive takes around an hour and a half. The entry fee is 962 tenge, the local currency (£2.47/2.98 euros). Once there you can climb the dunes on foot.2

Charyn Canyon is within the Charyn River valley which practically kisses the Chinese border. It might not be as deep as the Grand Canyon, but its steep sides and colour gradations make it equally as impressive.If you watched Ewan Mc Gregor and Charlie Boorman in The Long Way Round, you€™d have spotted the canyon then as it was one of the highlights of their route.There are opportunities for white water rafting and canoeing on the Charyn River, and hikers can explore both the canyon and the striking red rock formations of the Valley of Castles on an extended trek

The best time to visit Kazakhstan is between July €“ August, when the weather is perfect throughout the country. This is the peak season, and the best timefor hikers to visit. April €“ June, and September €“ October are also a decent time to visit Kazakhstan. The steppes are particularly beautiful during thistime.