Akespe
Akespe is a canyon of soft chalk and limestone where everything is white. The rock was laid down by the Tethys Ocean and shaped by an ancient river — the landscape is often compared to the surface of the moon.
Geology and history
Akespe is a white canyon 120 kilometres from Aktau. The soft sedimentary rock — chalk and limestone — was laid down by the ancient Tethys Ocean, and the shapes were cut by a river that flowed here after the sea retreated.
Everything here is white: ridges, the "ribs" of eroded slopes, free-standing towers. With no colour and few hard shadows, the place is often compared to lunar landscapes, and you only read the scale from a figure standing by a wall.
The rock is soft and crumbles easily: climbing the slopes is a bad idea — both for your own safety and to spare forms the water spent thousands of years carving.
Logistics and accessibility
Honest numbers before you take the wheel. We are not selling an adventure — we are explaining what you would be dealing with.
Why you should not drive here on your own
Driving here yourself requires four-wheel drive and a water supply: there are no fuel stations or services on the route.
Photographs of the location
Shots from our trips — click to enlarge