Aralsk and the Aral Sea Ship Graveyard

The Shore Of What Was The World'S Fourth Largest Lake Before Soviet Irrigation Drained It From The 1960s. The Ship Graveyard Near Aralsk And The 2005 Kokaral Dam, Which Refilled The Northern Small Aral Sea, Are The Main Stops. · Aralsk, Kyzylorda

Aralsk was a busy fishing and cargo port on the north shore of the Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world. From the 1960s the Soviet Union diverted the Amu Darya and Syr Darya to irrigate cotton, and the sea shrank until the water lay many kilometres from the town. Rusting trawlers still stand on dry ground at Zhalanash, and a small museum in Aralsk tells the story. The hopeful half is the Kokaral Dam, finished in 2005, which refilled the northern Small Aral Sea and brought fish back to local nets. Be honest about the trip: it is remote, a long train or road journey from Kyzylorda, services are basic, and the sea you see today is far from the old harbour. Do not expect a beach resort. What you get is a stark salt plain, a handful of rusty hulls, a town that has partly recovered and a lesson in how fast a landscape can change. Moynaq, the better known ship cemetery, is across the border in Uzbekistan.

Former port town of Aralsk on the old north shore of the Aral Sea, with rusting ships at Zhalanash and the restored Kokaral Dam and the revived northern Small Aral Sea beyond; reached by train or road from Kyzylorda, Aralsk, Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan

The ship graveyard at Zhalanash and the shoreline are open-air places with no gate, no ticket booth and no closing time, so they can be visited any time there is daylight. The town museum keeps ordinary daytime hours, usually closed one day a week and on public holidays, and small local museums often shut without notice, so confirm in town before you rely on it. The Kokaral Dam area and the fishing villages work around weather and the fishing season. Winter roads can be icy and snowed in, and spring thaw turns the tracks to mud. Ask your driver or guest house about conditions on the day.

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