CityOutline guide

Aral

Place in Kyzylorda, Kazakhstan

Photo: Staecker, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

Aral (Арал) or Aralsk (Аральск, formerly, and in Russian) is a city in Kazakhstan.

Getting there and around

Getting there

The closest major city to Aral is Kyzylorda, which is about 12 hours away by train. Trains leave from Astana and Almaty to Aral. The train from Astana does not, however, stop in Almaty.

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Getting around

Aral is a very small city to walk around in; there are taxis but they are basically unnecessary. The train station is about a 15-minute walk from the main hotel.

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Airports and nearby hotels

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Baikonur Krayniy International Airport

Baikonur · International · BXY

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Read before you go to Aral

Articles and travel topics about Aral and Kazakhstan.

Itineraries

Moscow to Urumqi

The usual overland route from Europe into China is the Trans-Siberian Railway, crossing Russia to Lake Baikal then continuing either via Mongolia or Dongbei (the former Manchuria) to Beijing.

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Travel tips

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (СССР)), or Soviet Union, emerged as the successor state to the Russian Empire in 1917, and was dissolved in 1991.

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Nature & adventure

Geographical records

For anyone who has ever spent time reading the Guinness Book of Records, records are often shocking and amazing.

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The Flashman Papers

Harry Flashman is a fictional character in a series of comic historical novels and short stories by George MacDonald Fraser.

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Full travel guide

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UnderstandAral is a former fishing village in Western Kazakhstan near the Aral Sea. In 1920, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin asked the people of Aral to give fish to feed starving Russians, which they did.

Get inThe closest major city to Aral is Kyzylorda, which is about 12 hours away by train. Trains leave from Astana and Almaty to Aral. The train from Astana does not, however, stop in Almaty.

Get aroundAral is a very small city to walk around in; there are taxis but they are basically unnecessary. The train station is about a 15-minute walk from the main hotel.

SeeAral does not have many attractions and most tourists are not interested in the town. The old harbor is just outside the hotel and it is possible to walk out to abandoned ships on the dry seabed from there.

DoJeep tours can be arranged to various places along the Aral Sea, including various ship cemeteries.

BuyThere are very few shops in Aral. A main market is housed west of the main square and past the train tracks selling fruit and vegetables.

EatAral does not offer much diversity in dining. There is one restaurant across the street from the hotel which serves a variety of Kazakh dishes.

SleepThere is one hotel in Aral, called "Aral" at 4 Makhateava St. It has two floors of rooms and one restaurant. The rooms are quite simple and many have small tubs but no showers. Expect to pay about 4,000 tenge per night.

ConnectAs of September 2024, Aral has patchy 4G from all Kazakh carriers, but no signal on the approach highways.

Sources and licences

Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Aral" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Summary from the Wikipedia article "Aral, Kazakhstan", available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikipedia
Photo: Staecker, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

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