Boszhira is a landscape that looks like it was designed for a science-fiction film and then abandoned. In the Mangystau desert, on the edge of the Ustyurt plateau, wind and water have carved the pale chalk and clay into towers, ridges, amphitheatres and the famous jagged teeth that stand over a wide, empty basin. The colours change through the day, from dead white at noon to orange and pink in the evening. The rocks here were once the floor of an ancient sea, and fossil shells can still be found.
Reaching it is a journey. From Aktau, the main highway runs across a flat, stony plain for a long way, with trucks, heat and distance, and then you leave the pavement for tracks that vary from hard-packed clay to soft sand and loose rock. A motorcycle with good tyres and some off-road skill is fine in dry weather, but rain can turn the clay slippery and sticky, and sandy sections can catch the unwary. Many people go with a guide or in a convoy of vehicles, which makes sense given the lack of help.
Out here, the silence is the main event. You will probably meet camels, a few herders and a sky that goes on forever. Summer heat can pass forty degrees, with almost no shade, so spring and autumn are far kinder. Winter nights are bitterly cold. Wind is steady and can be strong, and dust gets everywhere. It is wise to carry more water than seems sensible, a tow rope or tyre repair kit, and a satellite or spare communication device, since phone coverage fails in the hollows.
Shops and cafes along the main road are few, and the basics, such as water, food and shade, are your own responsibility. Camping is the standard way to stay. If you plan well and travel with respect, it is among the most unusual and memorable places a motorcycle can reach in Central Asia.