This is one of the world’s largest sand deserts, cov­er­ing approx­i­mate­ly 350,000 square kilo­me­ters and most of the coun­try. The land­scape con­sists of dunes, ridges, takyrs, and salt marsh­es, inter­spersed with oases fed by the Murghab and Tejen rivers. The cli­mate is sharply con­ti­nen­tal, with hot, dry sum­mers, when tem­per­a­tures can reach 50°C, and cold win­ters with tem­per­a­tures down to ‑5°C in the north. In spring, the desert comes alive, cov­ered with ephemer­al veg­e­ta­tion that quick­ly fades by May. Saiga antelopes, goi­tered gazelles, desert fox­es, snakes and lizards, as well as numer­ous bird species, inhab­it this land. In ancient times, the car­a­van routes of the Great Silk Road, con­nect­ing East and West, passed through these lands. Today, the desert attracts trav­el­ers with its harsh beau­ty, the oppor­tu­ni­ty to observe unique nat­ur­al phe­nom­e­na, and to expe­ri­ence the cul­ture of nomadic peo­ples. With­in its bor­ders are nature reserves such as Repetek, Bereketli-Karagum and Kaplankyr, which pro­tect rare species of plants and ani­mals.