http://www.dragoman.com/ It was once the world's fourth largest inland sea, straddling the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, until destructive irrigation practices transformed the Aral Sea largely into desert.
Thanks to a rescue plan implemented by the World Bank and Kazakh government, life is slowly returning to parts of the shrivelled Aral Sea, and waters may once again lap the rusting hulks of fishing vessels marooned in a sea of dunes.
Dragoman visits the Aral Sea as part of its epic 11-week overland journey from Helsinki to Beijing, departing Helsinki 19th April 2009.
The trip begins in the historic city of Helsinki and continues across the giant landmass of Asia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China.
The route is south across Russia, bound for the steppes of Kazakhstan and the shrinking Aral Sea before entering the wild Tian Shan range - the 'Mountains of Heaven'.
There is a camp in Siberia's Altai before crossing into Mongolia to stay in a traditional yurt (or 'ger') with nomadic reindeer herders. From here it's a stunning overland trip across the forbidding Gobi Desert to China, visiting the Great Wall at Mutianyu before heading to Beijng and journey's end.
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