Qazaq Dalasy, or the Kazakh Steppe, is also known as Ūly Dala (Ұлы дала, Great Dala). It is a huge region of open grasslands, savannas and shrublands that covers large parts of northern Kazakhstan.

This wilderness was only used by Kazak nomads to herd their cattle, but during the 19th century large areas where converted into wheat fields. In these days, the region was known as the Kirghiz Steppe, as the old Russian word for Kazakhs is 'Kirghiz'.

During Soviet times, Nikita Krushchev started his Virgin Lands scheme that converted 15,000 km² (9,300 sq miles) of the steppe into a nuclear test zone.

In this zone, known as 'The Polygon', no less than 470 nuclear bombs were exploded between 1949 and 1989. Residents in the town of Semey, known as Semipalatinsk in Soviet times, say they could feel the ground vibrating every time the Russians tested a nuclear bomb.

A town was built to serve as the nerve center for the tests. It was called Kurchatov, after the leader of the team who built the first Soviet atom bomb, but nowadays it is known as Konechnaya (Konech, конец) means 'it's over' or 'The End' in Russian).

It is not possible to visit the town, but nearby is a massive circular hole in the ground, that was caused by the explosion of a test-bomb in 1965. Later the hole filled up with water and nowadays it is known as the Atomic Lake.

The best way to go to the area is to take a train from Almaty to Semey. There you should be able to hire a car and a driver.