Day tour to the famous Tanbaly petroglyphs
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Duration · 1 DAY
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Season · SPRING / SUMMER / FALL
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Activity · SIGHTSEEING / HISTORY
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From USD $90
Customer reviews 
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The Tamgaly (sometimes also called Tanbaly) “open-air” gallery of rock art, is located 170km far from Almaty. The complex consists of more than 5.000 petroglyphs (rock carvings) dating from the second half of the second millennium BC to the beginning of the 20th century. It is a part of UNESCO heritage and as it is mentioned at organisation's website: “The large size of the early petroglyphs, their unique images and the quality of their iconography sets them apart from the wealth of rock art in Central Asia”. Thus if you are a keen researcher of antiquities and history, then Tamgaly is the first attraction of Almaty region, which will be on your list.
Route overview
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Almaty – Uzunagash - Targap - Karabastau - Tamgaly State Reserve - Almaty
Difficulty: ♦ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊
Type: sightseeing / history
Group size: min 1 - max 4
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Get insipired
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- Tamgaly petroglyphs are made by different generations whose settlements and necropolis were found around: the complex of curved stones, burials and altars was used as a cult place for the thousands of years. The oldest carvings were formed during a Bronze Age (using a picketing technique with stone or metal tools: most of them include large figures of “sun-headed” and zoomorphic beings dressed in furs (shamans), by one and in groups (involved in ritual dancing), with different attributes like baton, surrounded by animals. Normally, the engravings with ritual scenes can be founded at visible places and are connected with a cult of Sun during the era of shamanism. The same époque is characterized by the images of chariots, horses and hunting scenes. There are images of a human’s foot and series of erotic episodes dated from the Bronze Age.
- The early Iron Age is presented with carvings done in a famous “Skiff-Siberian” animalistic style. These are the images of deer, pigs, goats and other animals in expressive stance. It is also interesting to see some engravings of Turk époque made over the ancient petroglyphs: for instance, a picture of flag-bearer or a kind of well armed “knight of steppes” – the most common depiction of Middle Ages in Kazakhstan.
- This tour is organized on request and only for you. The guide accompanying you throughout the tour will focus on your needs, interests and safety. You can fully enjoy personalized service and comfort.
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What to expect
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- Kazakhstan is a huge country, distances are long, roads are not always up to standard and traffic can be chaotic. Even though we use new comfortable cars with experienced drivers, you should be prepared for long drives on poor quality roads.
- We pay special attention to food on the tour. On this particular one we will serve a good lunch in a picnic style near the Reserve (if the weather allows) or at a local cafe.
- Tamgaly is located in a zone of semi-desert: in summer period (July) it can be as hot as +35..+45C, very dry with no shadow. Summer starts here in May, ends in September. April and October seem to be good months to visit it: normal day temperature can be about +25C.
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Itinerary
· Almaty – Uzunagash - Targap - Karabastau - Tamgaly State Reserve - Almaty ·
We pick you up in the morning and drive to the west of Almaty. Tamgaly is located 170km far from the city, the road is sometimes very damaged so it takes 3-4 hours to come to the place. But it definitely worths the time spent!
Tamgaly is a small gorge named after a river (now dry). The most of the paintings are located at a place where the river Tamgaly runs out of a small canyon into the valley. The slopes of the hills on both sides of a river seemed to be convenient for rock carving. As many other rock painting places in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, Tamgaly petroglyphs are made by different generations whose settlements and necropolis were found around.
We take a 3 to 4 hours excursion by the complex: it will be a walk along the gorge with carvings and necropolis with burials and altars. There are paved and marked trails inside a gorge.
After a lunch we start driving back to Almaty.
Meals · lunch, drinking water
Walking · 3-4 hours, ↔ around 5km, no elevation
Driving · 6 hours, ↔ 340km
Service and prices
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Transfers
- comfortable private transportation, pick up and drop off in Almaty
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Meals
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 Guiding
- English-speaking guiding throughout the tour
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 Reserve's entry fees
- Tamgaly Historical State Reserve tickets
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 Prices:
- $90 per person per tour - if there are 4 people in group
- $105 per person per tour - if there are 3 people in group
- $145 per person per tour - if there are 2 people in group
- $275 - 1 person (individual service)
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Price does
not include
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- accommodation (hotel), meals and any entertainment in Almaty before/after a tour
- personal traveller’s insurance
- personal expenses like souvenirs, calls etc.
- rent of personal clothes, shoes, gear etc.
- optional activities
- porters for personal belongings, suitcases and bags during the tour
- menu does not include: soft and alcohol drinks, beverages
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Important notes
- We are responsible for your safety in the activities described in the tour program. Horseback riding or other similar services provided by local residents on the spot - at your discretion and under your responsibility.
- Let us know in advance if you have any specific food requirement (like vegetarian menu or food allergies)
- Temperatures in summer in Almaty region depend on the height above sea level, location and current weather conditions. Below data is for information only:
- steppes/semideserts, 250m-700m ASL: +28..+42C degrees daytime, +25..+35C degrees in the night
Temperatures in spring and autumn in Almaty region depend on the height above sea level, location and current weather conditions. Below data is for information only, for April and late September
- steppes/semideserts, 250m-700m ASL: +18..+28C degrees daytime, +5..+15C degrees in the night
- We recommend having for this trip: trainers/hiking shoes, socks, trekking pants or shorts (depending on a season), t-shirt with long or short sleeves (depending on a season), jacket (thickness depends on a season and weather forecast), raincoat, peaked cap, buff, sunglasses, sun protection lotion, small backpack.
- There can be no cellular connection in certain places outside of the city (on the roads and in remote places).
- In remote villages, there may be a problem with paying with cards. If you plan to buy some small items or souvenirs, make sure to have cash - Kazakh Tenge.
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