One moment
Temples
Tamgaly-Tas
A temple people come back to · Kapshagai, Kazakhstan
Photo: Stomac · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
4.7★Rating
690Reviews
$Price level
Apr–May & Sep–OctBest time
The experience
On cliffs above a bend of the Ili River, 12th-century images of Shakyamuni, Amitabha and Avalokiteshvara sit carved among thousands of older petroglyphs and Kazakh clan tamgas — Buddhas alone in the steppe.
Almaty's weekend crowds head for Charyn Canyon; the Buddhas on the Ili mostly see local fishermen, climbers and the odd rafting group.
riverside buddhassteppebronze-age carvingsopen sky
It's only worth the detour Apr–May & Sep–Oct. Turn up outside that window and you're looking at a different place; we'd rather say so than sell you the photo.
Where it is
Kapshagai, Kazakhstan · Ili River / Almaty Region. Coordinates from the listing we sourced it from.
DirectionsWhat a membership adds.
Everything above is free: the name, the photo, the rating, the exact spot. What members get is the part you can't Google: the sourced insider tip for this place (what to order, when to go, what to skip), every day of your trips unlocked in full with the insider tip on every researched stop, and the concierge at full strength, answering with your own insider tips, no daily meter.
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