Top Almaty Archaeology Tours

Experience Tanbaly as a fully private UNESCO heritage journey, not a standard shared sightseeing trip. Travel in a comfortable air-conditioned private minivan with a dedicated driver and an in-person guide, allowing you to enjoy the day at a relaxed and flexible pace. Explore the ancient petroglyphs, distinctive sun-headed figures, sacred areas and archaeological landscape with time for questions and photography. Hotel pickup and drop-off in Almaty, admission to the Reserve-Museum Tanbaly, lunch, bottled water and onboard Wi-Fi where coverage is available are included. No shared buses, no rushed schedule and no unnecessary shopping stops — just a comfortable, personal and well-organized experience focused on the history and landscapes of Tanbaly.

The Tanbaly Museum-Reserve is one of Kazakhstan’s most significant historical landmarks and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the Chu-Ili Mountains, this remarkable archaeological complex features a premier collection of ancient rock art that holds immense cultural and scientific value. Tour begins with a morning pickup directly from your hotel. The drive to Tanbaly Gorge takes approximately 2.5 hours each way, traveling through the authentic Kazakh steppe (flatlands). Upon arrival, you will discover an exceptional concentration of petroglyphs and ancient burial grounds dating from the 14th–13th centuries BC up to the 18th century AD. They provide invaluable insight into the social structures, daily lives, and spiritual rituals of these people. Exploring the reserve is accessible and requires a moderate level of physical fitness. The primary route consists of a 2-kilometer walk with brief uphill hikes

A unique all-inclusive tour (full transfer in an individual car, entrance tickets to all museums, lunch in a restaurant with Kazakh national cuisine, personal guide) for the whole day, during which you will get to know the history of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh people in such a comprehensive way, understand our traditions and culture, taste our national cuisine, see the main sights of the city of Almaty and also buy useful gifts for your relatives and friends in memory of the city of Almaty and Kazakhstan. If you want to visit the city of Almaty and its main attractions, learn about the traditions, culture and history of the Kazakh people and taste the national cuisine, then this full-day tour is for you.

Tamgaly-Tas is the site of Dzungar Lamaism, common in South-East Kazakhstan in the second half of the XVII-XVIII centuries. Tamgalytas is located 25 km north-west of Kapchagai, on the right bank of the Ili river. Tamgaly-Tas is a unique site of Buddhist culture, has a long history of study and has been known in science for more than a century and a half. Castle of nomads was built as a decoration for the film “Nomad”, which was released in 2005. But you will be surprised by how organically it fits into the surrounding landscape. Now this city is often called the “Nomad Fortress”, and thousands of tourists flock to this tourist site every year.

Unique tour to feel the history of ancient Kazakhstan. Tamgaly is a petroglyph site in Zhetysu, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. The majority of the 5000 petroglyphs are in the main canyon, but there are many in the side canyons. The petroglyphs are mostly Bronze Age, but in some cases have been overlaid with Medieval or later etchings. There are even some petroglyphs from the Iron Age.