Cities and regions／Kazakhstan
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Ili River

The Ili River provides the setting for the Tamgaly-Tas rock sanctuary near Konaev, where Buddhist images and inscriptions are preserved on rocks beside the water.

Ili River
Photo by en:User:Edmon2004 Source: Wikimedia Commons Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
The place

What makes it special

  • At Tamgaly-Tas, visitors can see images of Buddhist deities and ritual texts.
  • The inscriptions use Tibetan and Oirat scripts.
  • The riverside setting is part of the sanctuary’s significance.
Rocks with Buddhist carvings beside the Ili River at Tamgaly-Tas.
Photo by Mheidegger Source: Wikimedia Commons Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
Ili River
Photo by Alessandro893 Source: Wikimedia Commons Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0
Travel atlas

Articles in Ili River

Guides to this place

1 article

Ili River

journal.travel Editorial

Guides to this place

1 related guides

Rocks with Buddhist carvings beside the Ili River at Tamgaly-Tas.

Tanbaly and Tamgaly-Tas: Two Engraved Landscapes near Almaty

Two almost identical names refer to different places: one encompasses an extensive archaeological landscape from the Bronze Age; the other preserves Buddhist images beside the Ili River.

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Information in context

Sources and references

This profile summarises our destination guides. Their research sources and the geographical reference are listed below.

Profile updated: 11/10/2026