Natural boundary Tamgaly is 170 km north-west of Almaty and located in the south-eastern part of the Chu-Ili Mountains, extending from the south to the north of the Trans-Ili Alatau to the lake. Balkhash and the Betpak-Dala Desert. Geographic location and nature of Chu-Ili from ancient times determined the direction of seasonal migration of large herds of animals (saigas, kulans), and later — the ways of many peoples settled in the expanses of Asia.
At this peculiar intersection of ancient roads already in the Bronze Age, more than 3000 years ago, there was a mountain sanctuary with thousands of rock carvings, adorned according to their design. Creators of the pagan Temple of the Sun. In the gallery under the open sky — over 2700 drawings. Here, the Saka and Turkic, but most — the most mysterious — made in the era of developed bronze (more than 3000 years).
The picturesque relief of the Tamgaly tract was formed over more than 100 mln. years of geological history of Chu-Iliyshikh mountains. The main role in this process was played by neotectonic movements, the youngest of them have an age of about 1 million years. The boundary of the mountains and broad plain, which stretches to the north of Tamgaly, fix the line of the ancient fault, as a result of which the earth surface rose once, and a high ledge was formed; water and wind erosion completed the formation of river valleys that paved their way through a chain of low mountains with dome-shaped and flat tops.
