It is one of the most interesting places to visit in the vicinity of Almaty. The world-famous kurgan complex, called “Saksky kurgans”, is located here and consists of 45 earthen pyramids, stretching for 3 km, often compared with the Egyptian pyramids.
The world famous Altyn Adam, which translated into Russian "Golden Man", the remains of a Sak warrior dressed in gold armor, was found here in 1969 under one of the mounds. He is also known as the “Kazakh Tutankhamen”, which is an image of an ancient ruler who ruled this territory. The symbols depicted on his armor in the form of a winged horse-tulpar became a national treasure and part of the coat of arms of Kazakhstan.
More than 4,000 gold jewelry and other precious objects, an iron sword and a dagger were found by archaeologists in a burial chamber. These architectural objects belong to the VII – III centuries. BC e.
At the excavation site, an archaeological museum “Sak’s kurgans” was opened with an 8 metre Statue of the “Golden Man”, the symbol that allowed the world mound to become famous. The State Museum of Gold and Precious Metals of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan presents to visitors a large number of finds from the Issyk barrow.
The Bears waterfall, which is popular among visitors, falling from a height of 30 meters, is located 1 kilometer from the road at an altitude of 1600 meters above sea level. From the road to the waterfall leads the trail, which makes it one of the close and not difficult to climb. "Kairak" waterfall, falling from a height of 40 meters, with rapids up to 75 meters, is located behind the village of Batan, 8 km from the fork. Due to the lack of a highway, one has to reach it on foot through the forest, which takes quite a long time, about 3-5 hours. However, on the way to it are located Chinturgensk mossy spruce forests.
