Karaman-Ata is one of the earliest funerary and cult complexes on the Mangyshlak peninsula, a monument of national significance. Its lichen-covered gravestones stand right out in the steppe.
Karaman-Ata is a funerary and cult complex 80 kilometres from Aktau, named after the Sufi Karaman-ata. It is one of the earliest monuments of its kind on Mangyshlak and is listed as heritage of national significance.
The gravestones stand right out in the steppe, unfenced: massive carved slabs, stepped sarcophagi, single kulpytas stones. Lichen — yellow, grey, ochre — covers the stone, so the surface reads like an old map.
A mausoleum dome rises above the complex, visible from far off. The place is quiet and almost deserted: people stop here on the way to the coast to see what a steppe necropolis looks like without restoration.
Honest numbers before you take the wheel. We are not selling an adventure — we are explaining what you would be dealing with.
Driving here yourself requires four-wheel drive and a water supply: there are no fuel stations or services on the route.
Shots from our trips — click to enlarge
Leave the logistics to people who drive here all year round: prepared vehicles, satellite communication and a guide who knows where the ground holds and where it does not.
Ybykty-Sai → Karaman-Ata → Kyzylkup and 3 more stops
The Karagiye Depression → Tousled Canyon → Tuzbair and 2 more stops
Torysh Valley of Stone Balls → Kok-Kala → Mount Sherkala and 8 more stops