Overview
On the right bank of the Ili River, a plain scattered with 31 earthen mounds marks the necropolis of the Semirechye-Saka, nomadic pastoralists who dominated these steppes from the 6th to the 4th century BC. The largest kurgan stands 17 m high with a diameter of 105 m — easily visible from a distance — and the entire site covers roughly 2 km². The mounds are arranged in orderly rows running north to south. Ritual altar stones on the eastern faces reflect a Saka sun-cult. Gold artefacts, weapons and elaborate animal-style ornaments were recovered during Soviet-era excavations; replicas are displayed at the Kazakh Museum of Arts in Almaty. UNESCO's 2023 World Heritage nomination for the broader Saka burial complex brought renewed attention to the site.
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Viewing visit notes for Altyn-Emel National Park
Besshatyr Burial Mounds
Step 6 · 30 km from previous · 40 min drive
On the right bank of the Ili River, a plain scattered with 31 earthen mounds marks the necropolis of the Semirechye-Saka, nomadic pastoralists who dominated these steppes from the 6th to the 4th century BC. The largest kurgan stands 17 m high with a diameter of 105 m — easily visible from a distance — and the entire site covers roughly 2 km². The mounds are arranged in orderly rows running north to south. Ritual altar stones on the eastern faces reflect a Saka sun-cult. Gold artefacts, weapons and elaborate animal-style ornaments were recovered during Soviet-era excavations; replicas are displayed at the Kazakh Museum of Arts in Almaty. UNESCO's 2023 World Heritage nomination for the broader Saka burial complex brought renewed attention to the site.