Overview
Uy-Tas — Kazakh for 'stone house' or 'yurt stone' — sits alone on the ridge crest at approximately 2,000 m elevation, 1.5–2 km from the upper parking area on a clear trail through birch groves. The boulder is 5 m high and 6 m in diameter, composed of monolithic grey granite without a crack or chip. It weighs roughly 500 tonnes. The nearest rock of comparable size is nowhere visible on the surrounding slope, and there is no cliff directly above from which it could have fallen. Glacial transport from the high peaks is the scientific consensus. The stone has been a local landmark and informal ritual site for a long time — look for faded ribbons tied to nearby trees. From the ridge beside Uy-Tas, the view opens north over the Kaskelen valley floor and the Almaty lowlands, and south toward the high snowfields above 3,000 m.
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Visit notes
Viewing visit notes for Kaskelen Gorge
Uy-Tas Glacial Erratic — 2,000 m
Step 7 · 2 km from previous · 0 min drive
Uy-Tas — Kazakh for 'stone house' or 'yurt stone' — sits alone on the ridge crest at approximately 2,000 m elevation, 1.5–2 km from the upper parking area on a clear trail through birch groves. The boulder is 5 m high and 6 m in diameter, composed of monolithic grey granite without a crack or chip. It weighs roughly 500 tonnes. The nearest rock of comparable size is nowhere visible on the surrounding slope, and there is no cliff directly above from which it could have fallen. Glacial transport from the high peaks is the scientific consensus. The stone has been a local landmark and informal ritual site for a long time — look for faded ribbons tied to nearby trees. From the ridge beside Uy-Tas, the view opens north over the Kaskelen valley floor and the Almaty lowlands, and south toward the high snowfields above 3,000 m.