Mystery of Tyub-Karagan Day Tour

Saura is a coastal area of the Caspian Sea, where in a small canyon is hidden a unique "Black Pearl" of the Mangystau Peninsula - a small freshwater Saura Lake. The stony dry channel formed by seasonal watercourses is cut off by a ten-meter step that forms a waterfall unusual for these places during rainy periods. The depth of the lake is about five meters, which gives the water a dark color. The depth and constant recharge by ground water allow the relict freshwater turtle species to live here. In the morning, when the shore rocks are heated in the sun, the turtles crawl out to warm themselves up. The most amazing thing is that these freshwater turtles are repeatedly found in the Caspian coast, calmly swimming in the salt sea water.

According to archaeologists, Shakpak-Ata underground mosque was built in the IX-X centuries. It was named after Shakpak-Ata, a Sufi healer of extraordinary power, who lived here with his students in a cave during enemy raids. People's rumors carried his fame everywhere, and there were no diseases he could not cure. Centuries have passed, but people still come here to cure either the body or the soul - the power of the ancient healer still saves the sick from various ailments. Shakpak-Ata is interesting from several points of view: architecturally, because it is a space carved into a solid rock and historically, because it is erected by existed historical personality. An impressive number of legends and myths surround this sacred place and people are worshipping it for centuries.

Torysh or the Valley of Stone Balls. According to one of the local legends, hordes of enemies came to the Mangystau expanses, covering the land like locusts. The inhabitants turned to the heavens in prayer for help and were heard. The heavens opened up with torrents of rain, thunder and lightning. In an instant, all enemies turned to stone. So appeared in the expanses of Mangystau endless fields and ridges of unusual stone formations - spherical concretions. Their size reaches 3-4 meters in diameter, some are even larger. The concretions form bizarre heaps of balls, eggs, mushrooms, cylinders and animals.

The legendary Sherkala Mount is a natural symbol of Mangystau. From a certain point of view it looks like a giant yurt set by mythical nomadic giants in the folds of the Akmysh terrain. Sherkala Mount is a large remnant of unusual shapes, which emerged during the formation of mountain valleys near Karatau as a result of the rise of land from the sea depths. One of the legends about the Sherkala says that once upon a time valiant knights were defended there from hordes of enemies. They fought like tigers. The last defenders of the mountain had hid in the underground passages inside the mountain and remained in them forever. That is how the name of this stronghold of heroism and independence appeared - the Sherkala or the city of tigers.