Boybuloq Cave

Boybuloq is a limestone cave at the edge of the Baysuntau ridge, a southern spur of the Gissar range. Its main entrance lies at about 2,650 metres above sea level, and the cave runs down for more than 1,500 metres over some 19 kilometres of passages. The nearest village is Dehibolo, north-east of Boysun.

Unusually, the cave was shaped mainly by condensation rather than by rain soaking through from above, so it is a long chain of very narrow, steep passages and short shafts ending in a flooded siphon. Russian cavers from Yekaterinburg have explored it since 1984 with teams from several European countries. It is not a show cave: there are no paths or lights, and it is a destination only for experienced caving expeditions.

• The deepest known cave in Central Asia
• Entrance high in the Baysuntau mountains
• An active site of international caving expeditions