Saimaluu Tash

Kyrgyzstan


Spread over two remote valleys high in the mountains at an altitude of up to 3400m, this massive petroglyph site encompasses over 10,000 individual works dating from the 2nd to 8th centuries. Believed to have been a holy site for even longer, many of the carvings here are believed to have accompanied offerings to the gods in the hope of bringing bountiful harvests, successful hunts, and other mainstays of tribal life.

At high elevation and accessed over even higher passes via a glacier walk, the site is only accessible for a month or two each summer starting in late July.