An atlas of Earth’s mysterious places — megaliths, pyramids, lost and sunken cities — with the evidence shown plainly: what is verified, what is contested, and what is still unknown.

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Kyrgyzstan

15 places in the atlas, 7 of them inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage.

Kinds found here

Archaeological wonders13
Rock art sites9
Petroglyphs7
Ancient cities6
Fortified cities2
Landscapes2

How well established

Verified15

Top regions

Jalal-Abad Region, Toguz-Toro District, Fergana Range2
Chüy Region, Chuy District, Burana village 12 km southwest of Tokmok (Chu Valley, near Suyab)1
Chüy Region, Tokmok District, Ak-Beshim village 8 km west-southwest of Tokmok (Chu Valley Silk Road)1
Chüy Region, Ysyk-Ata District, Krasnaya Rechka village 30 km east of Bishkek (Chu Valley)1

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Verified15 Widely accepted0 Contested

Chüy Region, Ysyk-Ata District, Krasnaya Rechka village west field adjoining Suyab (Ak-Beshim) Chu Valley Silk Road cluster (Burana–Suyab–Navekat triad)

Issyk-Kul Oblast, Cholpon-Ata foothills of Kungey Ala-Too1

Issyk-Kul Region, Cholpon-Ata City, open-air museum north sector, 42 ha stone garden1

Jalal-Abad Region, Fergana range Araköl lake bench 600 m below main lake1

Jalal-Abad Region, Toguz-Toro District, Fergana Range 3200 m1

Jalal-Abad Region, Toguz-Toro District, Fergana Range, east moraine ridge 3280 m1

Jalal-Abad Region, Toguz-Toro, eastern ridge above Saimaluu-Tash lake1

Jalal-Abad, Ferghana Range1

Hypothetical0

Unverified0

Pseudoarchaeology0

Heritage

UNESCO World Heritage only

Excavation

Partially excavated12 Excavated1 Unexcavated1 Excavation ongoing1

13 places

Archaeological wonders

✓Verified

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Saimaluu-Tash West Valley — Fergana Range High Petroglyphs

Bronze Age to Medieval · Andronovo, Saka, Wusun, Turkic

West cirque of Saimaluu-Tash at 3120 m with 1072 boulders, Andronovo ploughing and shaman processions.

✓Verified

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Cholpon-Ata North Petroglyph Field

Early Nomadic to Early Medieval · Saka, Wusun, Turkic (Issyk-Kul basin pastoralists)

North sector of 42-ha Cholpon-Ata lake-shore museum with Saka snow-leopard petroglyphs.

✓Verified

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Cholpon-Ata Petroglyph Open-Air Museum

Bronze Age to Early Medieval (Andronovo to Göktürk) · Andronovo, Saka (Scythian), Wusun and Turkic nomads

Issyk-Kul glacial boulder field with 2000 petroglyphs 2000 BCE–800 CE and lake panorama.

✓Verified

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Saimaluu-Tash East Ridge Cirque

Bronze Age to Medieval · Andronovo, Saka, Turkic, Karakhanid

East ridge cirque 900 m east of main lake with Turkic falconry medieval phase.

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Ancient city

Suyab (Ak-Beshim)

Western Turkic → Tang protectorate → Karluks/Qarakhanid 6–12 c. CE · Sogdian → Turkic Khaganate → Karluks (Silk Road Buddhist-Christian-Manichaean)

Sogdian–Turkic Silk Road capital (c.6–12 c. CE) at Ak-Beshim in the Chu Valley — 35 ha walled shahristan (650×560 m) with Buddhist temple complex (two temples 50×30 m with clay Buddhas), Nestorian…

✓Verified

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Ancient city

Balasagun (Burana Tower)

Samanid → Karakhanid → Qara Khitai → Mongol 9–14 c. CE · Perso-Islamic Samanid → Turkic Karakhanid (Qarakhanid)

Karakhanid capital Balasagun (c.10–14 c. CE) in the Chu Valley near Tokmok — 36 ha shahristan (650×560 m) with the iconic Burana minaret (24 m surviving, originally 45 m, 11 c., Karakhanid brickwork…

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Ancient city

Navekat (Krasnaya Rechka – Ak-Beshim West)

Sogdian 6–8 c. → Karluks 8–9 c. → Qarakhanid 10–12 c. · Sogdian → Turkic Khaganate → Qarakhanid (Chu Silk Road)

Sogdian Navekat city (6–12 c. CE) at Krasnaya Rechka 18 km west Suyab — 20 ha shahristan with 3 m Buddha vs Suyab's khagan palace.

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Ancient city

Navkat (Krasnaya Rechka)

Sogdian → Western Turkic → Karakhanid 6–12 c. CE · Sogdian–Turkic (Silk Road Sogdian colony, Nestorian–Buddhist)

Major Sogdian–Turkic Silk Road city (c.6–12 c. CE) at Krasnaya Rechka village in the Chu Valley — 45 ha shahristan (700×550 m, walls 10 m high), Buddhist monastery 30×25 m with 5 m Buddha,…

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Saimaluu-Tash West Ashu Pass Petroglyphs

Saka to Turkic Medieval · Saka, Wusun, Turkic

Western cirque shelf of Saimaluu-Tash at Ashu Pass, a glacial hanging valley 2 km west of Saimaluu-Tash I main valley floor at 3420 m.

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Saimaluu-Tash East Summit — Upper Fergana Crest Petroglyphs

Bronze Age to Early Turkic (2000 BCE – 800 CE) · Fergana pastoralist to Saka to Kyrgyz proto

Skyline crest 3200 m with 200+ ibex and deer blocks above main lake field.

✓Verified

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Saimaluu Tash Petroglyphs

Bronze Age to Turkic (~2000 BCE – 800 CE) · Andronovo, Saka, Turkic nomadic

Elevated 3,200-m boulder field on the Ferghana ridge preserving perhaps 107,000 images on 10,000 varnished basalt boulders, making it among the most numerous rock-art locales on earth.

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Saimaluu-Tash West Lake Shelf Petroglyphs

Saka to Qarakhanid · Saka, Wusun, Qarakhanid

Lake-margin boulder bar at the tarn below Saimaluu-Tash West cirque, a 400-m shoreline shelf with 180 panels on glacially-rafted quartzite.

✓VerifiedUNESCO

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan · Rock art

Saimaluu-Tash Araköl Lake — Mid-Mountain Boulder Field

Early Iron Age to Karakhanid (800 BCE – 1000 CE) · Saka to Kyrgyz–Karakhanid nomad

Mid-bench tarn with herder and Arabic blessing graffiti 600 m below plateau.

Kyrgyzstan

Kinds found here

How well established

Top regions

Category

Heritage

Excavation

Tags

13 places

Saimaluu-Tash West Valley — Fergana Range High Petroglyphs

Cholpon-Ata Petroglyph Open-Air Museum

Saimaluu-Tash East Ridge Cirque

Suyab (Ak-Beshim)

Balasagun (Burana Tower)

Navekat (Krasnaya Rechka – Ak-Beshim West)

Navkat (Krasnaya Rechka)

Saimaluu-Tash West Ashu Pass Petroglyphs

Saimaluu-Tash East Summit — Upper Fergana Crest Petroglyphs

Saimaluu Tash Petroglyphs

Saimaluu-Tash West Lake Shelf Petroglyphs

Saimaluu-Tash Araköl Lake — Mid-Mountain Boulder Field