Nature of Samarkand region

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” 

Lao Tzu.

Tours on natural sights of Samarkand region.

The Kirktau Plateau (Kirgtag - “Forty Mountains”) is located in the western part of the Zeravshan Range, in the Chakalikalan Mountains, in the Urgut region, Samarkand region. A little to the west are the mountains of latitudinal distribution - Kirtkau.
The length of the plateau, from west to east, is about 2 kilometers, width up to 340 meters. The average height of the plateau is from 2400 to 2479 meters above sea level. To the east of the plateau is Mount Kyrktau with a height of 2496.2 meters above sea level.
In the southern part of the Kirktau plateau there is Kievskaya Cave (KILSI Cave - Kiev Laboratory of Speleological Research) - a karst cave with a depth of 990 meters. The total length of the cave is 1850 meters, volume 36 000 cubic meters, depth up to 950 meters.
It is a cascade of inclined slit-like limestone galleries and wells up to 90 meters deep. The Kirktau Plateau is replete with all kinds of caves with vertical karst cavities, grottoes, with underground labyrinths, karst springs and lakes. A total of about sixty karst cavities in the vicinity of the plateau were noted and studied.

Authority and photos:
Alexander Petrov.