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International Speleological Expedition to Boysun-Tau – 2024
Preliminary dates of the expedition: 01 – 20 August, 2024
The deepest caves in Asia are concentrated here, on the Khoja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge, which is a spur of the Boysun-Tau ridge.
The purpose of the expedition:
– Search and exploration of new caves in an unexplored karst area,
– New speleological research in new caves
One of the majestic Baysun-Tau ridges, the Khoja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge rises above the surrounding relief and rare mountain villages at 3600 m.
Its length is more than 100 km from southwest to northeast. Tectonic processes have raised limestone strata to an altitude of more than 3600 m above sea level. As a result, a vast inclined plateau was formed, which ends with a vertical cliff with a height of almost 500 m, which faces the southeast.
Today, about 30 famous caves are known here. Some of them:
– Boy-Bulok cave is the deepest cave in Asia .. The entrance to the cave is located almost under the edge of the plateau on a vertical wall. The depth of the cave is 1415 m, the length is 14800 m. The cave ends with a siphon, which cavers have yet to explore.
– Dark Star Cave – was discovered by Russian geologists, and was first explored in 1990 by the British group of speleologists “Aspex 90”. Air temperature inside, from -2 to -5 degrees. The length of the cave is 17400 m, the depth is 908 m.
– Uralskaya Cave, length – 2500 m, depth – 565 m.
– Festivalnaya Cave, length – 16200 m, depth – 625 m
And also other deepest caves in Asia.
Usually speleo expeditions explored the southwestern part of the Khoja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge wall. But, until now, the northeastern part of the ridge remained unexplored, which remained inaccessible for visiting cavers. Previously, only the military could be in this part of Uzbekistan, since the area is located near the border of Tajikistan. Today the situation has changed and the area is becoming accessible to both tourists and speleologists.
20 km southeast of the Khoja-Gur-Gur-Ata ridge, there is another ridge similar to its northwestern stone neighbor, which has an inclined plateau and a vertical cliff facing southeast. This attractive area could become the object of research in future expeditions.
The Baysun-Tau karst region is huge. In 2022, for the first time, we want to concentrate in a completely unexplored area called Belya- Auty, which is similar to neighboring karst regions, with large caves. The Belya-Auta region is a northeastern continuation of the single mountain range Khoja-Gur-Gur-Ata, where the deepest caves, such as Boy-Bulok and Dark Star, are already known.
We plan to explore the 30 km northeastern part of the limestone wall and plateau, which were previously closed areas. From the small mountain village of Bakhcha, one can already see the edge of the plateau with a breaking wall. From here begins the path to an unknown limestone region.
Due to its remoteness from civilizations, the area remains inaccessible. The local natural conditions made the life of people harsh. But despite this, people remain hospitable.
On the way of our expedition, 50 km from the small town of Denau, there is another interesting cave – Khojaipak, from which a large stream with warm hydrogen sulfide water flows out. Water flow rate, about 20 liters per second. The cave smells of hydrogen sulfide perceptibly and people are afraid to go deeper. As usual, the locals say that the cave goes far. Previously, there were risky attempts to go deep into the cave. But all the daredevils were hindered by narrow spaces, hot air and a pungent smell of hydrogen sulfide. Near the village of Bakhcha (the starting point for the high plateau) there are 4 groups of multi-jet waterfalls “Sangardak”. Streams of water burst to the surface from holes in the limestone wall. Above the waterfalls, at an altitude of 2500, there is a karst plateau. No one has ever worked in this mysterious karst region. Perhaps at the top, on the plateau, there are entrances to caves, which serve as accumulators of water flows, forming a large hydrogeological system, ending in the formation of waterfalls. The most interesting object of research is an almost vertical wall about 500 m high, in which the entrances to the caves are located.
A strong and experienced team of speleologists is needed to explore the area. The most favorable time for the expedition is July-August.
For fruitful and effective work, you need at least 15 days and more than 10-12 people. For the delivery of goods upstairs, we need a caravan of donkeys. But, first, you still need to find a place for the base camp on the slopes of the mountains.
The route of the expedition starts at the Tashkent airport, from where we have to get by train to the town of Dinau and then by car to the mountain village of Bakhcha. Here is the start of the extreme expedition.
We plan to use local donkeys to deliver equipment, food, gasoline and other luggage, under the vertical limestone wall and on the limestone plateau. Of course, local guides will show us the way to the plateau and show us some of the entrances to the caves.
Speleological research in Boysun-Tau becomes a new period in the history of world speleology, when the pole of the deepest underground research moves to Central Asia.
In this regard, we invite international teams of speleologists, clubs, associations, to explore the unknown karst regions of the Baysun-Tau mountain range in the south of Uzbekistan.
Interested cavers teams can contact us by address: info@speleo.kg
