Saimaluu-Tash

Saimaluu-Tash, the embroidered stones, is a field of glacial boulders in a valley at around 3,000 metres in the Fergana range, carrying somewhere in the region of ten thousand carvings made between roughly the third millennium BC and the medieval period: ploughing scenes with yoked oxen, hunts, dancers, sun-headed figures, wheeled carts and animals in vast numbers. It is among the largest petroglyph sites in Central Asia and one of the least accessible, buried under snow for most of the year and reachable only in July and August by a long walk or ride from Kazarman over a pass. There is nothing at the site: no shelter, no guard, no facilities, and visits mean camping. Kazarman itself is remote, on a rough road between Jalal-Abad and Naryn.

History

The name means "place of patterned or embroidered stone". The carvings are thought to date from the early 3rd millennium BC through the Iron Age into the Middle Ages, though exact dating is disputed and reliable only from the 1st millennium BC, when the Saka animal style appears (Wikipedia, Saymaluu-Tash).

What you'll find

• Thousands of carvings - boulders covered in petroglyphs across the valley.
• Ploughing and hunting scenes - some of the oldest agricultural images in the region.
• The high valley - a glacial basin at around 3,000 metres.
• Total isolation - no infrastructure of any kind at the site.

When to go

July and August only. Snow covers the site the rest of the year and the approach pass is impassable. Even in season, snow can lie in the valley and hide the stones.

Practical notes

The approach is a long day on foot or horseback with a serious climb, then camping at altitude with everything carried. Kazarman is hard to reach in itself. Guides and horses are arranged locally and not always available. Weather can make the trip impossible with no notice.

Nearby

Kazarman is the base; Naryn lies east over the passes.

Key facts