Sunduki Ridge

The Sunduki are a line of five sandstone hills on the open steppe of northern Khakassia, each topped by a block that from a distance reads as a chest or trunk sitting on the summit, which is where the name comes from. They stand in country dense with archaeology: the Minusinsk basin holds thousands of kurgans, standing stones and rock art panels from the Okunev, Tagar and later cultures, and the Sunduki themselves carry petroglyphs pecked and painted on their faces and on slabs around them across a very long span of time. Claims that the hills functioned as an ancient astronomical observatory, with sightlines to solstice sunrises, circulate widely and originate largely with one researcher; they are not accepted archaeology, and the site is worth seeing without them. The steppe around is open, hot in summer, and the sunrise from the ridge over the plain is what people come early for.

What you actually see

• The five hills - sandstone rises capped by blocks that read as chests from a distance.
• The rock art - petroglyphs on the faces and surrounding slabs from several periods.
• The Minusinsk archaeology - kurgans and standing stones across the surrounding steppe.
• The observatory claim - a widely repeated theory that mainstream archaeology does not accept.

When to go

May to September; spring for green steppe, and early morning for the sunrise people come for. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The astronomical claims are not established and are presented as fact by some guides. Tracks between the hills are rough. No shade, and summer heat on the steppe is severe. Rock art is faint and needs low light and a guide to find.

Nearby

Lake Shira and Lake Bele are south; Abakan and the Khakassian museums are further.