Turkmenistan nature - Caves

Turkmenistan is famous for its caves. The most known of them are the Karlyuk caves. They are located on the slope of Kugitangtau Ridge and are considered unique natural sanctuaries, the are equal to none in entire Eurasia; they are by right included in the List of the World Legacy of UNESCO.

The Karlyuk caves are typical representation of various karst forms. There have been found around 60 caves with total length of 50 km, with galleries, passages, halls, labyrinths.

The caves are rich in wandering formations of plaster, calcite, aragonite in the form of stalactites, stalagmites, stone curtains etc. A lot of caves have not been explored yet.

Kov-Ata Cave is unique due to its hydrosulphuric lake. The cave is well-known as an inhabitation of the largest colony of bats.