Boy-Bulok cave

Caves of Uzbekistan

The deepest cave of the continent of Asia Boy-Bulok (1415 m) is situated in Surkhandarja region, 60 kilometers from Baysun regional center, in Chul-Bair mountain range (part of Surhantau mountain range). The inhabitants discovered the entrance into this cave a long time ago, as the whole year round a small stream flows out from it, but nobody dared to go into for a long time, especially after the event when one of the town inhabitants, a the teacher named Mustafa, vanished in the cave. Only after 20 years were his remains taken out of the cave by speleologists from Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk).

Year by year, due to their diligence and great efforts, the cave opened its secrets, and at last in 1995 at a depth of 1415 m its lowest point was reached. Further on the way was blocked by an impassable siphon (passage filled with water). This cave is absolutely unique: it has only three shafts, the depth of each is 20-30 m, but also an uncountable number of terraces, the height of each is up to 8 meters and one solid narrow meander (curved crack with the width of 0,5 – 2 m) at the bottom of which the stream is flowing.

After reaching the bottom of the cave, the investigation of its side passages was started. At last one more gallery was found in the wall of the main entrance at a height of 3 meters. It led to the new younger part of the cave with bigger and deeper inner shafts. But this very promising (regarding further possible discoveries) part of the cave ended with a big blocking landslide in a huge hall at the depth of 680 m. The investigations are still going on because the potential amplitude of the cave (the interval between its highest and lowest points) might be increased one kilometer more due to ascending passages and could give rise to the formation of the biggest cave amplitude ever recorded before – more than 2,5 km!