Caves of the Kok-Kiya River

Kok-Kiya River (Green Slope) - the easternmost right tributary of Ak-Sai, flows down from the northwestern slope of the Kokshaala-Too ridge. In its middle course, the river runs through an impressive canyon, the walls of which show openings of caves and grottos. One of these openings, on the left side of the lower part of the canyon, leads to the Sports Cave, discovered by speleologists of Kyrgyzstan in 1973.

The cave is located 15 km south of the confluence of the Kok-Kiya and Ak-Sai rivers. The length of the cave is 600 meters, and its depth is 30 meters. Ten meters from the entrance, powerful ice stalactites block the way. The underground passage is narrow, but after a couple of dozen meters, it becomes spacious. The walls and ceiling are smooth and clean. On the right, there is a corridor along which a stream flows, winding away for about a hundred meters. Then the cavity splits into many narrow water-polished tubes, forming a complex labyrinth of circular passages. The main passage of the cave leads downward.



The floor is a chaos of huge ice-covered boulders. Suddenly, the tunnel ends in a shallow vertical drop, beyond which it breaks into narrow vertical tubes, the formation of which was clearly influenced by thermal updrafts.

The area where the Sports Cave is located is characterized by the wildness of nature and unexplored speleology. According to specialists, the area has great potential for further search and research of caves. Additionally, the valley of the Kok-Kiya River and its tributaries is distinguished by the beauty of the surrounding nature. In the upper reaches of the right tributary Kël-Suu of the Ak-Sai River lies a unique periodically disappearing lake Kël-Suu, extending up to 10 km and up to 1 km wide. Water from the lake bursts out through the cave with a powerful roar. The shores are covered with magnificent alpine meadows, over which loom powerful glaciers that cover the Sary-Beles ridge.