World Heritage Identification Number: 1743
World Heritage since: 2025
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇷🇺 Russian Federation
Continent: Europe
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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The Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave: A Window into Prehistoric Life
The Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025, offers a unique glimpse into the lives of our prehistoric ancestors. Situated in the Southern Ural Mountains of Bashkortostan, this remarkable site is nestled within a karst massif near the Belaya and Shulgan Rivers.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Located in the Southern Ural Mountains of Bashkortostan, the Shulgan-Tash Cave contains extensive Late Palaeolithic rock art. Set within a karst massif near the Belaya and Shulgan Rivers, it features large halls and deep chambers across two levels. The paintings depict steppe fauna—mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, bison, horses, and a Bactrian camel—alongside anthropomorphic figures, abstract signs, and geometric motifs like the “Kapova trapezoids.” Archaeological finds offer insights into the artistic process and domestic life of its prehistoric inhabitants.
Encyclopedia Record: Shulgan-Tash Cave
Shulgan-Tash Cave, also known as Kapova Cave, is a limestone karst cave in the Burzyansky District of Bashkortostan, Russia. It is located in the southern Ural Mountains, on the Belaya River in the Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve, approximately 200 km (120 mi) south-east of Ufa.Additional Site Details
Area: 288.5 hectares
Coordinates: 53.0494444444 , 57.0720277778
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© Элиза Азатовна Мусина, CC BY-SA 4.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
