Sulaiman-Too Sacred Mountain

Rising abruptly from the city of Osh at the edge of the Fergana Valley, the five-peaked mass of Sulaiman-Too has guided Silk Road travellers and pilgrims for over 1,500 years. Its slopes hold caves and stones carved with petroglyphs, 17 places of worship still in use, and two reconstructed 16th-century mosques; devotees climb seeking cures and long life, blending Islamic and far older beliefs. In 2009 the mountain became Kyrgyzstan's first UNESCO World Heritage inscription.