Caves and underground mosques of Kazakhstan: which one fits your trip

The caves and underground mosques of Kazakhstan that most travellers ask about are in Mangystau, the desert region inland from Aktau on the Caspian. Beket-Ata and Shopan-Ata are rock-cut mosques and active pilgrimage sites. This page also covers three mosques built above ground, in Astana, Pavlodar and Zharkent, for travellers whose route never reaches the far west.

Only two of these are underground, and both are near Aktau

The two rock-cut mosques here are Beket-Ata and Shopan-Ata, both in Mangystau in western Kazakhstan. Each is a sacred site that pilgrims visit, not a show cave. We could not confirm any natural cave open to visitors that has its own page on this site, so this collection does not list one.

The other three are city mosques above ground. They belong here because travellers often choose between them as a religious-architecture stop. If you want to go underground, you need to plan a trip to Aktau. If you are based in Astana or Almaty, the city mosques fit a shorter trip.

How the five places compare

The main split is effort. The Mangystau sites are a weekend or long trip from Aktau, while the city mosques are day trips.

Straight-line distances are always shorter than the road. The only drive time we can give is the 4–5 hours to Beket-Ata.

Beket-Ata and Shopan-Ata work as one desert trip

Shopan-Ata lies on the way to Beket-Ata, so both can be combined in one trip from Aktau. Beket-Ata is cut into a chalk cliff at Oglandy, on the edge of the Ustyurt plateau. There is a pilgrims’ guesthouse, and photography inside the mosque is not allowed.

Shopan-Ata is a mosque hollowed out of a ravine wall above a gully. Its hall measures 7.1 × 5.1 m, and the shepherd saint’s grave is surrounded by tombstones dated from the 10th to the 19th century. Since July 2026 Beket-Ata has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mangystau’s rock mosques, and the Shopan-Ata page also lists it as UNESCO-listed in 2026.

This is remote desert. Without a car, you will need to arrange transport in Aktau. We could not confirm public transport to either site.

The city mosques are easier stops with strong architecture

Hazret Sultan on the right bank of the Yesil in Astana opened in 2012. It has a 51 m dome, described as the largest in Kazakhstan, and four 77 m minarets. It is an active Friday mosque about 4 km in a straight line from the centre.

The Mashkhur Zhusup Mosque in Pavlodar opened in 2001. It holds 1,500 worshippers, has four 63 m minarets, and a shanyrak-shaped dome with a chandelier of 434 lamps. It is worth a stop only if Pavlodar is already on your route.

The Zharkent Mosque is the odd one out. It was built in 1895 by a Chinese architect and Uyghur craftsmen with money from the community. It has an upturned Chinese roof, a timber frame assembled without nails, spruce columns and paintings of birds and fish. Today it is a museum, protected since 1982.

When to go depends on desert or city

The Mangystau sites are best in spring and autumn, and the city mosques from May to September. May and September are the months that suit all five best.

If you visit Mangystau in high summer, the ratings drop to merely possible. Expect a long, hot drive. We could not confirm temperatures for these sites.

City, historic and rock-cut mosques are listed together in mosques in Kazakhstan.