Jeep Tour to the Underground Mosques of Mangystau is an engaging sacred journey through the northern part of the Tupkaragan Peninsula, where rugged desert plateaus meet deep canyons and the coast of the Caspian Sea. The route runs in reliable, fully prepared 4x4 off-road vehicles accompanied by an experienced driver-guide, introducing travelers to ancient rock-hewn underground shrines, historic necropolises, and unique wild oases.
Trip to the Kenty-Baba Necropolis – a visit to a unique 10th–15th-century historical and cultural memorial complex often referred to as an open-air museum of folk stone architecture. Preserved here are ancient tower-shaped mazars, saganatams, and kulpytas stelae adorned with intricate limestone carvings, representations of animals, floral ornaments, and nomadic clan tamgas.
Sultan-Epe is an underground mosque and an entire complex of monuments and ancient structures surrounding the shrine. Located here as well are Sultan-Epe Canyon, a freshwater well yielding cool, pure water, a verdant grove of trees amidst the desert, and ancient dwelling sites of people who inhabited this area in antiquity. The complex sits at the head of a picturesque rocky canyon that descends into a deep ravine draining directly into Sarytash Bay.
People come to the mosque to seek healing and the patronage of ancestral spirits. The Sultan-Epe Mosque features 9 chambers with high ceilings, allowing visitors to stand at full height in several rooms. Daylight enters through specialized lightwells cut into the stone vaults, creating a contemplative, secluded ambiance.
Sultan-Epe is a revered saint, protector, and patron of mariners, fishermen, and travelers, and a healer venerated by locals since ancient times for his righteous deeds. According to tradition, he heard the pleas of those in distress at sea and saved ships from violent storms. The Sultan-Epe Mosque stands as a major pilgrimage site and one of the most prominent historical and cultural attractions on the Mangyshlak Peninsula.
GPS geographic coordinates of the Sultan-Epe underground mosque:
44°28'17"N 51°00'37"E
What else is located nearby along the route:
• Zhygylgan Tract ("Fallen Land") – an immense geological sinkhole along the Caspian coast featuring a chaotic tumble of giant stone slabs, preserving fossilized footprints of prehistoric saber-toothed cats and ancient ungulates;
• Sultan-Epe Canyon and the coast of Sarytash Bay – scenic rocky cliffs offering panoramic vistas over the Caspian Sea;
• Shakpak-Ata Underground Mosque (30 km to the southwest) – a unique cross-shaped 10th–13th-century rock-cut mosque featuring snow-white halls, carved portals, and ancient petroglyphs;
• Kanga-Baba Necropolis and Oasis – a picturesque grove of century-old elm trees, a natural spring, and the ruins of an ancient stone mosque-madrasa;
• Picturesque Kapamsay Canyon with vertical white chalk walls and giant natural stone grottos.
From the town of Fort-Shevchenko, the distance to the mosque is 57 kilometers; it can be reached comfortably in a high-clearance off-road vehicle, and you can take advantage of our company's tour services.
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