Shipton’s Arch

Shipton’s Arch is the tallest natural arch in the World at a towering 500m high and 100m wide, meaning that a small airplane can pass through! It is one of the least well known top twenty natural wonders of the World. It was first documented after a visit in 1947 by English mountaineer Eric Shipton, who made the arch known to the West in his book Mountains of Tartary.

It stayed forgotten for many years due to its remote inaccessible location within the Kara Tagh (Black Mountain) range. It was only as recently as May 2000 that an expedition sponsored by National Geographic rediscovered the arch marking its position so that foreigners can now find it.

“This arch far exceeded all my expectations. It is quite simply breathtaking when the arch is revealed before your eyes at the summit of your uphill scramble and well worth the climb. Due to its extreme remoteness you can be overwhelmed by the absolute silence.”
Janina Henly Wales UK, March 2009