Shipton's Arch

Never heard of it? Neither had we, but we decided to check it out anyway. The fact that you have to drive towards Kazakhstan and that you can only get there in a 4X4 was the main attraction but it's apparently the tallest arch in the world as well.

About 5km from our destination we stopped to pick up a local chap (who lives in the middle of nowhere, looking after goats). He walked us through a narrow gorge, showing us the way and helping with ladders. The arch is not the easiest thing to get to and when we arrived we weren't that impressed. Our 'guide' turned back and with various interesting hand signals let us know that there was a very steep edge near the arch. We walked another 20 minutes and arrived at a viewpoint that gave us a better idea of just how tall the arch really is (unfortunately no picture could ever). I reckon you could easily fit the Eiffel Tower under it and not even Sylvester Stallone would attempt climbing it. I have no idea just how high it is. I'd have to guess that it's VERY high.