The cave is best known for its Late Paleolithic rock paintings (Upper Paleolithic, ca. 14,500–36,400 years old), which were discovered in 1959.
More than 190 images (of which 30-50 are well preserved), mainly made with red ochre (sometimes with charcoal outlines).
Depicted: steppe fauna such as mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, bison, horses, and a unique two-humped camel (Bactrian camel) — the only known prehistoric depiction of this.
Also anthropomorphic figures, abstract signs, and geometric motifs (including the famous “Kapova trapezoids”).
The paintings are located deep inside the cave (often >300 m from the entrance) in various chambers on multiple levels.
In 2025, the site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as an important example of prehistoric art outside Western Europe.
It is one of the easternmost sites of Paleolithic cave art in Europe and offers insight into the life and art of Cro-Magnon people during the Ice Age.
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