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Buddhist Termez: Fayaz-Tepa and Kara-Tepa

Uzbekistan is usually seen as a country of blue domes and madrasas. But a thousand years before Islam, in the south, on the banks of the Amu Darya, monks in red robes prayed to the Buddha. Termez was a major Buddhist center of the Silk Road — and its monasteries still lie in the sand by the Afghan border.

A Kvazar guide · Updated 2026 · ~8 min read

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Termez is the southernmost city of Uzbekistan, standing on the bank of the Amu Darya, along which runs the border with Afghanistan. Here, at the crossroads of ancient routes, Buddhism flourished in the first centuries CE — long before Islam came to these lands. The surviving monasteries of Fayaz-Tepa and Kara-Tepa are a rare testimony for Central Asia to that era and one of the most unexpected pages in Uzbekistan's history.

In short: Fayaz-Tepa and Kara-Tepa are ancient Buddhist monastery complexes on the edge of Old Termez, in southern Uzbekistan. They belong to the era of the Kushan Empire and the heyday of the Great Silk Road: roughly the 1st century BCE to the 3rd–4th centuries CE (some finds date their existence as late as the 6th century). Fayaz-Tepa included a temple, a monastery and a stupa and is famed for well-preserved paintings and sculptures; it was discovered by archaeologists in 1963. Kara-Tepa is a cave-and-surface monastery on three hills, where Buddhist monks lived. With the arrival of Islam, Buddhism in the region faded. Today these are monuments of pre-Islamic and Buddhist antiquity unique to Central Asia.
In this guide Why Buddhism in Uzbekistan Fayaz-Tepa Kara-Tepa The Kushan Empire Where it all vanished How to visit FAQ

Why were there Buddhist monasteries in Uzbekistan?

In the first centuries CE, the south of present-day Uzbekistan was part of the Kushan Empire — a powerful state stretching from Central Asia to northern India. Buddhism, born in India, spread north along the trade routes, and Termez, as an important node of the Great Silk Road, became one of its centers. Temples, monasteries and stupas were built here; monks and pilgrims came.

This overturns the familiar idea of Uzbekistan. Long before mosques and madrasas, this land was multi-faith: different beliefs coexisted side by side, and Buddhism was one of the region's leading religions. Termez is vivid proof that Central Asia was always a crossroads of cultures, where East met the even farther East.

What is Fayaz-Tepa famous for?

Fayaz-Tepa is a Buddhist temple complex on the edge of Old Termez, which included a temple, a monastery and a stupa with a large spherical dome. It was discovered in 1963 by the archaeologist L. Albaum and named after the Uzbek archaeologist R. Fayazov, who assisted the excavations. The complex is famed for its rich paintings and well-preserved sculptures, reflecting the Buddhist art of the Kushan era.

Coins of the Kushan kings found here helped date the monument: its existence is placed roughly between the 1st century BCE and the 6th century CE. Among the finds are images of the Buddha, figures of donors in Kushan dress, and shards with inscriptions in Brahmi and Bactrian. Of particular interest is the stupa: inside a large structure, an earlier small stupa of the 1st century BCE was "walled up."

A stupa within a stupa. At Fayaz-Tepa, the large stupa was built around an earlier small stupa of the 1st century BCE — it was literally enclosed within the new structure. This vividly shows how a shrine grew and was renewed over the centuries without losing its sacred core. Such a device is a characteristic feature of Buddhist architecture.

What is Kara-Tepa?

Kara-Tepa is a Buddhist monastery in the center of Old Termez, located on three hills. It combined surface and cave structures: clay temples and living quarters above ground and cells carved into the rock. Here, by archaeologists' accounts, a Buddhist monastic community lived. The monastery operated in roughly the same centuries as Fayaz-Tepa, during the heyday of Buddhism in the region.

The combination of caves and surface buildings makes Kara-Tepa especially interesting: the monks used the coolness of the underground cells for solitary practice, escaping the hot climate. Excavations turned up staircases that led to vanished upper floors, as well as fragments of paintings and inscriptions. Kara-Tepa and neighboring Fayaz-Tepa together form a single Buddhist landscape of ancient Termez.

What was the Kushan Empire?

The Kushan Empire was a powerful state of the first centuries CE, uniting the lands of Central Asia, Afghanistan and northern India. It played a key role in trade along the Great Silk Road and became one of the main conduits of Buddhism to the north. The king Kanishka I was especially renowned as a patron of Buddhism and an initiator of large-scale temple building.

It was under the Kushans that Buddhist art flourished, fusing Indian, Hellenistic and local traditions. The Termez monuments are part of this cultural synthesis: in their sculpture and paintings you can see the mingling of the artistic languages of different peoples who met on the trade routes. The Kushan era explains why Buddhist monasteries ended up here, in the south of present-day Uzbekistan.

A thousand years before the blue domes, here by the Amu Darya, people prayed to the Buddha. Termez remembers both eras.

Why did Buddhism vanish here?

With the spread of Islam, which began in the region in the first centuries after the Arab conquests, the influence of Buddhist culture began to weaken. The Buddhist centers gradually fell into decline and were abandoned, and mosques and mausoleums replaced the temples and monasteries. In time the complexes themselves were buried under layers of earth and were rediscovered only by archaeologists in the 20th century.

So one religious era replaced another, but the traces of the past didn't vanish without a trace. Curiously, the later Sufi complex of Al-Hakim at-Termizi was, by researchers' accounts, built on the site of a ruined Buddhist temple — a vivid symbol of the continuity of holy places. Termez keeps the memory of all its eras at once.

How do you visit the Buddhist monuments?

Fayaz-Tepa and Kara-Tepa are on the edge of Old Termez, in the border zone by the Amu Darya, so a permit or a guide may be required to visit — this is worth checking in advance. Termez itself is the center of the Surkhandarya region; you can reach it by plane from Tashkent or by train. Many see the Buddhist monuments together with the city's other antiquities.

Some of the finds from Fayaz-Tepa and Kara-Tepa are kept in museums — in Termez itself and in Tashkent — so it makes sense to complement an acquaintance with the Buddhist heritage by visiting the Termez Archaeological Museum. A trip here is for those interested not in the ceremonial but in the deep history of Uzbekistan, reaching back two thousand years.

Frequently asked questions about Buddhist Termez

Were there Buddhists in Uzbekistan?

Yes. In the first centuries CE the south of present-day Uzbekistan was part of the Kushan Empire, and Buddhism was one of the region's leading religions. Termez was a major Buddhist center on the Great Silk Road.

What is Fayaz-Tepa?

A Buddhist temple complex on the edge of Old Termez with a temple, a monastery and a stupa. Discovered in 1963, it's known for its paintings and sculptures of the Kushan era.

How is Kara-Tepa different?

It's a monastery on three hills, combining surface clay structures and cave cells carved into the rock. A Buddhist monastic community lived here.

How old are these monuments?

They're placed roughly between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd–4th (some finds, the 6th) century CE — about two thousand years old.

Why did Buddhism vanish here?

With the spread of Islam, Buddhist culture gradually faded, the temples were abandoned, and over time the complexes ended up underground, to be rediscovered by archaeologists in the 20th century.

Can you visit these places freely?

The monuments are in the border zone by the Amu Darya, so a permit or a guide may be required. The conditions of visiting are worth checking in advance.

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