Askyn Ice Cave, Ice cave in Bashkortostan, Russia

Askyn Ice Cave is a karst cave in Devonian and Carboniferous limestone on the eastern slope of the Ulutau ridge, in Bashkortostan's Gafuriysky district. Its single hall measures 104 m long, up to 61 m wide and 26 m high, with a floor largely covered by ice. Ice stalagmites reach 8–11 m in height and up to 5 m across at the base.

Geologist L. Konyushevsky first described the cave in 1902. G. V. Vakhrushev and V. Petrov studied it in more detail between 1924 and 1926. In 2018 it was leased to the Russian Geographical Society to restore its microclimate and preserve its ice relics, and entry became restricted.

The cave takes its name from the Askyn (Bashkir: Аҫҡын) stream and the Askyn ice cave, a name shared with the nearby village of Askino in Arkhangelsk District. Since 2018 visitors enter only with a guide from the Askyn Ice Cave landscape park, part of the Toratau Geopark, on 20-minute summer tours limited to 70 people a day.

The temperature inside stays below freezing throughout the year, so warm layers and sturdy boots with grip are needed even on warm summer days. The floor is often covered in ice and can be slippery, so moving slowly and staying on marked paths helps avoid falls.

The ice inside the cave does not come from an underground water source but forms when cold winter air flows in through the entrance and freezes the water that seeps through the rock. In summer, the outer layer of ice may melt slightly, but the core formations survive the warmer months intact.