Altai: The most beautiful Mountains of Siberia
Enjoy a trip to Altai - the breathtaking mountains of Siberia. During this trip we combine elements of touring with several half-day or full-day treks.
Our route leads down the Chuysky Tract, the main road connecting Russia and Mongolia. We will be departing from this tract in order to visit the places and villages that are less traveled.
Altai (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is the most diversified mountainous region of Siberia. We will pass snow-capped peaks of over 4000 m, glaciers, rare geological forms (like mushroom rocks and red rocks), canyons, beautiful valleys with rapid rivers, the taiga, steppes, birch groves and forests.
Altai is also filled with remnants of ancient civilizations (burial mounds, kurgans, rock engravings and the Ukok princess) and traditions that have been kept alive and passed down from generation to generation by shamans and traditional singers who are famous for their guttural singing. The people of Altai worship spirits, fetes and alts. Conversation with the locals on this subject is anything but an ordinary experience.
Come and enjoy a trip to the most beautiful mountains of Siberia!
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, no trips to Russia are planned for the coming year.
ITINERARY:
DAY 1-2
Departure to Barnaul, the capital of the Altai Krai. Transfer to Gorno-Altaysk, the capital of the Republic of Altai. Dinner and rest.
DAY 3
Visiting the modern Altai museum which possess the legendary mummy of Ukok princess and other artifacts. Getting to know the history of Altai, their inhabitants and shamans. Trip to the Chuysky Route, a mountainous road connecting Altai and Mongolia, built by prisoners from the Gulag Archipelago. Drive through the Semynska Pass.
DAY 4
On this day, we will rest far from civilization in the village of Chuy-Oozy, watching the beautiful mountain landscapes. We will have traditional Altaic food and a half-day walk to the place where the Argut and Chuya rivers flow into Katunya.
DAY 5
Drive further east on the Chuy Route. Visiting Kalbak-Tash and admiring engravings and rock paintings. Further journey through Vymich and Kuraysky Steppe, enter the "last hill of the Altai" with an interesting name “The End of Geography”. This is the end of the mountain landscapes – the place where the steppe begins, which ends only in Mongolia. Dinner in the restaurant "At Roman’s" in the most advanced to the east place of our trip - Kosh Agach, a village located near the border with Mongolia.
DAY 6
Transfer by truck Zil or Ural through rivers and forests to the Aktru mountain base. A few-hour walk to the small Aktru glacier.
DAY 7
Full-day trekking without load to the glacier Big Aktru, a route overlooking the snow-covered four-thousand meters high mountains and glacial massifs, to the blue lake at 3000m above sea level.
DAY 8
Return by truck to Kuraye. On the way, watching traditional mounds. Drive through the rocky gate "Krasnye Vorota" to Ulagan. A few-hour walk through the real Siberian taiga around three lakes.
DAY 9
Transfer by off-road vehicles to the Pazyryckye burial mounds - the tombs of the Scythian kings and the exit from the deep Katu-Jaryk pass to the Chulyshman river valley. Overnight in cottages near the Telecky lake.
DAY 10
Walk through the Balykchy village, ride horses, visit the "Stone Mushrooms" and waterfall in Uchar.
DAY 11
Transport by motorboat through the Teleckye lake, on the way visiting the waterfall. In the evening, access to Chemal.
DAY 12
Rest, exploring the beautiful surroundings of Chemal, for those who prefer - rafting on the river Katunya.
DAY 13
Transfer to Barnaul. Visiting the city, the boulevard and the historic “mountain pharmacy”. Walk through the small, historical part of the city. Possibility of boat trips on the Ob river (with music and local beer). For those who are eager for party an evening at the unusual ITAR-TASS club.
DAY 14
Flight back home in the evening.
PRICE INCLUDES:
• a return flight ticket with all charges
• care of an English-speaking guide
• transport by minibus, off-road and lorry, by boat across the lake
• accommodation in a hotel in Barnaul *** and in guest houses, turbas or local houses with local people
• half board (7x breakfast and dinners)
• 8x "banya"- Siberian sauna
• information packages and maps
• compulsory insurance guarantee for the travel agency
• NNW and KL + insurance of luggage up to 200 Euro
• a mandatory fee for the State Tourist Guarantee Fund (TFG) for each person
• assistance in organizing a visa
PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:
• visa to Russia
• admission tickets: approx. 50 USD
• half board: estimated cost of eating in cities 5-10 USD / day
• optional trips (rafting, helicopter flight over the Altai, etc.)
FLIGHT:
The place of departure is WARSAW or MOSCOW. In case you wish to travel from another destination or book flights on your own, please contact us for price quotation for this trip.
FOOD:
We provide simple breakfasts and dinners in the place of home accommodation (7x breakfast and 7x dinners). Additional self-catering during the day. The possibility of buying products in shops or a local bistro.
ACCOMODATION:
It will be varied. In the Barnaul Hotel *** in double rooms. During the stay, accommodation will be in the homes of local hosts, cottages, boarding houses, aulu (Altai summer kitchen) or mountain Alpine camp in 2-person rooms (50%) and multi-person rooms (50%). Accommodation infrastructure is underdeveloped. The rooms are simple, usually without equipment.
SANITARY EQUIPMENT:
In all places except the Barnaul, the toilet is shared by several rooms, in some places only a toilet outside the house is available. In the mountains there is no classic shower with hot water. Instead, there is a Siberian "banya". A wooden house, often smelling of a tree, clean inside, warm and two buckets of hot and cold water without restrictions. Separate bath for men and women.
TRANSPORT:
We will travel most of the way with a Russian marshrutka "Gazela" without air conditioning or UAZ field car. In the mountains, we will move around in a field truck, ZIL or URAL adapted to transport people. We will sail through the lake with a motorboat.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Our agency is an active tourism office - that's why during the trip we will have the opportunity to spend a few days in the bosom of nature: in the Siberian taiga, in high snowy mountains at the glacier, or on the red, endless steppe, or in beautiful, colorful valleys. Walks are not difficult technically and apart from the whole day out in Aktru, they are also not difficult physically. Trekkings are only for those who are willing and who does not want to, does not have to participate in them.
WARNING:
Trips to the former USSR sometimes require a participant of a large dose of patience in relation to the speed of local service, understanding of requirements or time arrangements. As long as we are able to disconnect from the "Western" sense of time and duty, then a trip for us will be a beautiful, unique impression. Some itinerary points and the order of days may change.
GROUP:
We travel in small groups. The minimum number of people on the trip is 6, maximum 15.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
• The itinerary may change depending on the date of departure, weather and other factors.
• Learn more about general conditions of participation and find out how to sign up for a trip.
• The organizer of the trip is Active Travel Agency Barents.pl.
