Altai's Spring Palette

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Soak up the energy of awakened rivers and waterfalls, lakes throwing off the ice cover, see the blooming of maralnik and primroses.

A five-day sightseeing car tour of Altai with the opportunity to see the most remarkable places of the Ulagan and Kosh-Agachsky districts of the republic.

Travelers will enjoy excursions to the Altai “Moon” and “Mars", a photo stop at the most picturesque Katu-Yaryk pass, the mysteries of ancient petroglyphs and the Altai Stonehenge.

Location

Altai Republic, Gorno-Altaysk/ Manzherok village

Sightseeing tours

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Weekdays: 8am - 8pm
Weekends: 8am - 7pm (GMT +3)

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Tour highlights

The Awakening of Altai

Enjoy the amazing purple-pink landscapes of the Altai Mountains

Altai Mars

Let's take a walk on another planet in the Kyzyl-Chin tract

Altai Stonehenge

We will see a circle with a diameter of about 60 m, lined with stones of different sizes, and some of them have petroglyphs.

Kazakh culture

We will visit the yurt for a traditional Kazakh lunch with dishes of Kazakh cuisine.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Chuisky tract
Meeting at the airport of Gorno-Altaysk.
Group transfer to the eco-hotel "Taezhnik", acquaintance with the guide and other members of the group.
A full breakfast in the eco-hotel restaurant for those who arrive before 10:30.
Familiarization with safety procedures.
Departure to the route along the Chuisky highway, one of the ten most beautiful roads in the world (according to National Geographic), where the landscape changes at almost every turn.
In ancient times, it was known as the Mungalsky tract.
About a thousand years ago, there were caravans carrying goods from the East to Russia.
The guide will tell you more about the history of the legendary road.
There will also be an opportunity to take photos on the viewing platforms.
The first stop will be the highest pass on the Chuisky tract – Seminsky.
Here we will take a short tour.
Then we drive to the cafe where lunch will be organized.
The next stop is the top of the Chike Taman serpentine pass.
Here, guests will walk to the observation deck with a view of the old Chuisky tract.
After the tour, transfer to the Nomad eco–complex.
It is located at the confluence of the Chuya and Chibitka Rivers.
There is a large landscaped area where you can walk around and find places for wonderful photos.
Those who wish can take a dip in the river.
Placement.
Dinner at the cafe of the Nomad complex.
Length: by car – 350 km.

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Day 2 - Altai Mars and the Moon. Geyser Lake
After breakfast, we drive to the village of Chagan-Uzun, where the group transfers to off-road vehicles.
We will take the UAZ trucks on a journey through the "Martian expanses".
Part of the route will be on foot.
We will take a walk through the amazing Kyzyl-Chin valley, which the locals call the Valley of Mars.
Once there was a warm sea in the place of the valley, then glaciers and a cold lake. 4-6 thousand years ago, people already lived here.
And today it is a Mecca for geologists, archaeologists, ethnographers and, of course, tourists!
They also jokingly call Kyzyl-Chin Mars — for the earth, painted in all possible shades of red and orange, for the blue-green-purple mountains.
What is more striking here is the landscapes or the history of planet Earth captured in them.
Lunch at the "Martian" cafe.
The next destination is the Altai Moon.
This name was given to the hilly valley, the elevations of which are formed by clay rocks of a whitish-gray color.
There are wonderful photo locations here, including a lunar rover and an astronaut!
We will also visit another "Mars" valley with red rocks – there will be an opportunity to compare impressions.
Then we will go to Geyser Lake (also known as Blue Lake, Silver Lake).
The depth of the lake is about two meters, the diameter is 25-30 meters.
It has an unusual color of water, does not freeze even in winter and is easy to reach on foot directly from the highway.
On the surface of the water, you can see streaks of rich turquoise color – circles or ovals that change shape.
This is a trace of bottom geysers that send a mixture of bluish clay and sand to the surface.
Who knows, maybe you'll be lucky enough to catch that very moment of the "eruption" and capture everything on camera.
At the end of the tour, return to the Nomad.
Dinner on your own for an additional fee.
Evening campfire gatherings with tea drinking.
Length: by car – 150 km.

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Day 3 - Chulyshman Valley and Kurkure Waterfall
Breakfast in the cafe.
Departure to the route.
In the village of Aktash, the road from the Chuisky tract turns onto Ulagansky, along which the group reaches the Katu-Yaryk pass.
On the way there or back (depending on the situation), stop at the Red Gate, at the observation deck above the lakes, at the Ulagan Pass, at Lake Kidel.
Walking descent to the Chulyshman valley along the Katu-Yaryk pass.
The descent from the pass and the safety ascent are carried out on foot.
After descending from the pass, a ferry across the Chulyshman, a walking tour to the Kurkure waterfall.
The path to the waterfall is not difficult, it runs along a fairly flat surface.
The waterfall impresses the guests of Altai at any time of the year.
After the end of the tour, tourists will have lunch at the cafe of the Katu-Yaryk shopping center.
After lunch, return to the hotel.
Dinner on your own for an additional fee.
Length: by car – 200 km, on foot – 15 km.

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Day 4 - Ular waterfalls. Tarkhatinsky megalithic complex
In the morning (the program may be rearranged), we will have an excursion to the Chibit (Ular) waterfalls.
After reaching the bridge over the Chuya River, tourists go on a hike to the first waterfall, depending on the weather and the desire of the group, a walk to the second waterfall is possible (the decision is made by the guide, for an additional fee you can hire a UAZ that will take travelers to the waterfalls and back).
After returning to the bus, tourists go along the Chuisky highway to the village of Kosh-Agach.
The first stop on the way will be a lunch stop at a Kazakh yurt.
The lunch will be held in Kazakh style with dishes of Kazakh cuisine.
After lunch, we will have an excursion to the Tarkhatinsky megalithic complex, an ancient structure (III–II BC) in the middle of the Chuya steppe, which, according to scientists, served as an observatory.
The stones of the complex are oriented to the cardinal directions, some of them have petroglyphs from different eras.
It is called the "Altai Stonehenge".
You will see a circle with a diameter of about 60 m, lined with stones of different sizes.
One of them is a stone in the shape of a huge armchair.
It is called "Kabai-tash" – "Cradle Stone", "Shaman's Chair" or "Cradle of Sartakpai", after the legendary hero of Altai.
It is also covered with petroglyphs and one of the drawings on it depicts a woman leading a bull with round, almost closed horns.
In ancient mythology, such a bull symbolized the Sun, the masculine principle, and the woman — the Earth.
Everything in the world came from their union.
It is no coincidence that such a sacred plot, symbolizing fertility, was carved on this particular megalith.
Perhaps that's why women who can't get pregnant go to Kabai Tash and leave gifts and offerings here.
After the tour of the complex, the group goes to the village of Zhana-Aul to the Museum of Kazakh culture, where tourists will be told about the way of life, history and culture of the Kazakhs living in the territory of the Kosh-Agach district of the republic (for technical reasons, this tour can be replaced by an excursion to the Telengit museum in the village of Kokorya).
Return to the Nomad eco-complex.
Dinner on your own for an additional fee.
Length: by car – 245 km, on foot – 15 km.

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Day 5 - Petroglyphs. The confluence of Chuya and Katun. Completion of the tour
Breakfast at the Nomad cafe.
Eviction from the rooms.
Transfer to the Kalbak-Tash tract, where we will see another ancient scripture.
One of the largest collections of rock carvings (petroglyphs) in Altai is located here.
The next stop on the way will be the confluence of the Chuya and Katun rivers.
The river confluence line is clearly visible, as the color of the water in Chuya and Katun is different.
You can take great photos from the observation deck.
Stops in other places are also possible, the decision is made by the guide.
Lunch at a roadside cafe.
Transfer to the eco-hotel "Taezhnik".
Dinner at the restaurant on request, for an additional fee, the end of the program.
If you are not traveling to Barnaul or Novosibirsk on the day of the end of the tour, choose your accommodation option, and we will take you there (recreation center or hotel from Manzherok village to Gorno-Altaysk).
Length: by car – 350 km.

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Difficulty

Suitable for everyone

Tour organizer's comments

It is suitable for guests of different ages who are ready for physical activity and who tolerate the road well.

Accommodation

Camp Site

5 nights

Comfort

Midscale

The tour provides accommodation in a tourist complex “Nomad” or similar.

The cost of the tour for 1 person, depending on the accommodation, RUB.:

Placement	Standard
Double occupancy (if you are traveling alone, then choose with a check-in)	72 000
Single occupancy	85 500
Triple occupancy (one request)	69 500

Tourist complex “Nomad”, located near the village of Chibit on the banks of the Chuya River, perfectly combines two qualities: comfortable comfortable houses and the untouched nature of the Mazhoy gorge. It fully meets the stated word "eco" — environmentally friendly houses, and all buildings are placed for minimal harm to nature.

Accommodation: standard comfortable room in the Capricorn building.

In the room: two 1.5-double beds (or a double bed), a full bathroom, towels, free Wi-Fi.

In Nomad, dinners can be ordered on the spot, in a cafe, you can also buy some products in stores, during excursions, or, by agreement of the participants, roast shish kebab / vegetables.

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Tour conditions

Group

up to 14 tourists

Minimum age

7 years old

Duration

5 days 4 nights

Group meets at

Altai Republic, Gorno-Altaysk/ Manzherok village

Included in price

breakfasts and lunches, 5 days, dinner on the first day;
transportation, according to the program of the tour by bus tour. class;
payment for accommodation in a tourist complex “Nomad” (triple occupancy is only possible for a general application);
excursion to the Katu-Yaryk pass, "Mars" and "Moon" by off-road vehicle;
Chulyshman river crossing;
The guide's job;
payment of fees for visiting sightseeing sites;
medical and accident insurance.

Paid extra

air and railway tickets to Barnaul, Gorno-Altaysk, Novosibirsk and back;
dinners 2-5 days of the route;
tick insurance;
transfer to the Taezhnik tourist complex and back, except for a group transfer from/to the airport of Gorno-Altaysk.

It's important to know

A travel bag, suitcase or backpack, for transporting personal items from your home and throughout the entire route.
A small backpack that will be useful to you during radial exits, for carrying all sorts of small things (bottles of water, napkins, sunscreen, etc.)
Comfortable shoes (sneakers, sneakers. Shoes should not be new and rub) and socks, preferably cotton, 2-3 pairs.
Warm clothes. You should always be prepared for the fact that it can be cold in the mountains even in July. (Sweatshirt or sweater, beanie, warm socks, insulated trousers or something to wear under trousers)
Comfortable outerwear. Trousers that do not restrict movement, in which it will be convenient to walk over rough terrain (as well as take a horse ride if it is included in your chosen tour), a windbreaker that does not blow through or a light jacket, you can also use an option that protects from rain.
A headdress (cap, hat, bandana, etc.) is required!
Sunglasses and sun protection products with a high degree of protection (UF 40-50).
T–shirts or T-shirts - 2-3 pcs. (or something similar) and/or light shirts with long sleeves (so as not to burn in the sun)
Personal hygiene products.
Individual medicines. A general first aid kit is issued for the group, but it contains a standard set of standard ailments.
A camera and/or video camera, with a stock of flash drives and a charging device.
For those who chose a tour with a water excursion, there are clothes for a wetsuit (something like thin underwear or a T–shirt and shorts or breeches) and shoes like sneakers, quick-drying.
Towel (when placed in tents or cabins without amenities)

Advice from the tour organizers: to buy air tickets to the airport of Gorno-Altaysk (the capital of the Altai Republic) with the arrival time until 12:00, as the delivery from the airport to the Taiga takes 25 minutes. Delivery from Barnaul (Altai Krai, a neighboring region) to Taiga takes 4-5 hours.

The cost of group delivery from Gorno-Altaysk airport to the Taezhnik tourist complex (round trip) As a GIFT upon purchase of this tour.

The rest of the delivery is for an additional fee. The order of the delivery option is carried out at any time from the moment of booking the tour, but no later than 7 days before the start of the tour. When booking a tour, be sure to tell us which delivery option is preferable for you. The manager will help you arrange a transfer (a place in a collection car, a regular bus or a tourist bus)

Delivery from Novosibirsk in both directions is carried out on regular buses of the Novosibirsk bus station, or on tourist buses, depending on the chosen date of the tour, if tourist buses do not run on the day you need, tourists purchase tickets independently on the website. https://e-traffic.ru / , or on another website that sells tickets, or at the ticket offices of the Novosibirsk bus Station.

To make it to the beginning of the tour, you need to purchase a ticket for the Novosibirsk - Chemal flight to the Manzherok village stop (get off before reaching 2.5 km to the village near the monument to Shishkov, or at the Taezhnik shopping center, which you can ask the driver about in advance) with the departure time from the bus station at 22:15 (from the bus station located at the railway station train station - 22:45), departure date on the day preceding the start date of the tour.

Tickets can be purchased 10 days before departure day. The return trip is carried out by bus from Chemal to Novosibirsk, the departure time from Taezhnik t/c is 22:40 - 23:00, the bus must be stopped at Taezhnik t/c (Important! tickets must be purchased from Manzherok village to Barnaul/Novosibirsk, those who purchase tickets from the village of Manzherok are called by bus station staff and asked where to pick them up. No one calls those who purchase tickets from the Chemal bus station, their tickets are automatically canceled if they are not on board).

The arrival time in Novosibirsk is 7:15 a.m., this should be taken into account when purchasing tickets from Novosibirsk. The cost of delivery depends on the cost of flight tickets.

Delivery from Barnaul:

Meeting at Barnaul airport (from 5:50 a.m. to 7:50 a.m.), meeting at Barnaul railway station from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. If you arrived in Barnaul in advance or live there, you will coordinate the meeting place with the driver, he will pick you up if he is on his way, if not, he will indicate the meeting place. The car leaves if the delivery team is assembled in full. The driver will have your contact phone numbers, along with information about the place and time of the meeting, and the driver will contact you. Cars do NOT set off on the route without meeting all tourists, provided that all planes arrive on time (the waiting time can be adjusted by 1 hour). If the plane is delayed by 1 hour or more, the cars that have been formed are sent on the flight, your contact information is sent to the driver of another car, and the departure time depends on the set of cars.

We kindly ask you to TURN on your phones immediately after boarding the plane so that the drivers can contact you and take with them the phones whose numbers are indicated in the application.

The cost of delivery in combined vehicles is set by the carrier, approximate cost: from 2500.00 one way, depending on the class of car.

It is possible to arrange an individual transfer at any time, in agreement with us, the cost of such a transfer starts from 8000,00 rubles per car, such a transfer must be ordered in advance.

Meeting at the airport of Gorno-Altaysk

it is carried out according to the arrival time of the aircraft. We ask you to inform us about the actual delays in departure time by text message, NOT by phone, so that we can meet you on time. We will inform you about which car will meet you with a message either on the evening before arrival or during your flight. We kindly ask you to TURN on your phones immediately after boarding the plane so that the drivers can contact you and take with them the phones whose numbers are indicated in the application.

A group transfer means that if you and other tourists arrive on flights with a landing gap of less than 1 hour, those who arrived earlier will wait for the next plane to board and the tourists arriving on it.

It is possible to arrange individual delivery from / to the airport to Taiga, if you do not want to travel by group transfer for 1200 rubles / car (one way) capacity from 1 to 4 people.

All of the above shipping options can be combined!

Attention! 1 day before the start of the route, tourists are sent the car number and the phone number of the driver who meets them. Therefore, please provide the correct phone numbers so that it is convenient to contact the driver.

For those arriving at Gorno-Altaysk airport, the driver's contacts and driver's number are sent immediately before arrival in the tour chat (created by the tour guide on the eve of the tour).

Reviews Leave a review

L
Larisa

about provider

5 Feb, 2026

It was my first time in Altai, and despite the program changes, I really enjoyed everything. I’ve been traveling with “Big Country” to different regions for several years now, and everything is always very well organized. There were no issues, and if anything did come up, it was resolved quickly. I highly recommend this tour operator.
S
Sergei

about provider

26 Sep, 2025

The hosts are a fantastic team. Everyone is friendly and always willing to help.
S
Sergei

about provider

25 Sep, 2025

Everything was quick and clear. I'm happy with everything!