Explore Altai

Immediately after breakfast, we set off along the Chui Highway connecting Russia with Mongolia. 

By the way, according to National Geographic magazine, the Chuisky tract has entered the top ten most beautiful roads in the world! 

On the way, we will definitely stop at the most interesting and picturesque places. 

After lunch, we arrive in the Karakol valley.

For the locals, this is a sacred place. 

Here we will find magnificent landscapes, historical monuments of different eras – petroglyphs, steles, mounds. 

We spend the night in the guest house of a local resident, where you can get acquainted with the lifestyle and traditions of the Altai people.

Accommodation: guest house in Karakol valley, rooms for 2-3 people, amenities in the house.

Today we will spend the whole day in the taiga riding horses.

First, we will drive to the village of Kulada, from where our horseback riding will begin. 

After getting to know the horses and briefing, we will pack the things we will need during the day and hit the road. 

Our route is simple, the horses are calm and well trained, so even people who have never sat in the saddle will enjoy this trip.

We will drive through the forest, make stops and take small walks to the observation decks. 

Lunch will be organized as a picnic on the shore of Lake Aru-Kem.

And we will enjoy nature and the peaceful atmosphere around as much as possible. 

Accommodation: guest house in Karakol valley, rooms for 2-3 people, amenities in the house.

Today we will continue driving along the Chui tract deep into the mountains and visit many interesting places and, of course, take great photos. 

Ahead is the Chike–Taman pass, the confluence of the Chuya and Katuni rivers, the famous Katun terraces, the bridge over the Katun in the village of Inya, and an excursion to Kalbak-Tash, where we will learn a lot of interesting things about ancient rock art. 

After lunch, we will cross the high-altitude Kurai steppe and, if we are lucky with the weather, we will see the magnificent peaks of the North Chui ridge. 

The mountains here reach 4000 meters and above, and their peaks are covered with eternal snow. 

And then we enter the Chui steppe – the ultimate goal of our trip that day. 

Here we will stay overnight in nice guest houses on the riverbank.

Accommodation: guest houses for 3 people, comfortable facilities in a separate building on site.

We get up very early in the morning. 

We should have time to see the colorful hills of Kyzyl-Chin when there are still a few tourists there.

The outcrops of red, yellow, burgundy, white and brown clays make this place truly fantastic. 

After a walk on Mars-1, we will go to Mars-2, mountains that resemble the rainbow mountains in Peru. 

We will continue our route right through the lunar landscapes to the village of Beltir destroyed by the earthquake of 2003. 

And after that, we will go deep into the South Chui ridge, the real off-road begins! 

Two to three hours of extreme driving, and we will reach two high-altitude lakes – Akkol (White water) and Karakol (Black water). 

By the way, we may meet real camels in these places.

Our first tent camp will be set up on the bank of the Akkol Mountain River, high in the mountains.

Accommodation: tents.

Today we are going on a hike to the snowy mountains and glacier (7 km in one direction). 

On the way to the goal, we will see several small lakes of different colors – gray, green, blue and brown. 

And at the end of the way there is the magnificent Sofia glacier surrounded by harsh rocks. 

We will be able to touch the eternal ice and see how a mountain river is born. 

We will organize a picnic near the glacier.

There is only nature around and nothing man-made. 

After the photo shoot at the glacier, we return to our tent camp, where dinner is already waiting for us. 

Accommodation: tents.

In the morning we descend into the Chui steppe and cross it in the direction of the Kurai ridge.

In Kosh-Agach, we will stop at the market where you can buy souvenirs and goods from Mongolia. 

In the evening, cozy yurts and a hot bath await us. 

Accommodation: yurts for 4-5 people, on-site facilities.

Today we are going to the most remote point of our route, which is only a few kilometers from the border with Mongolia. 

Our path lies along the Yustyd River, famous for the fact that a huge number of ancient graves are concentrated here.

We will definitely stop and admire the handiwork of the ancient inhabitants of the steppe – stone circles, triangles and other figures created thousands of years ago for a purpose that is still incomprehensible even to scientists. 

After a difficult off-road ride, by the end of the day we will stop on the shore of the very beautiful Kindyktykul Lake, where we will set up our second tent camp.

If there are no clouds, we will see a fantastic starry sky with a pronounced Milky Way. 

Accommodation: tents.

Today we will have a hike to the top of the hill. 

It will take almost the whole day, because our goal is at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters.

But with each step to the top, majestic views of black rocks with bowls of turquoise lakes on one side and endless steppes on the other will open up in front of us. 

It is only a few kilometers from this place to the border with Mongolia. 

In the depths of the high ridges live the snow leopard and the cat manul.

Accommodation: tents.

I'm sorry, but it's time to go home.

The only consolation can be that the return trip goes through very beautiful places. 

First, we will visit the Tarkhatinsky megalithic complex – a unique place in which huge stones form an almost regular circle with a diameter of 60 m. 

Petroglyphs can be found on some of them. 

Some scientists believe that there was once an ancient observatory here. 

We will stay overnight in the Kurai steppe, the only place where high mountains come so close to the valley. 

In the evening and in the morning – photography of the North Chui ridge.

Accommodation: guest house, rooms for 3 people, room amenities.

Today we will continue our journey along the Chui highway to Gorno-Altaysk. 

In the evening, a farewell dinner.

Accommodation: hotel, room facilities.

After breakfast, we will take you to the airport.