Accommodation during the trip
Languages
Accommodation during the trip
Languages
Experiences you'll have
Traveling along the Chuysky Tract is one of the easiest ways to see both historical sights and the amazing natural landscapes of the Altai Mountains. You will not have to go on foot with heavy backpacks, all travels will not be tiresome and you will have comfortable accommodation during the route. This is especially important for those who come to Altai for the first time.
Most of the journey you will spend in modern glamping on the bank of a mountain river in the Kurai steppe, and daily radial treks through the most picturesque spots of the Altai Mountains await you.
The route will take you along the Chuysky Tract almost to the border with Mongolia, and to reduce the time on the road, you will return by plane.
During this tour you will:
go horseback riding to the high-mountainous lakes Karakabak, where tourists rarely come
white water rafting on the main river of Altai, the turquoise Katun
climb the Aktru valley on cross-country vehicles and trek to the age-old glaciers
touch the ancient stone warriors and petroglyphs of Kalbak-Tash sanctuary
take pictures on the shore of the famous Geyser Lake
visit "the Altai Mars" and explore the fantastic canyons of the Kyzyl-Chin river
Please note that the cost of 1300 EURO per person is only for the program starting in May. The cost of the tour in other months is 458 EURO per person.
Photos by Alexander Permyakov, Valeria Bashinova, Konstantin Serebryakov, Maxim Nazemtsev. Cover photo by Alexander Permyakov.
Itinerary
The journey begins in Gorno-Altaisk, where you should get to on your own. We recommend S7 Airlines flights with departure from Moscow at 12:45 a.m. on the first day of the tour and from Gorno-Altaisk at 10:10 a.m. on the last day of the trip. We are ready to help with tickets purchasing. If necessary, leave a comment in the application.
Day 1 Arrival in Gorno-Altaisk
After meeting at the Gorno-Altaisk airport, you will travel along the Chuisky Tract, one of the most beautiful roads in Russia. The historic Chuisky Tract is part of the modern road from Biysk to the border with Mongolia, which is about 630 km long.
Along the Chuisky Tract, there are many famous natural and historical places of interest in Altai. Your first stop will be at the Arzhan-Suu spring, where you will taste the healing water. Then you will pass the Seminsky (1717 m) and Chike-Taman (1295 m) passes and stop at a picturesque place of confluence of the Katun and Chuya rivers. You will visit the ancient sanctuary of Kalbak-Tash and touch the Scythian reindeer stones – massive hewn stone slabs, which are 3000 years old.
Then you will continue your journey along the Chuisky Route and drive across the Kurai Steppe to a modern eco-hotel, where you will stay for the next few days. Accommodation in cozy domed houses with panoramic views of snow-covered peaks of the North-Chuysky Range awaiting you here. In the evening you will have dinner and rest.
Stage length: 380 km by van, 15 km by UAZ, 3 km on foot.
Day 2 Kurai Steppe
After breakfast, you will be trekking through the picturesque Kurai steppe. From the top of the hills, you will see the relief resembling giant ripples – these are the traces of the waves of ancient glacial lakes. Walking along the steppe, you will come to the shepherds' camps, where herds of Altai horses and sheep graze and admire the panorama of the peaks of the North-Chuysky ridge.
For lunch, you will return to the glamping. In the evening you will sit by the fire on the bank of the mountain river and have dinner under the bright starry sky.
Stage length: 10 km on foot.
Day 3 Aktru glaciers
Today you will have an opportunity to find out what the real Altaic off-road is. You will ride a cross-country vehicle up the Aktru valley. The first 10 km you will drive through the taiga, gradually gaining altitude. After that, you will go on a walking tour to Maly (Rus. for "Little") Aktru and Bolshoy (Rus. for "Big") Aktru glaciers. You can see a picturesque waterfall and the remnants of moraines from ancient glaciers, the age of which counts tens of thousands of years. You will have a picnic by the glacier overlooking the majestic mountains, then go back down and return to the glamping on all-terrain vehicles.
If you do not want to go up to the glacier, you will have lunch at Aktru base and then take a walk around the area. Afterward, both groups will get together and head back to the hotel.
Stage length: 25 km by UAZ, 15 km on foot.
Day 4 "The Altai Mars"
On this day you will continue your journey along the Chuysky Tract toward Mongolia. Desert landscapes, Hunnu and Turkic burial mounds, a healing spring in Chagan-Uzun, and the highland Chu steppe, with the colorful Kyzyl-Chin Mountain rising up in its heart, await you.
Locals call this place "the Altai Mars". Landscapes of the Kyzyl-Chin river valley are painted in different shades of red, from bright orange to dark brown. Walking along these fantastic canyons, you will admire the extraordinary mountain landscapes of the South Chuya Mountain Range and look into the abandoned adit. You will touch the traces of ancient ocean Tethys and learn about the history of Altai mountains formation.
For the lunch, you will visit the yurt complex, and for dinner return to the glamping.
Stage length: 240 km by UAZ, 10 km on foot.
Day 5 Karakabak Lakes and horseback riding
After breakfast, you will ride on cross-country vehicles through the Kurai steppe along the picturesque lakes Jangyskyol and Karakyol. After reaching the gorge of the turbulent Maashay river you will get on horses and ride to the high-mountainous Karakabak lakes.
Two clear bright turquoise lakes are situated at the foot of majestic peaks and glaciers at the height of 2300 m above sea level. You will have a picnic on the shore of one of them, and before your return trip, you will walk to the waterfall connecting the two lakes.
In the evening you will return to the glamping, have dinner and rest.
Stage length: 2 hours by UAZ, 2 hours on horseback, 10 km on foot.
Day 6 Return trip to Gorno-Altaisk
In the morning, you will pack your bags, have breakfast, and take a minibus to travel along the Chuysky Tract to the Mongolian border.
You will be brought to the small airport, located at the foot of the Yuzhno-Chuisky Range, from where you will take a plane back to Gorno-Altaisk. From the window, you can see the highest mountain in Siberia – Belukha, and the majestic panorama of the Russian, Mongolian, Chinese, and Kazakh Altai Mountains.
After arriving in Gorno-Altaisk, you will visit the National Museum. You can see the artifacts of the Scythians, Hunnu, and Turk times, and one of the main exhibits of the museum – the mummy of "the Altai princess" found on the Ukok plateau. By the evening you will arrive at the tourist base on the shore of the Katun river, have dinner and rest.
Stage length: 15 km by UAZ, 70 km by minibus, 1 hour by plane.
Note: if there are no tickets for the Kosh-Agach – Gorno-Altaisk flight, you will go to Gorno-Altaisk by a minibus that day.
Day 7 Rafting on the Katun and an ethnic program
Today in the first half of the day rafting on the Katun, the main river of Altai, awaits you. You will pass easy rapids, visit the water grotto of Tavda caves and swim in Kamyshinsky waterfall. By lunchtime, you will come back to the tourist base.
In the afternoon you will have free time: you can have a rest on the territory of the base, steamed in the sauna, and ride bicycles on the outskirts. In the evening there will be an ethnic program, where you can listen to the throat singing of the narrator Kaicha. Dinner will take place in the restaurant of the base with a view over the Katun river.
Stage length: 30 km by a minibus, 1 km on foot, 2 hours of rafting.
Day 8 Return home
In the morning after breakfast, you will be taken to the airport in Gorno-Altaisk, from where you will depart home.
Accommodation during the trip
Languages
Accommodation during the trip
You will spend most of the trip in the new modern glamping "Mir Altai", located in the Kurai steppe, on the bank of the Aktru river. On its territory, there are 9 dome houses with panoramic windows, which offer a magnificent view of the snow-covered peaks of the North-Chuysky Range. Each dome house has one double bed and two extra beds, a bio-toilet, a working area, and a coffee table with chairs. Each living tent has electricity from a generator (runs from 8 to 10 a.m. and from 8 to 12 p.m.) and a stove. There is a sauna (capacity 6 people), 3 showers with hot water, a toilet module and a cafe with a panoramic view of the mountains.
The final two nights of the trip are spent at the cultural tourist base "Molodost" (Rus. for "Youth"). It is situated on the shore of the Katun river 15 km away from Gorno-Altaisk airport. There used to be the Soviet campsite "Yunost", but now there are reconstructed wooden houses with all conveniences and bright interiors. You will be accommodated in double rooms with a large double or two single beds. Rooms will have air conditioning, TV, table, sofa, closet, tea set, and a private bathroom with a shower. There is a restaurant, cedar bathhouse, soccer and basketball court, open-air cinema and concert hall, bicycles for children, and a common area with a bar, coffee shop, board games, Netflix access, and a music player.
Important: The program may change the hotel to a similar or higher level.
Common questions
A tour leader and a service manager will be with you throughout the tour. A professional water sports instructor will go with you on rafting.
The price of the program includes three meals a day. You will have breakfast and dinner at the glamping or at the tourist base, and lunch in the nature during the trails (lunch boxes or thermoses with hot meals), in the cafe during the travels or in the accommodation.
The menu includes healthy meals and national cuisine. You will always have tea, water in individual bottles, nuts, dried fruit, cereal bars, sweets, and a snack for brunch with you on the road. Vegetarian meals and adjustments to the menu to accommodate dietary restrictions are possible –please indicate in the application form if necessary.
The route of the trip does not require any special physical preparation and skills, but the program includes active trekking up to 15 km, horseback riding, and rafting, so you should not have any health restrictions, chronic diseases, and old injuries that may worsen on the active part of the route.
Children over the age of 12 are allowed to participate in rafting. As an alternative, you can go rafting on a motorized raft. Before the trip, you will be given all the necessary equipment: life jackets, helmets, wetsuits.
The cost of the tour includes medical insurance of JSC "ERW Travel Insurance" to the amount of 500 000 rubles.
Children from 8 years old can be taken on this trip. Children from 8 to 12 years old are given a 15% discount (when placing an extra bed in the room).
The group transfer from Gorno-Altaisk airport will be organized at 10:30 a.m. on the first day of the program. On the final day, you will be brought to the airport at 8:30 a.m. We recommend S7 airlines flights:
Pobeda airlines also fly to Gorno-Altaisk from Moscow: take off from Moscow at 11:55 p.m. before the tour starts, arrive in Gorno-Altaisk at 8:20 a.m. on the first day of the tour; return flight on the last day: take off at 9:00 a.m. from Gorno-Altaisk and arrive in Moscow at 9:40 a.m.
All rides will be organized by Mercedes Sprinter minibusses or similar, and the mountain roads by UAZ all-terrain vehicles or similar. The flight from Kosh-Agach to Gorno-Altaisk will be made by AN-28 aircraft.
Beeline and Megafon operators will have a stable connection during the stay in the glamping. At the tourist base "Molodost" all mobile operators can be reached. There is free Wi-Fi at all accommodations.
Altai has a sharply continental climate. Temperatures in any of the summer months can range from +10 to +40°C, with normal daytime summer temperatures of around +25°C. The weather is mostly sunny, but rainfall is possible.
Booking
Accommodation during the trip
Languages
double accommodation in a glamping and a tourist base
three meals a day
all transfers and transportation service per program
english-speaking guide and instructors service
all excursions per program
domestic flight from Kosh-Agach to Gorno-Altaisk
rafting
scheduled tours and visits
health insurance
visits to the glamping sauna
air tickets to Gorno-Altaisk (starting at 157 EURO for a round-trip)
single accommodation on the itinerary (+337 EURO per person in may, +458 EURO on other dates)
individual transfer from Gorno-Altaisk airport and back
visiting sauna and spa at the tourist base
double accommodation in a glamping and a tourist base
three meals a day
all transfers and transportation service per program
english-speaking guide and instructors service
all excursions per program
domestic flight from Kosh-Agach to Gorno-Altaisk
rafting
scheduled tours and visits
health insurance
visits to the glamping sauna
air tickets to Gorno-Altaisk (starting at 157 EURO for a round-trip)
single accommodation on the itinerary (+337 EURO per person in may, +458 EURO on other dates)
individual transfer from Gorno-Altaisk airport and back
visiting sauna and spa at the tourist base
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