BREATHTAKING LANDSCAPES and REMOTE SOVIET OUTPOSTS
June 30 ⇾ July 09
In addition to our regular group departures to Altai, we also offer tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to Altai!
ITINERARY
DAY 1 – Barnaul
Meet-and-greet at Barnaul Regional Airport and introductory briefing about the region, the route and the set of rules to observe while travelling in Altai.
We'll spend the entire day touring Barnaul: a quintessentially Soviet city full of grandiose monuments, Lenin statues and WWII memorials as well as remarkable examples of socialist architecture and public art (mosaics and bas-reliefs).
In the evening we'll go out for a musical concert either at the Philharmonia or at the Orchestra of Russian National Music Instruments or - if you are more into independent venues - we will assist to a show of one of the many young indie bands enlivening the town's nightlife.
Overnight in Barnaul.
DAY 2 – Topolnoye
Right after breakfast we will start our trip to one of the most interesting area of the Altai Krai: after a three-hour southwards drive, we will find ourselves surrounded by the beautiful highlands of the Altai mountains.
After a traditional lunch at a small family-run dairy factory, we'll then continue our trip to the picturesque village Topolnoye: the people of this village are descendant of the Old-Believers who separated in 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church; most of them moved to the secluded corners of Siberia in the 17th century and have kept living in a traditional way for centuries.
Dinner and overnight in Topolnoye.
DAY 3 – Karakol Valley
After breakfast we will drive to the border between the Altai Krai and the Altai Republic proper.
Along the way we will visit the world-famous Denisova Cave: a true Eldorado for palaeontologists as this is the very place where a fossilised phalanx of a girl’s finger was found and the subsequent DNA-analysis showed that it belonged neither to the extinct Neanderthals nor to Homo Sapiens, but represented a separate branch within the evolution of our species.
After lunch we will eventually enter the Karakol Valley, a sacral place among the Altai people, the Turkic-speaking Mongolic nation of shamanic traditions that consitute the titular ethnicity of the autonomous republic we've just entered.
We will stay for the night at a local family and learn about the traditions and the rituals of Altai people.
In the evening we will also meet the local kaichi (shaman-cum-dance-cum-singer) and enjoy a concert of throat singing accompanied by national musical instruments such as the topshur and the komyz.
Dinner and overnight in the Karakol Valley.
Bespoke Experiences • Traditional shamanic performance in the Karakol Valley and optional horse ride in the Chuya Steppe.
DAY 4 – Chuisky Trakt
In the morning we will enjoy some sightseeing around the Karakol Valley: ancient petroglyphs, Scythian burial mounds and mysterious monoliths.
We will also pay our respect to the Groundhog Monument, erected to thank the fluffy rodent for having saved - with its flesh - the local population during the WWII famines.
We will then travel along the Chuisky Trakt, a stunning road that National Geographic named as one the world's best drives.
During our journey we will, of course, stop at several picturesque tiny Altai villages of traditional wooden yurts (also known as ails) and Soviet nostalgia such as Boochi, Bichiktubom and Kupchegen.
Dinner and overnight at a local guesthouse along the Chuisky Trakt.
Day 5 – Kosh Agach
We'll continue our drive down the Chuisky Trakt and cross en route the Kurai Steppe, a very beautiful inter-montane basin where you can admire, depending on weather conditions, impressive views of the mighty Chuisky Ridge.
Exiting the Kurai Steppe we will explore the coloured mountains of Kyzyl-Chin, also known as Mars, and the melancholic Altai town of Chagan-Uzon.
We will then enter the Chuya Steppe and head for the end-of-the-world settlement of Kosh-Agach, where we will tour the market full of smuggled goods from Mongolia, the traditional wooden mosque of the local Kazakh community and the mandatory Lenin statue.
Dinner and overnight in Kosh-Agach.
Day 6 – Chuya Steppe
Today we will explore the Chuya Steppe: we will pass along the River Yustyd, home to ancient burial mounds, and stop at the remote hamlet of Kokoryu, which hosts a mummified head of a Sarmatian warrior.
During our time in steppe, besides admiring the breathtaking and slightly surreal sceneries, we will also get acquainted with the Kazakh culture visiting the extremely remote Kazakh villages of Jana-Aul and Tashanta.
Dinner and overnight in Kosh-Agach.
DAY 7 – Chuisky Trakt
We’ll start the day early and head back north driving again along the scenic Chuisky Trakt.
Besides the usual stops for food, toilet and photography, we'll break the long haul by visiting stunning natural attractions, such as the Blue Geyser Lake and the Red Gate rock formations, as well as a few more Altai villages and towns like Aktash and Ongudai.
If time permits, we will also take a short scenic detour across the Ulagan Valley, a place of staggering vistas and ancient traditions.
Dinner and overnight at a local guesthouse along the Chuisky Trakt.
DAY 8 – Kamlak
After breakfast we will continue our trip along the Chuisky Trakt and, after crossing the once-feared Seminsky Pass, we’ll begin our descend towards the Katun river basin.
We’ll first stop in Kamlak to visit a surprisingly well maintained botanical garden, a real cornucopia of local herbs and flowers, and later head to the village of Askat, where local Buddhists live in harmony with yogis, indigenous peoples, as well as members of the Russian community; Askat has 120 residents, with one-third of them working as artists and painters, a true hippie commune in southern Siberia!
Four miles from Askat, we will visit the hamlet of Anos, where the famous Altai artist and social activist Choros-Gurkin once had his workshop, and then drive further south to Chemal, a mountain resort village famous for its wooden churches and monasteries as well as a rather crumbling Soviet-era dam.
Dinner and overnight in Chemal.
Lake Teletskoye Detour
Depending on availability and weather conditions, we also offer an alternative remote diversion from our standard Altai route: we will proceed from Ulagan to the otherworldly beautiful Chulyshman Valley on Day 7 and then cross the mighty Katu-Yaryk Pass to reach the southern tip of the Lake Teletskoye, an enchanting alpine lake listed as UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. On Day 8 we will board a ferry across the lake and sail to the lovely village of Artybash, before eventually reaching Gorno-Altaysk on Day 9.
DAY 9 – Gorno-Altaysk
We’ll spend a lazy morning in Chemal, filling our lungs with the fresh air of mountainous Altai: a last restock of pure crispness before returning to the restlessness of our daily grind.
In the early afternoon we will eventually arrive in Gorno-Altaysk, the leafy capital of the Altai Republic.
After a well-deserved coffee break, we'll tour the relatively small and yet very compelling Altai National Museum and, of course, pay a visit to the city’s main Soviet monuments and memorials.
Dinner and overnight in Gorno-Altaysk.
DAY 10 – FAREWELL TO THE MOUNTAINS
1990 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Altai (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.
