Anneau d'or de l'Altaï et lac Teletskoïe

Highlights

road trip / trekking / boat trip
950 kilometers - by car
80 kilometers - by motorboat

The tour was designed for those who are willing to give up the comfort of modern hotels to live in simple cabins instead, to get the full immersion into pristine and wild Siberian nature, for those who are ready for one-day trekking trips of varying difficulty.

The tour comprises three parts in three different areas of the Altai mountains. The first one goes along the famous Chuya highway – one of the most beautiful roads in the world (according to National Geographic). Here you'll see:

• a panorama of Kurai steppe and snowy mountains of the North-Chuyskiy ridge;
• colorful mountains of Kyzyl-Chin, called «Martian mountains» because of its colors;
• the confluence of Chyua and Katun rivers;
• the Geiser lake.

The second part goes through the Ulagan plateau and Chulyshman river valley. You’ll get to see:

• the Stone Mushrooms of the Chulyshman valley;
• the Katu-Yaryk mountain pass;
• the Chulyshman river canyon;
• the Uchar waterfall (160 m high);

You'll have to spend some days out of mobile network coverage.

In the 3rd part of the tour you will reach Lake Teletskoe (the biggest, the deepest and the most famous lake of Altai) and enjoy its view from a ferryboat.

Enjoy some of the highlights in the video below

The author of the video is Kirill Osipov

Itinerary

The tour program depends on the ferryboat schedule. Therefore, the tour can only be started on Monday or Saturday.

Day 1 (Monday or Saturday). Chemal area

In the morning a group meeting will take place at the Gorno-Altaisk city airport (by your request we can pick you up at the international airport of Novosibirsk or Barnaul or the Biysk railway station). We’ll drive you to the campsite located near the Katun river, next to Ust-Sema village.
After lunch we’ll give you an excursion to the Chemal area, where you'll visit the picturesque Island of Patmos and walk along the so-called Goat trail.
Drive distance: 210 kilometres.

Day 2. Chuya highway

We will go through Seminsky mountain pass that is 1717 meters high, as well as the Chike-Taman mountain crossing. The latter is not as high as the former, although its steep hillside is impressive. The confluence of Chuya and Katun rivers is only 60 kilometers from Chike-Taman. The rivers are of different colors and you’ll get to relish the charming view of turquoise whirls in the place where they get mixed.
We arrive at Aktash village at about 7 p.m.
Tonight you'll stay in a hotel near Aktash village.
Drive distance: 210 kilometres.

Day 3. Multicolored Kyzyl-Chin

This day you will have a circle road trip and come back to the same hotel. During the trip:
— see the Geizer lake and colorful moving circles on its surface.
— visit the viewpoint near Kurai village, from where you'll see a panorama of Kurai steppe and snowy peaks of the North-Chuya mountain range.
— enjoy the unique Kyzyl-Chin – multicolored mountains that are rightfully called «Martian» because of bright red and yellow and green clay covering its slopes.
Drive distance: 170 kilometres.

Day 4. Chulyshman valley

After an early breakfast at the hotel, we are setting off from Chuya highway to the Ulagan plateau. This is where the paved roads give way to dirt roads. Driving distance for the day is 130 kilometers. Main itinerary points are:
— Katu-Yaryk Pass - one of the most beautiful places in this tour. We can't describe the beauty of this place. It's beyond words. (Due to the difficult nature of the mountain road, we’ll have to descend the pass on foot. The walk will take about 40 minutes).
— The Stone Mushrooms - an amazing natural phenomenon. In a narrow canyon, there is a group of several dozen 5-7 meters tall "mushrooms" (massive blocks of stone; "caps" of these "mushrooms" lay on “stems” of sand and small gravel without any cement). You’ll have to climb the steep slope to see it. The excursion will take about 2 hours and a half.
Tonight you'll stay in a tiny wooden tiny house, located in Chulyshman valley.

Day 5. Uchar waterfall (trekking day)

We’ll leave our equipment in a camp and make a trekking trip to the Uchar waterfall. A walk along the mountain path is about 11 kilometers (4 hours) one way. In the evening we’ll come back to the camp.

Day 6. Teleckoe lake

Road trip / Boat trip
After breakfast we’ll drive you to the south shore of the Teletskoe lake through the Chulyshman canyon. The road will take about 3 hours.
On the ferryboat we’ll cross the lake (it will take about 5 hours). There is a nature reserve on the right shore of the lake.
In the evening you arrive in the hotel in Artybash village.

Day 7. Teleckoe lake - Gorno-Altaisk

At noon we’ll say goodbye to the Teletskoe lake and start driving to the Gorno-Altaisk city, where you'll have an excursion to the Anokhin museum. The mummy of the Siberian Ice Maiden, also known as Altai Princess, is exhibited here as well as many other interesting artifacts of the Altai region.
Our tour will end in the evening.
Tonight accommodation doesn't include the tour cost.

Accommodation

A Cabin house near Ust-Sema village

A Cabin house located on the Katun river bench. It has 2 floors. There are 3 rooms and a bathroom on each floor, also, there is 1 hall with a kitchen.
On request, we can offer you an improved accommodation for these days (available as an extra option).

Hotel near Aktash village

The hotel is located on the Chuya river bench.
You'll stay 3 nights in a twin/ double room with a bathroom inside.

A typical tiny house

There are many different tiny houses there. They are pretty the same (wooden house with twin/double bed, without a toilet), toilet there is in the outhouse (dry toilet).
Sometimes we change house for accommodation. In the photos above there is an example of the house. The real house could be the different one.
Also, in some places it could be yurts

Gornoe Ozero Hotel

Gornoe Lake hotel is located on the Teleckoe lake bank - the famous one in Altai area. You'll stay here in a twin/ double room. Toilet and shower are in the room.

The cost includes:

• Transfer en-route from Gorno-Altaisk,
• tour-guide services,
• 3 time meals,
• accommodation

Additional information

The international flights arrive in Novosibirsk- the biggest city of Siberia. In case you arrive there, you will need to have one day before the tour and one day upon its completion for the transfer. Our staff members in Novosibirsk will meet you, arrange the excursions, order the meals and the accommodation for you. We can organize a transfer by train or by car to the starting endpoint of the tour.