Ergenekon Valley Tour, Great Altai : 8 Days

We collect you at Gorno-Altaysk Airport and set off on a three hour drive to the Onguday district, at the very centre of the Altai Republic.

We stop at a cafe on the way. You can try traditional dishes; lunch is paid by each traveller.

We stop on the Seminsky hill, one of the highest points in Altai that you can reach by car. At 1,717 metres above sea level, it is a lively place where you can see rituals performed at the passes and browse many souvenir stalls.

At our hotel in the village of Shashikman you settle into your rooms and shake off the road. After dinner we light a fire outside and talk about the programme and about Altai. A kaichi, an Altai throat singer, joins us at the fire and performs with traditional instruments. You can accompany the kaichi and try the instruments yourself.

We get up early, have breakfast and head for the Karakol area.

Here we meet a local sage. In the Altai language such people are called 'neme beler kiji', the wise one. Under the sage's guidance we first perform a ritual of dedication, preparing ourselves to see the Karakol and Scythian burial mounds. The ritual takes place in the sage's yurt. Afterwards we move deeper into Karakol.

We see drawings of sun headed gods and the Scythian, Hun and Old Turkic burial mounds. We study the rock drawings along the way and the bichiks, the inscriptions written in Old Turkic runes. We see the Uch Enmek mountain, which is sacred to the Altai people, and listen to its legends.

We spend the whole day in Karakol and return to the hotel in the evening. After dinner we light the fire again and answer your questions.

After breakfast we take a lesson from a philologist and Turkologist who teaches Old Turkic runes. The lesson shows you how to write your name and any words you like in runes, and it is a start towards learning the alphabet in depth.

After a short rest we go to the village of Bichiktu-Bum for a practical lesson. We try to find and read the inscriptions left by Turkic ancestors, and learn from reading what they usually wrote about and what they meant.

After visiting the inscriptions we return to the hotel with our teacher. After dinner we light the fire and invite the teacher too, so you can ask again about anything you remember.

After breakfast we take a second lesson on Old Turkic runes to reinforce what we learned.

We go to the place where the Katun River (the 'Woman' river), sacred to Altai, meets the Chuya River, and take a one hour trip on the Katun by motor boat.

Then we visit the sacred site of Kalbak-Tash. One of the largest and oldest sacred sites in Altai, it is called the 'stone library'. On huge rock faces, different peoples over thousands of years left more than 300 petroglyphs and runic inscriptions.

We see the Adyr-Kan stone and study other petroglyphs at the same place. Then we visit the Chike-Taman Pass, one of the mountain passes of Altai, where you can look at souvenirs again. We return to the hotel for dinner and rest.

After breakfast we set out for the Ulagan district, three hours from our hotel, where mostly Telengits live.

We stop in the village of Aktash, where you can have lunch or coffee. In the Ulagan district we visit the Pazyryk culture museum, see the Pazyryk graves where the khans' burial mounds stand, and hear their story.

Then we see the legendary Katu Yaryk, the Ergenekon Pass. We go down from the pass by off road vehicle to the valley of the Chulyshman River, cross the river and walk for 40 minutes to the Kurkure Waterfall.

We spend the night at another hotel near the Chulyshman Valley. The room for this night is included in the price, dinner and the next morning's breakfast are not. We have dinner there.

After breakfast at the hotel we pack and set off.

On the way we see Geyser Lake, called the evil eye bead of Altai. We stop at the Inegen viewing terrace to rest and have a snack.

We stop at the area called Kordon and watch the Katun River. Those who wish can step into the small lake formed where two rivers meet.

When we return to our hotel, horses are waiting and anyone who wants to can ride.

After breakfast we are guests in a village fifteen minutes away. There we are shown how people pray in Altai songs (the clapping blessing). We try traditional Altai snacks and some drinks, and hear how an Altai yurt should be set up and what the rules inside it are.

We listen once more to a kaichi and join in, so you hear Altai songs in different voices. You also have the chance to play kamchi, one of the traditional Altai games.

We return to the hotel. Traditional Altai dishes are made on the last day from the sheep prepared at the start of the programme. The Altai people waste no part of the animal and use all of it. You taste dishes that resemble Turkish cooking yet differ widely, and hear their stories. The day becomes a real feast at the table.

Breakfast is served with flight times in mind.

At a shared time set around everyone's flights, we go to the airport by shuttle. A separate taxi can be arranged for guests whose flight is at a very different time.