Kosh-Agach Tour, Altai : 7 Days

You are met at Gorno-Altaysk Airport between 07:00 and 09:00. We stop at a restaurant on the way, where you can try traditional Altai dishes. Each traveller pays for their own lunch.

We cross the Seminsky Pass (Dyall-Menku), the highest pass on the route. Its name means 'Eternal Wind'. We stop for clean mountain air and the first photographs. The drive takes about three hours and ends at our hotel in the village of Shashikman, in the Onguday district.

After settling into your rooms we gather in a traditional yurt for a welcome talk and an introduction to Altai.

Then we visit the Balyk-Sook monument complex. Its name translates from Altai as 'Fish Bone', and the site holds traces of several periods. The base of the burial ground is made of large stone mounds of the Pazyryk culture, from the early Iron Age. The most striking burials belong to early medieval Turks (7th and 8th centuries). Archaeologists found a warrior's grave here with four horses buried beside him. It is the only known example in the Sayan-Altai and Central Asian lands.

We stop at the Arzhan-Suu spring, whose water is considered healing, to fill bottles with clean mountain water. Dinner is at 19:00, followed by tea and conversation around the fire.

Today we travel to Kosh-Agach. The road crosses the Onguday and Ulagan districts, and we are on the road all day. Breakfast is at 07:00 and we leave at 08:00.

We stop for lunch in Aktash; each traveller pays for their own lunch. At 11:00 we set off from Aktash towards Kosh-Agach.

We reach Kosh-Agach at 14:30 and go straight to the Telengit Museum in Kokorya village (30 minutes). The museum shows finds from the Stone Age to the Turkic era. Its greatest treasure is the remains of a mummified warrior of the Hun-Sarmatian period, more than 2,000 years old (the head and a hand). It also keeps a composite Hun bow and arrows, the only such example known in Eurasia.

After the museum we go to the ancient burial mounds on the Yustyd River. The place is counted among the best known cult centres of Altai, with many stone statues and kereksurs (ritual mounds ringed with stone fences). Archaeologists found that the stone warriors here face east, towards the point where the sun rises at the spring and autumn equinoxes. That makes the site a true ancient observatory.

In the evening we return to the hotel in Kosh-Agach. The room for this night is included in the price, meals are not. We buy ingredients and prepare dinner together at the hotel.

Breakfast is at 09:00 at the hotel. The hotel in the Kosh-Agach area has no breakfast or dinner service, so we shop and prepare breakfast ourselves. Food at this hotel is paid by each traveller.

The first stop is the Tarkhatin Megalithic Complex (1 hour). This open air observatory, one of the oldest stone structures in Altai, is a circle of huge rock blocks 60 metres across. Researchers have shown that the position of the stones and their shadows were used to mark the equinoxes and solstices. Some megaliths keep petroglyphs that probably show the constellations Orion and Taurus.

We return to Kosh-Agach for lunch, which costs extra.

In the afternoon we visit the rock art of the Yelangash River valley (1 hour). Nearly 30,000 images run along tens of kilometres. Among the Bronze Age drawings are rare war chariots with male and female figures side by side. There are also Scythian deer in the animal style and medieval scenes of hunting on horseback.

In the evening we make the long drive back to our hotel in Shashikman. Dinner is late. Breakfast and dinner at our own hotel are included in the price, with no extra payment.

Breakfast is at 09:00. Today is a free day to rest.

For those who want it, horse hire and a nature walk are available. These activities are optional.

After breakfast we visit the Altai Culture Museum with a presentation by a museum specialist on culture, rituals and traditions.

Then we go to sacred Karakol Valley. Known as the 'navel of the world', it holds nearly five thousand archaeological monuments. You see royal burial mounds, ancient petroglyphs (including the well known Karakol inscription, Bichiktu-Boom) and ancient Turkic runic inscriptions cut into the rock.

Dinner is at the hotel.

After breakfast we take a lesson on nomadic cooking in a traditional yurt.

Then we go to the Chike-Taman Pass and the area called Kordon for a swimming trip on the sacred Katun River.

Back at the hotel, an evening programme awaits: a tasting of traditional Altai dishes, a kaichi concert, and traditional games such as the whip game and archery. Dinner is at the hotel, followed by conversation around the fire.

After breakfast we leave for the airport. The morning transfer is planned for 07:00.

A private transfer can be arranged for guests with later flights, at extra cost. You may also travel to the airport with the whole group.