«Hello, Altai!» Tour
Altai in the summer is a real paradise for tourists. Resting in Altai in the summer means seeing nature of such an unreal beauty that memories of it will accompany a person for more than one year. Resting in Altai in the summer means understanding how the world should look like with clean air, water, forest without the “charms” of civilization.
Itinerary: Barnaul – Biysk – Polevodka – Srostki – Manzherok – Sky-Blue Katun – Chemal – Lake Teletskoye – enclosure for marals – Belokhurikha – Biysk — Barnaul, 1380 km.
Groups consist of 2 or more people. No age limit. Children under 18 years must be accompanied by adults.
Tour dates: May-September
Duration: 8 days / 7 nights
Detailed itinerary
Day 1
Barnaul — Manzherok
- Meeting in Barnaul. Transfer Barnaul — Polevodka (220 km).
Excursion to ethnopark «Altai. History of Russia», where you will see the White Shaman, the Main Tambourine of Altai and the Golden Baba, a symbol of the well-being of the local indigenous people. Transfer Polevodka — Srostki, a birthplace of Vasily Shukshin, the famous writer, actor and film director (15 km).
Visit of the Shukshin Memorial Museum — Reserve. The museum consists of 3 buildings: the house-museum of Shukshin’s mother, the building of the former school where he studied and the house where the writer spent his childhood.
Visit to the mountain Picket, where the annual festival «Shukshin’s Readings» is held.
Transfer Srostki — Manzherok (100 km). Manzherok — the name of a village, a lake with relict nuts chilim and a ski complex.
Accommodation. Dinner.Meals: dinner
Day 2
- Sky-Blue Katun — Tavdinsky Caves Island
- Breakfast. Excursion to the Sky-Blue Katun (40 km) — the largest tourist center, with an artificial lake for swimming and fishing, restaurants, hotels, ski slopes, an extreme entertainment park, an art gallery, caves and an apiary.
Visit of the Tavdinsky Caves (entrance ticket). The Tavdinsky Caves are a mountain ridge, consisting of a large number of caves (about 30) of karst origin.
The length of rocks with caves is about 5 km. The entrances to the caves are in steep cliffs, most of which are easily accessible thanks to wooden steps and lightning.
Excursion to an apiary, tasting of Altaian honey, sleeping on bee hives.
Ascent by a chair lift to Mount Sinyukha (optional at extra cost). Optional: rafting/motor rafting down the Katun river (at extra cost) with a visit to the Kamyshlinsky waterfall — the left inflow of the Katun river.
The waterfall consists of two cascades with the height of 12 m.
Dinner.Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 3
- Chemal-Patmos Island-Che-Chkysh mountain
- Breakfast. Travel to Chemal (90 km), Chemal Hydro-Electric Power Station and Patmos Island – one of the most beautiful places in the Altai Mountains. The only way to the island is through the suspension bridge that connects rocks of the island with the rocks on the bank of the Katun river. There are a restored church commemorating St. John the Evangelist and the monastic cell of St. Makary Altaisky behind which you can see the rock with the indented image of Holy Mother.
Another place of interest in Chemal is the Chemal Hydro-Electric Power Station. Walking there you can also see the sources of «live» and «dead» water nearby. In the summer time thrill-seekers are attracted by the «bungee jump».
Lunch.
Depending on the weather – either a trip to Che-Chkysh mountain area or an excursion to the Museum-Estate of Choros-Gurkin in Anos. Che-Chkysh is a rocky canyon with the waterfalls, which is located in the Valley of Mountain Spirits. From this place, the visitors can observe a magnificent panorama of the Katun river (30 km).
The Museum Estate of Choros-Gurkin is a house and a workshop of the artist and ethnographer, the learner of Shishkin, the author of the famous paintings — «Khan Altai», «Lake of Mountain Spirits», «Crown of the Katun». The reproductions of these and other paintings can be found in the museum.
Visit to the Village of masters in Askat, acquaintance with the works of local artists and artisans.
Transfer to Manzherok (90 km). Dinner.Meals: breakfast, dinner.
Day 4
- Lake Teletskoye
Breakfast. Transfer Manzherok — Lake Teletskoye (200 km), the biggest lake in Altai and one of the biggest lakes in Russia. The maximal depth of the lake is 330 meters. The official name of the lake – Teletskoe – came from the name of Altai tribe – Teleuts – who lived here years ago.
However local people called the lake Altyn-Kol, which means “Golden lake”. Many rivers and streams flow into the lake, but only one river – Biya — flows out.
Accommodation. Walking tour to the Tretya river (depends on the weather).
Optional: rafting on the Biya River (at extra cost), visit to Ethno Park in Artybash village, tasting of national cuisine (at extra cost).
Dinner.Meals: breakfast, dinner.
Day 5
- Korbu Waterfall
- Breakfast. Tour around the lake with a stop at Korbu Waterfall, which is situated at the foothill of the Korbu Range on the territory of the Altai Nature Reserve. Waterfall is 12,5 m high (visitor’s tax).
Seeing Kishte Waterfall.
Dinner.Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 6
- Gorno-Altaisk — Marals Kaimskoye — Belokhurikha
- Breakfast. Transfer Teletskoye — Gorno-Altaisk (180 km).
Visit to the National Museum of the Altai Republic named after Anokhin (entrance ticket). The Museum has large ethnographic collections of Altaian indigenous people and also displays the unique artifact – the mummy of Princess of Ukok.
Transfer to enclosure for marals Kaimskoye (40 km). Getting acquainted with marals breeding. Marals are known for the miraculous properties of their horns (also called pants – nonossified antlers). A bath made with the water extracts of boiled antlers is a health-improving procedure. Pants are a complex of substances created by nature that has huge biostimulating power. Taking such bath and consuming other products made of pants’ extract raises body’s energy, improves blood circulation, supports anagenesis and accelerates the recovery of muscular tissue after physical exertion as well as slows down the aging process. Positive effect comes after 4-6 baths.
Transfer Kaimskoye — Belokhurikha (120 km). The resort is famous for its healing air and radon-enriched springs. Accommodation. Dinner.Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 7
- Belokhurikha-2
- Breakfast. Sightseeing tour around the resort including a trip to Belokhurikha-2 (30 km, serpentine road). Taking a chair-lift to the top of Tserkovka Mountain, where you can observe a beautiful panorama of the town (optional at extra cost).
Free time, souvenir shopping.
Dinner.
Visit to the Water World wellness center with a swimming pool with water attractions (hydromassage, aeromassage plateau, cascade showers, geysers, countercurrents, fast and slow river areas), children’s area, aqua aerobics, SPA, hammam, Roman thermae, Finnish and Russian saunas (optional at extra cost – from 20$/person).Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 8
- Biysk — Barnaul
- Breakfast. Transfer Belokurikha — Biysk (80 km) – the town which was built in 18th century under the decree of Peter I. Now Biysk has the status of Science
City and is the main gate to the Altai Mountains. We will take a walking tour with the stops at the historical and cultural monuments — Pontifical Yard, Museum of the History of the Altai Spiritual Mission (entrance ticket). Founded in 2008, the museum has a collection of over 10,000 exhibits with Oktoikh among them — one of the first printed books in Russia. Published in Moscow in 1618, this book is considered to be the oldest exhibit in the museum.
Transfer Biysk — Barnaul (180 km). Walking tour «Old Barnaul» including visit to Nagorny Park, where you can see a panoramic view of the city.
End of the program at 19:00 p.m.Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 9
- Swan Wildlife Refuge — Barnaul
- Breakfast. Excursion to the Swan Wildlife Refuge (90 km). Swan Lake (entrance ticket) is a small reservoir of about 1 km long, located in the Kokshi river basin. The average depth of the lake is about 1 m, the water is clean and transparent. Numerous springs sheds on the shores of the lake and from the bottom, you can clearly see them through transparent water. Thanks to the springs, the lake does not freeze in winter. The lake is unique in that it is the only body of water in Russia where the wild swans pass the winter.
PHOTOSESSION. Transfer Swan Lake — Barnaul (220 km).
Accommodation. Dinner.
Walking tour around Barnaul «Old Town» with a visit to the observation deck in Nagorny Park.Meals: breakfast, dinner
Day 10
Barnaul
Breakfast. Check out. Transfer to the airport.
Meals: breakfast
Price per person:
- Group of at least 2 people: 1/2 twin — 935 USD,
- Single supplement: 200 USD
Price includes:
- Transport services from Barnaul during the whole tour on a comfortable bus;
- Accommodation in DBL/TRPL room: standard room with private facilities (shower, WC): Ski Resort «Manzherok», tourist complex «Pechki-Lavochki» in the area of Lower Katun, Tourist complex «Altyn-Kol», «Gornoe Ozero» in the area of Lake Teletskoye, Hotels «Neo», «Oreon», «Bavarenok» in Belokhurikha.
- HB;
- Excursions according to the program;
- Insurance;
- Guide service according program.
Price excludes:
- Museum entrance tickets (from 5$/person);
- Visitor’s tax – (3$/person);
- Chair lift tickets (10$/person);
- Water World entrance ticket (from 20 $/person);
- Russian sauna (from 10$/hour);
- Additional food (lunch);
- Additional excursions (from 10$/person);
- Private expenses;
- International flight
