The Kurai steppe is a typical Alpine-steppe which lies at an altitude of 1500 – 1600 meters above sea level. The steppe area is about 17.8 hectares, its length is up to 20 km and the widest place is about 15 kilometers. In the northeast, the steppe is bounded by the Kurai ridge which is about 2800-3200 meters high. In the southwest you will see the North-Chuya Ridge, one of the highest ranges in the Altai Mountains with peaks of about 4000 meters. The fact that the steppe is surrounded by the high ridges makes the steppe scenery very impressive.

The steppe stretches  from the southeast to the northwest , where it is almost blocked by spurs of the ranges. The bottom of the basin is an almost smooth plain; in some places with hummocky swamps and solonetzes. One of the biggest rivers of Altai – the Chuya River –  flows in its lowest part.

The climate in the region is rather severe, the summer is short and the frost-free period is only 55-65 days a year. Even in the summer months, a rather sharp contrast between day and night temperatures can be observed. In the mountains surrounding the steppe, snow sometimes falls already in the second half of August and lasts until the end of May.

There is little rainfall during the year, which significantly affects the local flora. Besides frequent droughts, local soils are mostly consist of stones, have strong water permeability and salinity. Due to it, in some places the steppe resembles a desert with all its characteristic plants – caragana, saxifrag, various kinds of wormwood. Juniper is also found here, but harsh weather conditions make it literally creep along the ground to protect itself from strong winds and frosts. Richer vegetation is found along river beds, especially the Chuya river  – larches, laurel poplars, weeping willows, Kuril tea, mountain forget-me-nots and even mushrooms grow there.

The fauna of the steppe is very diverse. Gophers, field mice, pika’s, steppe ferrets and hares live in the steppe, and you can find the steppe fox or corsac and even the wolf. Demoiselle cranes and (black) storks settle along the banks of the rivers.

 Only after installation of Soviet power,  in 1926 the construction of a small village started. Later the school, the post-office and the hospital were opened. The village began to grow, and in 1930 a cattle-breeding kolkhoz was established. Young Soviet power had very ambitious ideas to turn the dry steppe to green fields. A complicated irrigation system was built in the steppe. In 1930-1940-s a lot of experiments to grow wheat, oats, barley and vegetables were set up. Some of them were successful and harvests of grains were collected. But nature conditions were too severe and  since 1950-s crop farming turned only to growing coarse grain for feeding cattle. Breeding of sheep, goats and cows became the main activity of the kolkhoz.

Besides agriculture,  there was a basecamp of geological  exploration expeditions in Kurai . Geologists were researching surrounding mountains looking for mineral deposits. Although they found a lot of different minerals, it turned out that the costs to get them would be too high.

Today, two villages are located in the Kurai steppe – Kurai and Kyzyl-Tash.

In the Kurai steppe, you can see a unique geological formation – one of the most spectacular relief fields of giant current ripples in the world. These are the same ripples that you can see on the sand banks of rivers or seas, only much bigger. In the Kurai steppe the height of the sand dunes in some places reaches 20 meters with a length of 200 meters.  These huge ripples were formed, according to scientists, about 15 thousand years ago during the catastrophic breakthrough of the Chuya-Kurai ice-dammed lakes. According to the official register of the American Geology Service, water flows which formed the dunes in Kurai were the strongest in the world, the peak  discharge of water was about 18 million cubic meters per second. The best view to the giant current ripples is from the air. But it is possible to observe them from some hills in the steppe.

The main attraction of the Kurai steppe is, of course, a stunning view of the North Chuya Range. The mountains come as close to the road as possible and in fine weather, high snow-covered peaks and mighty glaciers are perfectly visible.

A lot of active touristic and alpinists’ routes start from the Kurai steppe. You can even get close to the glaciers in the Aktru valley by 4WD car.

Not far from the district center of Ongudai village, at 622 km of the Chuysky tract an amazing place is located – the Karakol valley. It lies on both banks of the Karakol River, between taiga-covered mountain ranges. The translation of Karakol from Altaian language can have multiple interpretations: 1) a black lake, that is, a lake fed by underground water (Kara kel) or 2) a black hand (Kara kol).

Not far from the district center of Ongudai village, at 622 km of the Chuysky tract an amazing place is located – the Karakol valley. It lies on both banks of the Karakol River, between taiga-covered mountain ranges. The translation of Karakol from Altaian language can have multiple interpretations: 1) a black lake, that is, a lake fed by underground water (Kara kel) or 2) a black hand (Kara kol).

The landscapes of the Karakol valley are very picturesque. For those who are interested in botany, the valley is a real paradise, trees and shrubs grow in abundance here, including fir, larch, birch, cedar, raspberry, honeysuckle and juniper, which is revered by Altaians. In early June, the first edelweiss appear in the valley. In spite of the common opinion that this flower grows only in inaccessible places at high altitudes, here, at an altitude of only 900-950 meters above sea level, there are whole edelweiss glades.

Karakol Valley is a native home for a variety of animals and birds. For example, local ground squirrels are practically not afraid of humans, their underground houses are located almost everywhere. So, you can see these funny animals and take good photos at any time, of course, excluding the winter months, when ground squirrels go into hibernation. Higher in the mountains roe deers, red deers, musk deers and, of course, their sworn enemies – wolves live. In the depths of the taiga, you can still meet bears, wolverines and sables.

For birdwatching the valley is just a perfect place. In addition to dozens of species of small birds, different kinds of eagles, like steppe and golden eagles, peregrine falcons and kites are flying in the sky. In recent years, demoiselle cranes and black storks have nested close to the houses of local residents – in May their courting can sometimes be observed right from the windows.

The length of the valley is relatively small – only about 20 kilometers, and it is only 3 km width. In the west, it is blocked by the Terektinsky ridge. One of the most significant mountains of it is the three-headed Uch-Enmek (2821 m). This mountain is considered sacred by local residents, it is forbidden to hunt here and no one except shamans has the right to climb the slopes of this mountain. According to the belief of the locals, if the ban is violated, the main spirit of Altai will “open the bosom”, which means big troubles for people…

From the Altai language, the name Uch-Enmek is translated as “3 tops of the head”, or more precisely – “3 infant fontanelles”. Altai people believe that the three peaks of the mountain connect our world with the upper world, cleansing people’s thoughts from evil and instilling faith in love and good.

Perhaps that is why people have settled in the Karakol Valley for thousands of years – this is evidenced by numerous monuments of different cultures. You can easily find monuments here from the Afanasyev, Karakol, Scythian and Turkic cultures. The concentration of burial mounds and kurgans is one of the highest in the Altai Republic. In total, about 5000 different archaeological, cultural and historical monuments have been discovered in the valley today.

Not far from the village of Bichiktu-Boom, directly above the road, there is a whole complex of petroglyphs. The entire southern slope of the mountain consists of smooth slabs piled on top of each other, and almost all have inscriptions and drawings. By the way, the name of the village is translated as “Rock with inscriptions”. In total, several hundred images have been recorded here today, but the rocks are still not explored completely. Most of the inscriptions and drawings belong to the period of the Middle Ages, and another part – to the era of Bronze and Early Iron Age.

Of particular note is the complex of royal burial mounds in the Bashadar area. In 1950, archaeological excavations were carried out here, and findings of exceptional importance and variety were obtained. Thanks to the ice lenses in the mound, mummified human remains, wood products, felt, leather, fabrics were perfectly preserved. Now some of the findings are exhibited in the Hermitage in Saint-Petersburg.

The big Bashadar kurgan has a very interesting peculiarity. It is half-surrounded with a huge arc of small groups of rocks, each of the groups has the form of a circle. Historians and archaeologists are still arguing about their purpose, but not any of the versions has yet received a scientific justification.

When conducting geophysical studies, it was found that anomalous magnetic radiation is present on the mounds, which also has the property of changing with large amplitude. The same magnetic field was noted in another place with a lot of Kurgans in Karakol valley –  Sooru area.

People live in the Karakol Valley today, there are three villages here – Bichiktu-Boom, Boochi and at the very end of the valley, where it is almost closed by the Terektinsky ridge – Kulady. Ethnic Altai people living in the valley still carefully preserve the heritage of their ancestors, observe ancient rituals and perform rituals of worship to the eezi-spirits of these places.

Information

Gorno-Altaisk is the capital and the only city of the Altai Republic.

Founded: 1824

City status since: 1928

Previous names: Ulala, Oyrot-Tura

Population in 2020: 64,478 people (Russians -68%, Altaians – 22%, Kazakhs -2%, others – 8%)

Distance: to Moscow – 3,641 km, to the large Siberian city of Novosibirsk – 448 km, to the nearest railway station in Biysk city – 100 km, to the capital of the Altai krai, Barnaul – 260 km.

The time difference with Moscow is +4 hours, the local time offset relative to UTC + 7 hours.

Location

Gorno-Altaisk is located in a small intermountain basin in the northwestern part of the Altai mountains, almost in the center of Eurasia at an altitude of 270-305 meters above sea level. It is surrounded from the north and the south by the ridges of 400-600 meters high.

Climate

The climate is continental with hot summers and cold winters with sometimes warmer days (even + zero). The hottest month is July, with an average temperature of +17 °C, and a maximum of +36.8 °C.  The coldest month -January, has an average temperature of 16,1 °C, and a minimum of -49 °C.

History

People inhabited this territory since ancient times, but written references to a permanent settlement date back only to the beginning of the 19th century.

After voluntary annexation of Altai to the Russian Empire in 1756, Russians began to settle here. By 1810 several Russian villages – Srostki, Berezovka, Setovka – were founded close to the territory of modern Gorno-Altaisk. In 1811 Russian peasants reached the Maima river mouth and founded the village Maima-Chergachak. At that time the local nomadic tribe of Teleut had their pastures in this area. The Teleut did not have a tradition of settled housing, they were nomadic herders – the tradition of settled lifestyle was brought to the region by Russians.

In 1831, the Russian Orthodox church sent missionaries to Altai, whose goal it was to convert the local population to Christianity. They chose a nice green valley several kilometers from Maima for building a church and founding a mission site. The mission settlement got the name Ulala. It can be translated either as a big valley or a big village. In 1838 a small wooden church was built and missionaries started their activity. They allowed only baptized locals to settle down in this area. By 1860 the population grew up to 500 people and Ulala became the center of the missionary activity.

Soon after the missionaries, Biysk merchants came to the village, interested in expanding trade relations with Mongolia and China. Due to this combination of circumstances, Ulala grew rapidly – by the end of the 19th century, there were already 131 houses of baptized Altai people, 149 houses of Russian immigrants, a missionary school, an icon painting class, the first hospital in the region and 27 craft workshops.  Altai began to attract more and more attention from scientists and merchants – several inns and the first hotel were opened for visitors.

By 1910, there were already 3 churches in Ulala, furthermore 2 schools and 500 houses with a population of 3,127 people. The village was gradually turning into a large commercial and cultural center.

Due to the Revolution of 1917, the development of Ulala slowed down, power in the region repeatedly passed from hand to hand, and only in 1922 the Soviet regime was finally established here. Ulala became the center of the newly formed autonomous Oirot region. In 1928, the village received the status of a city. Later, in 1932 the name Ulala was changed to Oirot-Tura, which was translated as “Oirot (endonym of local people) house”. During this period, administrative buildings, shops, schools and hospitals were built in the city, the Oirot Regional Museum of Local Lore and the Regional Drama Theater opened the doors for guests.

During the Second World War, the Moscow Pedagogical Institute, the Leningrad flight school, an orphanage and several industrial enterprises were evacuated to Oirot-Tura. Some of them continued their work in the city after the end of the war.

In 1948, the Oirot-Tura Autonomous Region was renamed to Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region, and the city received a new name too – Gorno-Altaisk. Over the next decades, active construction was underway here, and new city districts appeared. The industrial development took place mostly in so-called “light industries” – weaving, furniture and clothing factories were opened.

In 1992, after the Soviet Union had collapsed, the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast received the status of a republic, and Gorno-Altaisk became the capital of the Altai Republic. In 1996, the emblem of the city was designed.

Today’s Gorno-Altaisk concentrates the region’s main cultural, scientific and industrial potential. The Gorno-Altaisk State University, several professional educational institutions, research institutes, the National Library of the Altai Republic, and the city cultural center are located here.

The main street is Kommunistichesky Avenue, which is also the longest street in the city.

By bus the city is connected with almost all large villages of the Republic and the nearest cities of Siberia. In 2011, after the reconstruction of the airport, regular flights to Moscow were established.

The city’s attractions:

• National Museum of the Altai Republic named after A.V. Anokhin
• City park of culture and leisure
• Park named after V.I. Lenin
• Observation platforms on Mount Komsomolskaya and Mount Tugaya;
• Victory Park
• Monument G.I. Choros-Gurkin
• National Drama Theater
• St. Makaryevsky temple.

History

Sailugem national park has been founded early 2010. The main goal of Sailugem park is to protect, preserve and extend rare or threatened with extinction animals and plants on the red list of Russia. Among the animals that are living in the park are Altai Argali, a subspecies of the Argali (a wild sheep), and snow leopard. The park consists of three parts: Sailugem, Ulandrick and Argut. Both Sailugem and Ulandrik are on the border between Russia and Mongolia.

Natural environment

Sailugem is a mountain ridge in the south-east of the Altai region on the border of the Republic of Altai and Mongolia. The ridge is 130 km long and is situated on 3499 meter above sea level. The ridge acts as a watershed between the rivers Argut and Chuya (which ends in the river Ob) and the rivers of the Kobdo basin.

Climate

The Climate is rigorous, sharply continental and the temperature may drop to -62°С in winter. The frost-free period lasts for 35-60 days. 

​Lakes and rivers

In the park there are about 300 lakes of different origin and 17 glaciers. 

The water of the glaciers and rain fills the rivers Djazator, Tarkhata and Chagan-Burgazi.The rivers Karasa and Sarjemata come together. The valleys are situated more than 2000 meter above sea-level. Trees are not growing on the territory of the park but the views on the high, snowcapped mountains will compensate this. Lichen and rocky tundra prevails in highlands while steppe areas appear in southern slopes lower 2600 meters.  

Deserted steppes go high into the mountains which together form various types of tundra-steppe. They coexist with wetlands and rocks. Subalpine and alpine meadows may be found rarely, they occupy a small area. In steep slopes we may come across savin juniper. Other types of vegetation (marches, salt marches) are not common nor widespread. 

Diversity of Fauna and flora

The biggest subspecies of the Argali, the Altai Argali (a kind of wild sheep) are living in the park. The largest population exists of 30-40 animals which is 25% of the total population. They live on average altitude and down to the river Argut. The snow leopard is living much higher in the mountains. In addition to that, a special protected nature reserve has been created for the preservation of one of the largest groups of Siberian Ibex and the Sacor Falcon in the Altan-Sayan ecoregion.

In the park grows a large number of rare species of plants which are only growing in a small area. One of them is the Astragalus. Different kinds are present on the red list of the Republic of Altai.

In the park several species of small mammals can be found like hares, (The Pallas hare, the Daurian pika and the tolai hare) and mouse-like rodents – striped hamsters, dwarf hamsters, the Mongolian vole and much more.

– Birds: Among others we can encounter the brown accentor, rosy finch, snow finch, Pere David’s snow finch, red-billed chough, Altai snowcock, mountain partridge and others. In the park many large birds including birds of prey like Upland Buzzard, steppe eagle, golden eagle, black vulture, griffon vulture, bearded vulture, sacor falcon, and eagle-owl may be observed.

– Mammals: It is possible that we meet a unique species of the brown bear in the park. The bear is different because it lives in the bare mountains with no forest or trees. This species is named Sailugem brown bear. Furthermore, the manul or Pallas’cat lives here, it is a small wild cat –that is not present in other parts of the Republic of Altai. When you are lucky you might encounter the Mongolian gazelle but at present time it is completely disappearing and getting rare

The Chuya Steppe is an intermountain basin situated in the south-east of Russian Altai. The size of the steppe is 70 km long and approximately 10 to 40 km wide. The Chuya steppe is surrounded from all sides by mountain ridges – the Kurayskiy Range is the border on the north side of the steppe, the North-Chuysky and South-Chuysky ranges are on the west side, on the east side you will see the Chikhachev Range, and on the south side- Sailugev Range. The southern edge of the steppe is the border with Mongolia. 

Fauna of the Chuya steppe is very specific. Many endangered animals such as antelopes, foxes corsac and Pallas’ cats find their natural habitat here. Many species of rodents live there – ground squirrels, marmots, jerboas, wall-creapers and hamsters.

In the Chuya Steppe one can see such rare species of birds as Imperial Eagle, Black Vulture, Sacer Falkon, Whooper Swan, Demoiselle Crane, endemic species Altai Snowcock, Brandt’a Mountain Finch. Besides, such species as Bar Headed Goose and Ruddy Shelduck nest on the shores of beautiful unique alpine lakes.