We plan a holiday in advance. Mountain Altai. Where to go first?

Mountain Altai ... Where to go in this truly fabulous place? After all, it's no secret that this region is able to hit even the most experienced traveler and adventurer.

The variety of natural monuments here is so great that connoisseurs consider it the richest place on earth. The local population keeps many legends about the heroes, dragons, golden lakes and amazing caves, which can tell a lot to enthusiastic tourists.

Section 1. Mountain Altai. Where to go? General information about the area

Mountains and plains in the south-eastern part of Western Siberia - these wonderful places are called Altai. We suggest you take in hand an atlas of the world and see. The map of the Altai Mountains can not but cause increased interest. Why? The thing is that everything here deserves special attention: the majestic mountains, covered with snow caps, lazy lakes and fast ice rivers.

By the way, very few people know that the name of the area itself comes from the original Turkic word "golden". Beautiful and very symbolic, right? And in fact, you can admire the coniferous taiga and the splendor of the alpine meadow, see the beautiful motley grass at the subalpine level, and quite near are the semi-desert stony steppes.

Section 2. Mountain Altai. Where to go? Glaciers, mountains, waterfalls and lakes

Finding yourself in this area, you really understand how unique the nature of our planet is. There are very beautiful mountains and a huge number of glaciers, so you definitely will not have a lack of excursions and trips. By the way, in the zone of the North Chuya Range there are flat valleys, where excellent conditions for mountaineering are created. But this kind of entertainment will please only the most courageous travelers.

There are in this region its raisins. The fact is that many glaciers here are quite unusual from the point of view of modern scientists. They differ in special conditions. For example, the Akkem Glacier is considered to be the place where the Earth's energy column is located, on the Aktru in winter there is a "cold pole" with a temperature of -62ºC, the largest Taldurinsky glacier is a real ice country.

Waterfalls in the Altai Mountains are also very different. There are stormy, breaking from the mountain rocks, and there are also those who, escaping between the rocks, almost immediately disappear in the gorges. Near the waterfalls you can see the turbulent greens, but sometimes you can find a bare pile of rocks and not a single blade of grass. When a tourist sees with his own eyes iridescent jets of different colors, the impressions remain very bright!

Lakes can also not be counted. Altai is even called the country of amazing blue lakes. On the shore of the reservoirs, it seems as if time has stopped - this sensation does not leave, while standing near the water and looking at the surrounding mountains.

Great depths differ moraine-dam lake. They, located high in the mountains and surrounded by coniferous forests, very adorn the local landscape. In the permafrost zone, you can see remarkable thermokarst lakes. Their depth is small, and the water differs in dark color. And the biggest size is the Teletskoye Lake, which has a tectonic origin.

Section 3. Mountainous Altai. Where to go? Local Attractions

But the question remained open. Partly we got acquainted with the secrets of this region, but this list is far from complete.

So where to go in the Altai Mountains? Is it worth it to be poisoned in such a journey during the long-awaited vacation? Or is it better to give up to the sea? According to tourists, the amazing nature of the mountain Altai to every tourist at any time of the year necessarily gives an unforgettable experience. There are many places that are worth visiting, if only in order to forever remember the charm of this amazing mountainous country.

For example, in the Akkurum tract there are the most interesting stone mushrooms, which were formed as a result of the action of wind on rocks. But the Katunsky terraces in the valley of the Katun River still retain the secret of their age and origin - they rise above sea level by more than 200 meters! There is also the Tsar's Mound, whose age is more than 2.5 million years. And yet, according to avid travelers, it is necessary to visit the temple on the island of Patmos, with it the most mysterious legends of the area are connected.