Gorny Charysh

Gorny Charysh

Gorny Charysh is a picturesque corner of the Altai Mountains, located between the rivers Anui and Charysh and attracting lovers of hiking in the mountains, rafting on rapids, fans of skiing and horseback riding, as well as cave explorers. The real wealth of these lands is the untouched nature, numerous snowfields, small lakes and underground karst cavities. More than half of the territory is covered by untouched by man taiga.

Video: Mountain Charysh

General Information

The Mountain Charysh with altitudes of 1600-1800 m is bounded by the Tigiretsky Ridge from the southwest and the Bashchelak Ridge from the east. These places are characterized by a temperate continental climate with rather mild winters and not hot summers.

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There are no large lakes here, but there are a large number of tiny lakes of glacial origin in the Gorny Charysh. Especially many kar lakes are located in the upper reaches of the Ini and Korgon. The most popular are the Talitskoye and Bashchelak lakes.

One of the main attractions of Gorny Charysh are caves. In some of them, scientists have managed to discover the remains of long-extinct animals. It turns out that in ancient times the foothills were inhabited by woolly rhinos, mammoths, cave hyenas and bison. Researchers hypothesize that these caves may have been used as shelters by ancient people.

Tourists coming to Gorny Charysh spend the night in tents or stay at recreation centers in the villages of Charyshskoye and Sentelek. In Charyshskoye there is a museum of local history, which is housed in a house built in the early XIX century.

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Antique burial complex

Many travelers try to get to Gorny Charysh to see the unique archaeological monument “Tsar’s Mound”, which rises in the valley of Sentelek. The ancient mound, located 25 km from the village of Charyshskoe, was erected in the V century BC for the burial of noble representatives of Sentelek families. It has a diameter of 46 meters and rises above the surrounding valley by 2 meters.

Under the layer of earthy soil inside the mound preserved bypass ring, built of stone slabs 1-1.5 m long, and the inner stone ring. And in the heart of the ancient necropolis there are 19 stone steles with a height of up to 4.5 m.

How to get there

Mountain Charysh is spread on the border of the Altai Territory, the Altai Republic and Kazakhstan. An asphalted road leads to the village of Charyshsky. From Barnaul, this village is 300 kilometers away. By car you can get here through Rubtsovsk, Aleisk and Ust-Kalmanka, and the road takes 4-5 hours. The nearest railway station is located 183 km from Charyshsky – in the town of Aleisk.