Must see attractions in Altai

  • R

    Top Choice

    Regional Museum

    Housed in a wonderfully dilapidated 1912 merchant’s house with original art nouveau fittings, this fine museum is home to standing stone idols,…

  • G

    Top Choice

    Geyser Lake

    One of the more unusual sights along the Chusky Trakt is this sublime turquoise blue sulfur lake and geyser. This is no Yellowstone-style geyser erupting…

  • A

    Top Choice

    A.V. Anokhin National Museum of Altai

    This well-put-together museum offers a good introduction to Altai culture with a range of ethnographic exhibits, wildlife displays and local art and…

  • A

    Top Choice

    Altai Arts, Literature & Culture Museum

    The impressively eclectic – not to mention good-value – Altai Arts, Literature & Culture Museum occupies a restored, furnished 1850s mansion. There are…

  • W

    Top Choice

    War History Museum

    In an old brick house, the War History Museum is simple and all in Russian but the moving understatement of its Afghanistan and Chechnya memorials is…

  • V

    Varota Sartikpayev Gorge

    The tourist action in Chemal revolves around this canyon near the confluence of the Katun and Chemal Rivers. Despite power lines and summer crowds, views…

  • A

    Altaysky Tsentr

    From the centre of town walk about 500m south along central ul Pchyolkina, past small Park Pobedy, then turn right toward the river at the signpost to…

  • E

    European Bison Farm

    A herd of two dozen European bison live in a semiwild status as they range across the meadows and forests of this 'farm'. European bison were hunted to…

  • K

    Korbu Waterfall

    From June to September, there are many daily lake trips (R800 per person) to Korbu Waterfall. You have a choice between fast, noisy hydrofoils (four hours…

  • I

    Ioanno Bogoslavski Chapel

    On the northern edge of the Varota Sartikpayev Gorge, a wobbly footbridge leads across a stunning canyon to a craggy island in the Katun River on which is…

  • F

    FSB Headquarters

    The city’s Federal Security Services (FSB) headquarters is worth a peek. The bearded dude in the courtyard is Felix Dzerzhinsky, Cheka (KGB and FSB…

  • W

    War Memorial

    Near the train station in pl Pobedy, the War Memorial consists of a statue of a grieving mother with her lost son, an eternal flame and a very long list…

  • R

    Regional Museum

    Founded in 1823, the reasonably interesting Regional Museum is Siberia’s oldest. Top exhibits include intriguing models of various 18th-century industrial…

  • P

    Pokrovsky Church

    This bulbous-domed brick building is the most appealing of the city’s many churches and has a fine, gilded interior.

  • S

    Svyato-Makarevsky Church

    Completed in 2006, this attractive wooden church boasts a wonderfully photographic backdrop of rolling lush hills.

  • L

    Lenin the Toreador

    This unique Lenin monument sees the revolutionary apparently dressed up as a bullfighter.

  • A

    Assumption Church

    This blue-domed church frequently bustles with activity and is well-worth checking out.

  • C

    City Theatre

    Grand, renovated 1916 theatre with concerts and theatrical performances.