Beautiful Altai in the Border Zone (:)

These days are hardly to explain, there is not so much story but beautiful landscape which you get to see later in the pictures.

 

25th of August: In Катон-Карагаи we go to the office of the National Park. Андрей from Altai expedition explained us the way to them and told us it would be good to have at least the пропуск (permission) for the National park. The guys there are once again very friendly. It seems that it is first time that they have a Japanese visitor. We get a lot of explanations about the national park; the area is 6000 km2, with amazing flora and fauna, saying one day is not enough, it is better to go by horse ..... Indeed I would like to stay here more long, but therefore you need an additional vacation which just concentrates on this area. We just get the permit for national park, nobody ask for border zone permit, make the obligatory picture with the boss and some staff of the park, and go on to our Altai "Tour".

 

Around 40 km after Катон-Карагай, the Austrian road is climbing up around 1000 m from the bottom of a wide valley. This off-road trail was build by Austrian prisoners of world war one. This first 1000 m give you the views over the valley its sunflower fields that are encircled by colourful mountain meadows. From here you also see the snow-capped peaks of the highest mountain of the Altai. Along the serpentines a lot of berries are growing, which Kotomi is picking for the first time in her life. Sometimes Kotomi is walking since her stomach does not feel so good due to the bumpy way and the motion of the car. After the pass we drive onto a plateau with meadows, horses, cows, and clean rivers. A family has its summer camp here. It means they build up their Jurt and bring their animals here for the summer time. We go further and make our camp in a wide valley/plateau. The scenery is peaceful; horses jumping around and in the background the glaciers of some 4000 m high mountains getting red in the sunset. It gets cold this night; the moisture of our breath is frozen at the inside of the tent. (N 49.06015°, E 86.01725 °)

 

26th of August: Leaving the national park means we go into forbidden area. From now on we need the border zone permit. We driving through narrow valleys, over broken bridges, and have to cross rivers. But all the way is worth to go seeing these colourful mountain meadows which are surrounded by old larches. We manage only 40 km and arrive at Lake Markakol. Our contact person Михаел shows us with his 24 year old Toyota 4WD Combi a nice meadow at the lake where we make our camp. We have a chat and he is very much complaining about the Russians even so he is Russian. He never visited Russia after the independence of Kazakhstan, "всё мафиа", "all are mafia and bandits especially the police". Anyway he is surprised about the border zone permit stuff and says we do not need. We are not sure and are still a little bit afraid to meet any guys from the border police. (N 48.78453°, E 86.01745 °)

 

27th of August: Going south from the Lake means that we almost touch the Chinese border. I really hope that we do not meet the border police. I am always thinking about my excuse just in case that we meet them. Just do not know any Russian?? Or pretending not to know anything? Or .......???? The landscape is changing from rivers and lake, to mountain steppe, and after passing the Mamor pass we are looking down to the white sand dunes of the desert which are already in China. We are driving along the border fence and behind it you can see the desert. We pass a deserted border check point; nobody stops us it seems we are saved. Going on the South west where the left side of the road is steppe/desert and the right is amazing green from the water of the Altai. It gets very hot and we decide to make lunch at a river. We take a bath and some boys from the village join us. One of them is studying music and asks if we have a guitar. He plays while we are cooking. We share the Kumis which I bought in Катон-Карагаи, have some cookies together and then we are alone again. After another 100 km nothing just flat steppe, seeing behind and far away high mountains. Kotomi is sleeping as always on these “interesting” straight steppe roads. In the afternoon we arrive in the town Zajsan. Buying food, getting a 10 kg water melon for free (maybe because Kotomi is the first Japanese in this town, as she was the first Japanese at Lake Markakol (:)) and 50 km more until the quite big Lake Zaijsan. Making our camp in the steppe; behind us mountains and in front the lake. (N 47.67711°, E 84.41575 °)