Trekking to Belucha in the
summer of 2008.
Belucha
Look for more photo's to the
Dutch pages.
We
will fly from Amsterdam to Moscow around 21st July and fly late in the evening
of the same day, from Moscow to Barnaul. We fly with Aeroflot and arrive about
7.30 the next morning in Barnaul. If you are not coming from Holland, you can
fly to Moscow and meet us at the national airport (to Barnaul), or fly to
Barnaul, and meet us at the airport there at 7.30 in the morning!
From Barnaul we travel by bus for 2 days to the small village of Tyungur in
Altai. There is the base camp where we will stay for 2 days for rest and a
visit to the Baba stones. Tyungur is about 600-700 m above sea level.
The trekking starts from Tyungur. On the first day of trekking there are two
alternative routes, taking a raft along part of the Katun river, or walking
over a pass of 1500 m. After rafting, there is a walk of a few hours to the
first camp site. If you walk over the pass, you will go through the small
village of Kucherla on a dirt road and then tractor and horse paths . After
some hours, the path becomes wilder, mostly on animals trails.
So for the first day of trekking there are two possibillities: 1. Rafting along
the Katun river or 2. walking over the pass.
We walk at a steady pace but for some it may be too fast and for others, too
slow. At the end of each day we must reach our camping ground for the night
where there will be a toilet, water for cooking and washing. We will have an
English speaking guide, and also a cook.
The area through which we walk varies each day with taiga, woods, stoney
ground, slopes which are sometimes very steep up and down, valleys, and
mountains. The Russian people take the most direct route up the hills, not like
the Swiss who take zigzag routes to the top!
The paths are often deeply rutted by horses and other trekkers. The way to
Belucha is not an easy one and you need to exercise before you go. However, I
have seen well trained people give up and less fit people continue every
morning again with new courage and vigour!
On the fifth day we reach Belucha and base camp 2. There we will have a banja
(sauna) with warm water for washing yourself. There is also a kitchen where the
Russian organization cooks for us while we are in this camp. We are now about
2200 m high.
We stay for 3 days near Belucha, and you can take a daytrip to the glacier
under Mt. Belucha, a day trip to the Yarlu mountain and a daytrip to the Seven
Lakes where each lake has a different colour. These daytrips are also
strenuous, with rocks, rivers, and long distances to walk.
After our stay near Belucha, we begin our return to Tyungur. The first day is
climbing up a high pass. We go from 2200 m to 3300 m and this is a difficult
day for many people. The terrain is up and down, and at the end more up than
down, but also beautiful views! The whole day you can see Belucha and the area
where you have come from and there will be snow on the top of the pass. There
will be many moments to take a rest, and the horses rest when they need too.
At the top of the pass we will take a short stop for a cold picnic lunch as
there is no wood for a fire. There will be time enough to take pictures before
we have to walk again for some hours, a long way down until we reach the tree
line.
The next day we also descend a long way until we meet the Kucherla river and
there make our camp and rest near a wooden shack!
We are now just two days from Tyungur. On the way we will see rock paintings
and visit a well (source) for cleaning your "pass-eyes"! The route is
also up and down, sometimes difficult, sometimes easy.
Then we arrive in Tyungur and have a nice banja and rest! The next day we
organize our luggage and are free to go where we want.
During the trekking you wash yourself and your dishes in the rivers and also
take drinking water from streams and rivers as advised by our guide. You will
need to decide for yourself if you want to use purifying tablets, it has not
been necessary in the past. On the route there are a many crystal clear, clean,
mountain rivers where you can fill your water bottle.
In Altai there is a temperate continental climate with very hot summers and
very cold winters. In the evenings, nights and early mornings it can be very
cold, sometimes under 0 C. If it is raining during the day it can be cold too,
depending on the height and temperature. Often it snows during the trekking so
take both summer and winter clothes with you! If you go by horse, gloves, cap
and scarf are lovely.
During the trekking we have an English speaking guide, and a cook. The food is
simple with porrige, bread, cheese, soup made with fresh vegetables and
potatoes, lots of pasta, fresh vegetables, meat, fish and lots of tea. If you
are vegetarian you have the same food, but without meat.
Vaccinations: We go in July and some of August so there may still be
ticks. It is recommended therefore to have a FSME vaccination against Siberian
Encephalitis. This consists of three vaccinations, with 4 weeks in between
each, so start early if you want to protect yourself. At this moment there are
no other recommended vaccinations for Russia, but please check for yourself in
good time before the trip.
Clothes: take a variety of summer clothes and winter clothes, layers are
best. Include gloves, warm hat and also a sun hat, scarf, waterproof trousers
and rain jacket, warm pyjamas, good sleeping bag, good walking boots or rubber
boots with good soles for walking, swimsuit, etc. Toilet paper, camera and
films, batteries, sun block, small tent, plate, bowl, cup and cutlery.
Whether you carry your luggage by yourself or it goes on a horse, the weight
may not be more then 10 kg. The luggage on a horse needs to be put in a strong
kit bag with a plastic liner to keep your luggage dry when it rains. This 10
kg. is not including the weight of your tent. The campsites are not always very
big so take a small tent.
If you hire a tent from the Russian organization you will have to share it with
someone else.
The
choices for the trekking are:
1. Walking, carrying your own luggage and tent.
2. Walking, with your luggage and tent on a horse - sharing 1 horse with
someone else.
3. Riding a horse carrying your own luggage and tent. Take some lessons if you
cannot ride as you sometimes need to lead your horse!!!
Groups 1 and 2 as above start earlier every morning than the 3rd group who ride
horses. It takes a while for the horsemen (from the villages Tyungur and
Kucherla) to pack all the luggage on the horses each morning. During the day
the horse group passes the walking group and therefore they eat lunch
separately. In the evening the walkers arrive at the campsite about 1 to 1 1/2
hours after the horse group. In the evening we eat all together. There may be
the need to make your own picnic lunch in the morning, before leaving camp, and
to carry it yourself.
We will leave from Amsterdam about 21 of July. The second day when we are
camping near Belucha is the 1st of August, which is a total eclipse of the sun.
That night is also a new moon, and the old Altai shamans say it is a good time
to clean your soul!!!
We return from Barnaul airport to Moscow on the 10th or 11th August and by the
11th we will be back in Amsterdam. If anyone makes their own way to Barnaul
they will need to liaise about return dates before booking their trip.
How big is the group?
This time the group will be between 15 and 25 people!
Because of the eclipse of the sun it will be more crowded with other groups,
including Russians, so I have to make reservations for our group this year in
order that we have enough tents and horses for our needs. If you think you want
to come with us, please let me know if you need a tent (sharing), luggage horse
(sharing) or your own horse.
In 2005, the price of 1 horse was 16 US$ per trekking day. So, shared horses
were 8 US$ per person, per day.
We also have to pay for the horses used by the horsemen. If there are 20 horses
needed for our group for example, we need 4 horsemen. That is 4 horses extra to
be paid for by the people who use horses.
How is the trekking organized?
You buy your tickets in your own country, via Amsterdam or straight to Moscow,
and Moscow to Barnaul. From me, you will receive a form to fill in with your
name and other details and attach a passport photo to. With your personal
details I will obtain an official invitation for you from the travel company in
St. Petersburg. This invitation will be sent to you by fax so I need a fax
number for you. You need this invitation to apply for a Russian visa.
To apply for a visa you need an application form (from a Russian consulate or
travel company, or print one from the internet) and you will need to read the
instructions carefully before applying. You also need a passport that is valid
for at least 6 months beyond your departure from Russia, a passport photo and a
copy of your insurance policy document covering your trip to Russia. This
should be a policy that specifically covers the whole world, and mentions the
Russian Federation.
You can also travel by train from Moscow to Barnaul in 3 days but be sure you are
in Barnaul at the airport at 7.30 in the morning of 22 July to meet us there
and not miss the coach to Tyungur!!
Lenalp Tours and I organise the Russian part of the trip from Moscow to Tyungur
and return, the trekking, our travel on the coach with overnight stays in
lodges on the way, our breakfasts, lunches and dinners, etc. When I know the
price I will put it on this site, hopefully by September 2007, and I will also
e-mail the people who have already confirmed their place for the trip in 2008.
The
total price in 2005 including air tickets from Amsterdam, hotel accommodation
in Barnaul and Moscow, coach, trekking and meals (but excluding the cost of
horses and meals in Moscow and Barnaul), was in 2005: 1886 €.
On my home page, www.natuurlijkhelen.nl , or if there is an error, also on
www.dreamhealer.nl , there is a link to the website of LenalpTours in St.
Petersburg. There you can read details about the treks, but notice that our
trek is different. We go for longer as we trek for 12 or 13 days, we have
English speaking guides, a cook, transfers on our way to Tyungur and overnight
stays in lodges, 2 days on the bus instead of 1 day, and an English speaking
guide with us on the bus etc. This amounts to more service and a longer trip to
and from Tyungur. On our way to Belucha we have very good but simple food and
do not need to cook ourselves and so on. Anything that we have in addition to
what is planned will cost more!!! Some flexibility is needed on a trip like
this!
I am not a travel company. I do not make a profit out of this trek and I am not
responsible for anything that happens during your journey. Be sure you have
good insurance for the whole trip!!!
This is all the information at the moment! If there are more questions, please
email to Fransje Bik or look at the Dutch pages on this website.