Altai Map

 

 

                 Map of East Asia

latest picture: September 15, 2016

• click a picture to see details

001  8/21/2016: The ‘Transfiguration Church’

[Преображенская Церковь] in Zmeinogorsk –

shortly after the Kazkhastan border crossing

in Tretyakovo near Mikhaylovka – is a lovely

introduction into Russia also on our second

visit (first entry on July 1st, 1995, in Troick

near Chelyabinsk)

002  Rural sceneries are abundant in Russia:

A herd of cattle is grazing near Savvushka, 15

miles [23km] north of Zmeinogorsk, around

the lovely setting of Lake Kolyvanskoye

003  Bizarre stone formations line

the shore of Lake Kolyvanskoye. It

is a popular recreation area with

cabins and a slide for children

004  Sign to the backpacker accommodation

‘Paradise’ in Krasnoshchekovo. If offers

communal shower, kitchen and sauna. Price

per room: 1’200 rubels = US$20.20 …..

005  ….. it is a beautiful quiet place in a

wonderful well-kept garden with all kind

of special flowers …..

006  ….. Emil admires the splendor of the

variety of colorful flowers at the ‘Paradise’

Backpackers accommodation, 22 miles

[35km] east of Kurya

007  Flowers in ‘Paradise’:

Pink cockscomb (Celosia cristata)

008  Flowers in ‘Paradise’:

Yellow cockscomb (Celosia cristata)

009  Flowers in ‘Paradise’:

A kind of begonia

010  On the lookout for a quiet and safe

camping night along the roads # K19/K18

to Belokurikha

011  A lovely rural scenery with scattered

hay bales between Berozovka and Belokurikha

(148 miles [238km], 7.2 driving hours after

Krasnoshchekovo)

012  Giant hay bales are carted away

with the typical robust

Russian ‘ZiL’ trucks

013  A lonely long hair sheep.

Sheeps belong to the rural scenery …..

014  ….. as do also geese. People

in rural areas are self sufficient

015  Russia is dotted with many rivers and

lakes; here the Charysh River near Kharlovo

in the Altai Krai region. Alone in the Altai

Republic there are said to be 7’000 lakes!

016  Emil makes a little break on the

gravel road to take in the tranquil scenery

017  A sunflower field right up to the line

of  Bashchelakskiy hills, at the northern

foothills of the Altay mountains

018  Lunch break between thorny

lilac thistles and white daisies at

the edge of a little forest

019  A harvested corn field in the

Predaltayskaya plains gleams golden in the

evening sun. Fields in Russia are enormous

020  The popular ski resort Belokurikha

with Spa-Hotels is greeting with a lovely

mountain scenery, the first Altay hills

021  A lovely yellow flower meadow in

the sparsely populated Altai Krai region

022  Idyll pure, rejoicing the heart: A dammed

up  little lake along the secondary road between

Belokurikha and Aya north of Gorno-Altaysk …..

….. Liliana is sitting at our camping table at the

lake’s shore. Besides the lovely scenery she

enjoys our lunch: Tomato rice and salami …..

024  ….. and shoots a last picture of this

beautiful spot on earth before we move

on from Altayskoye

025  Another biotope, another scenery along

the secondary road between Altayskoye and Aya

026  No, this road sign does not lead to any

bar but to the village of Aya: в.ая = in Aya

027  A fluffy sight: The white thistle seeds

resemble those of the dandelion (blowballs)

028  A rural village church in a common house

in the Altai Krai region. Despite strong animist

undercurrents, most Altai people believe in

Orthodox Christianity

029  A picture book frame: The lovely village

church in Choya – ‘Church of the Assumption

of Mary’ – framed by beautiful forest,

40 miles [65km] from Gorno-Altaysk

on the way to Lake Teletskoye

030  Close-up image of the ‘Church of

the Assumption of Mary’ (Церковь Успения

Пресвятой Богородицы) in Choya

031  The Isha creek meanders

through the Russian taiga

032  The road to Lake Teletskoye runs mile

after mile through dense forest - here about

1 hour before the lake on the road # 84K11

033  Biya River: Lake Teletskoye drains

into the Biya River at its westernmost nose

and joins at Biysk the Katun River, from

where it is called ‘Ob’ – the 7th-longest river

of the world (3’364 miles [5’410km] …..

034  ….. another lovely face of the Biya

River upstream in direction foothills of

the Altay mountains

035  The small hamlet of Kebezen sand-

wiched between the forest and the shore

of the Biya River promises a peaceful life

(13 miles [21km] north of Artybash)

036  Nature pure: Everywhere are

forested hills along the Biya River

– shortly before Artybash

037  Liliana cannot stop taking pictures

of the fabulous natural scene along

the Biya River

038  Iogach (1’600 people), the colorful

village at the western south shore of

serene Lake Teletskoye, which beauty

is compared with Lake Baikal .....

039  ..... Artybash (600 people), the

likewise colorful village at the western

north shore of Lake Teletskoye

040  Our basic little camping ‘Camping

Artybash’ at Lake Teletskoye at the end

of the road (4 miles [6½km] from the

bridge turnoff Artybash-Iogach)

041  Emil is fetching water from the lake.

Lake Teletskoye is the best known and

largest lake in the Altai Republic

042  View towards the east of

Lake Teletskoye. Here the road ends

043  The ferry ‘Vostok‘ [восток] running

between Artybash and Kyrsay, the most

southern point of Lake Teletskoye.

The trip is 43½ miles [70km]

Magnificent reflections at Lake Teletskoye. The Lake freezes over in winter time and the

village of Artybash transforms into a winter wonderland. It lies on an altitude of

1’427 ft. [434m], has a size of 90 sq.mi. [233km²] and has a depth of 1’066 ft. [325m]

044

045

046  The last rays of sun catch some

of the already autumnal colored trees

at Lake Teletskoye

047  The setting sun transforms the

water surface of Lake Teletskoye

into a reddish glow

048  The morning mist engulfing the

quaint village of Iogach at Lake

Teletskoye is lifting slowly

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms ….. the Siberian forests are well known for their many species

049

050

051

052  A typical Siberian peasant

farmstead with a simple window

decoration in bright blue

053  Cedar cones: The nuts in the cedar

cones are believed to be health-promoting.

They promise good health up to high age and

are very popular with the Siberian people

054  Lunch break at the Isha creek in

Choya on our return trip from

Lake Teletskoye to Gorno-Altaysk

055  Attractive ‘Kommunisticheskiy Prospekt’,

the main street in Gorno-Altaysk, the capital of

the Altai Republic with around 60’000 people

056  St. Nicholas chapel [Часовня Николая

Чудотворца] behind the bus station in

Gorno-Altaysk

057  A soviet T34 tank, in service from

1940 to 1960, in Park Pobedy in

Gorno-Altaysk

058  Hammer and sickle of the old Soviet

Union with the inscription “Patriotic War”,

in Park Pobedy in Gorno-Altaysk

059  The Memorial of World War II,

in Park Pobedy in Gorno-Altaysk

060  Another signpost of the old

Soviet Union with the inscription

“SSSR [CCCP] Victory”

061  A horror sight! On our return trip

from Lake Teletskoye to Gorno-Altaysk

an overlooked speed barrier causes the

(rusty) front pillars to break that keep

the windscreen in place …..

062  ….. a welder in Gorno-Altaysk

does his best on a Sunday evening to do

an emergency repair. It takes him ¾ hour

and costs around US$14 …..

063  ….. done! But it is and will remain an

emergency repair, which still holds a

further 4’145 miles [6’670km] to our 3rd

Rejuvenation in Miri/Sarawak/East-Malaysia,

where all pillars are being reinforced

064  There is no need for a gasoline station:

The compressed natural gas (CNG) is carried

along in gas bottles on the roof rack. This is

a public bus from Gorno-Altaysk

065  A typical Russian home in Gorno-

Altaysk with adorned window frames.

Wood is already chopped and piled

up for the winter season

066  “I am happy with myself and the world!”

067  A bijou of architecture: The St. Macarius

Temple in Gorno-Altaysk built completely

from wood in 2006 …..

068  ….. Liliana admires the simple interior

of the St. Macarius Temple [Церковь

Макария Преподобного Алтайского] …..

069  ….. a picture of the St. Macarius

Temple in Gorno-Altaysk

from another angle

070  Emil is searching in vain for spare parts

in our alu-box on the roof on the parking lot

of our guesthouse in Gorno-Altaysk (coord.

51.97660/85.89301), because after 55 miles

[80km] leaving Gorno-Altaysk towards the

Mongolian border a wobbling of the front

wheel between 4 to 6 inches [10-15cm]

forced us to backtrack

071  The spare parts, which we had to

order at Toyota Russia in Moscow

arrive in Gorno-Altaysk after 12 days

072  Emil is studying the Toyota manual

that during our journey around the world

has helped him many times to solve a

problem. Liliana’s temporarily

adopted cat keeps him company

Emil starts with the dismantling of the front axle. It shows that the upper knuckle bearing is completely broken

and also the lower one is damaged. The other parts (main wheel bearings etc.) seem to be unaffected

073

074

075

076  The steering knuckle arm with

the broken knuckle bearing

that had to be pressed out

077  The steering knuckle with

the partly damaged bearing that

had also to be replaced

078  A well-deserved lunch break between

the big repair work. Soon we will be ready

to continue our journey towards the

Mongolian border for the second time

Next website of our 2nd Central and North Asia trip 2016 to Russia:

Russia Part 2b – from Gorno Altaysk to the Mongolia border and back to the Ukraine border at Krupets – Sept. 26th to Nov. 11th, 2016

The African trip 2013-16:

CapeVerde: Santiago/Praia part 1 – November18th to December 13th, 2013

CapeVerde: Fogo – Dezember13th to 23rd, 2013

CapeVerde: Brava – December 23rd to 26th, 2013

Cape Verde: Santiago/Praia part 2 – December 26th, 2013 to February 28th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Nicolau – February 28th to March 13th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 1 – March 13th to 20th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Eastern side part 1 – March 20th to April 7th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Western side part 2 – April 7th to 10th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 2 – April 10th to 29th, 2014

Namibia Part 1 – from Walvis Bay to Windhoek

Angola Part 1 – September 26th to October 4th, 2014

Angola Part 2 – October 4th to 22nd, 2014

Namibia Part 2 – from Windhoek to the Angolan border, back again and on to South Africa

South Africa Part 1 – from Namibia border to Capetown – January 22nd to February 23rd, 2015

3rd Major Repair of our LandCruiser FJ60 - 1982  (due to two broken sideshafts)

South Africa Part 2 – from Capetown to Tsitsikamma National Park – February 24th to March 13th, 2015

South Africa Part 3 – from Addo National Park to the Lesotho border – March 13th to April 7th, 2015

Lesotho – April 7th to 15th, 2015

South Africa Part 4 – from the Lesotho to the Swaziland border – April 15th to 23rd, 2015

Swaziland – April 23rd to 28th, 2015

South Africa Part 5 – from the Swaziland to the Botswana border  – April 28th to May 15th, 2015

Botswana

Zimbabwe

Mozambique

Malawi

Armed Robbery in Malawi on July 31st/August 1st, 2015

Tanzania

Kenya

Ethiopia Part 1 – from Kenya to Djibouti – October 25th to November 18th, 2015

Djibouti – October 18th to 27th, 2015

Ethiopia Part 2 –  from Djibouti to Sudan – November 27th to December 9th, 2015

Sudan – December 9th, 2015 to January 8th, 2016