Visit Altai to hike Mountains and Glaciers

[Rony Khan]

Also called "The Switzerland of Russia" or "open-air museum," Altai is the home to the UNESCO world heritage site – The Golden Mountains of Altai, which set the scene for some of the most spectacular hikes on the planet, with sweeping valley views, distant snow-capped mountains, and lush alpine meadows. There are few places where one can encounter many landscape combinations in such a small area.

The real beauty of the Altai region is Mount Belukha, the highest peak in Siberia and Russia (4,506 m). It is actually 1,000 m higher than the surrounding mountain ridges, and it is one of the most popular attractions in the region among adherents of active tourism. Glaciers cover some 70 square km of its surface, as the mountain lies in a region of year-round snow. Those that have managed to reach Belukha's ice-covered crest quickly get a sense of the mysterious and mystical force of the Altai Mountains.