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It takes its name from the word “altyn” in Turk Mongol, meaning “piece of gold”, which refers to the beauty of the landscape, where, according to a prophecy, will be located the future earthly paradise. Plains, crossed by the river Ob and its numerous tributaries, and mountains, covered with snow and everlasting glaciers, sometimes exceeding 4’000 meters as mount Belukha, are its main features. Russian for about 150 years, this area is scarcely populated (10, 3 inhabitants per km2) especially in the mountain area, and it has almost 5’000 lakes, among which the lake Teletskoe, one of the deepest in the world (325 m). Presently sedentary, the population was nomad in the beginning as a descendant of the Scythians, ancient nomadic people of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, whose vestiges have been found owing to systematic excavations, started in 1865. The capital is Barnaul, which has received its city status in 1771, with about 650’000 inhabitants.
Trekking to the Altay
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