Altai Mountains

The Russian Altai encompasses a vast highland plateau and alpine range along the borders with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China, containing Belukha Mountain — the highest peak in Siberia at 4506 metres — within its UNESCO-listed Golden Mountains of Altai. The Chuya Highway running south from Biysk through the Katun and Chuya river valleys is considered one of the most scenic roads in Russia, passing terraced steppe, turquoise glacial rivers, and high-altitude desert. Nomadic communities, Scythian burial mounds, and petroglyphs are distributed throughout the valleys.