Underworld Sayan

Tour to Khakassia "Homeland Sayan". Khakassia and Tuva are unique in variety of climatic zones and landscapes, natural, archaeological and historical monuments of the Republic, so far little visited by mass tourists. There is still a truly “pristine”, “wild” nature, and the number of archaeological sites scattered across the steppe expanses of Khakassia, the Republic has no equal in Russia. No wonder scientists call Khakassia – “Mecca of Siberian Archaeology”! You will find an unforgettable meeting with the ancient steppes and healing lakes of Khakassia, dense forests, mountain rivers and snow-capped Sayan ranges! Winds of millennia swept over this Earth, thousands of nomadic tribes passed through it, leaving silent monuments of eras in the ancient steppe of Khakassia. We will walk with you the way from the steppes to the alpine meadows, we will see fabulously beautiful mountains in blue haze, covered with impenetrable taiga, pass through the stone streams of kurums, under ringing cedars, through the grove of dwarf birch in the "Heaven of Sayan" to the mountain lake with crystal clear water. On the Sayan Pass, we will be frightened by the cold wind guarding the sacred Tyvan totem, but we will deceive him, we will go down to the sunny Tuva, where again the nature around us will change dramatically.
So, through the steppes, rivers, passes and taiga - in an unforgettable way through the beautiful ancient country - Khakassia!

Day 1. Meeting at the railway station (at the airport) in Abakan.
Excursion to the Salbyk mound. Our acquaintance with Khakassia will begin with one of the most majestic and mysterious monuments of ancient Southern Siberia, located in the Valley of the Kings, where the Tagar kingdom existed several thousand years ago.
Transfer to post. Pearl. (160 km). We go north, to the steppe and lake part of Khakassia.
Accommodation at the recreation center. The resort village Pearl is located on the shore of the salty healing Lake Shira. The wonderful water of Lake Shira was mentioned in ancient Khakassian legends and legends. The healthy climate of the resort is due to a rare combination of dry climate of steppes and lake air. In the next 3 days of the tour you will have the opportunity to combine excursions with rest and swimming in the lake.
Departure to Oz. Itcule. Excursion to the visit center of the Khakasssky Reserve, acquaintance with the animal and plant world of the steppes. Climbing the sightseeing mountain, which offers a beautiful view of the endless steppes of Khakassia, and in clear weather you can see up to 10 lakes scattered in the steppe.
Lake Itkul is the largest freshwater lake of Khakassia, the water of which is considered the cleanest of all lakes of the republic, comparable in purity with Baikal. After the tour you can enjoy swimming in the lake.
Back to the recreation center.

Day 2: Breakfast. Excursion "Archaeological tour of the tract of the chest". (Duration 6-7 hours, including transfer from the hotel and back) Acquaintance with the oldest astronomical observatory in Siberia and its main objects and drawings.
The mountain range "Sunduki" is located near the village of Iyus. The complex of surface archaeological sites on its territory includes burial grounds, cave paintings and special structures, which together are an astronomical observatory of ancient people. The complex includes several observation platforms, two versions of the “solar clock”, a calendar, a biography of the great warrior, reflecting the mythology of the ancients, as well as many objects and artifacts, the purpose of which has not yet been solved by scientists.

Day 3. Breakfast. Free day. Today you can relax on Lake Shira or continue exploring the ancient monuments of Khakassia (optional, for an additional fee of 1300 rubles / person). You will be offered a tour of the “Ancestors’ Path” along the Togyz-Az rock massif, located on the right bank of the White Iyus River. (Duration of the tour is 6-7 hours, including transfer from the hotel and back). (Travel along the ancient cult path, through grottoes, along the rocks along the amazing beauty of the ridge: ancient drawings, runic inscriptions, parking lots of primitive people, caves...)
... When you start on the Path of the Ancestors, you realize that this path is many years old. Not hundreds, maybe thousands. The path along the trail is a journey through time, the knowledge of the philosophy of an ancient man living in the world of myths and legends. Easy to pass, the trail fascinates with its descents and ascents; views opening from the slopes; the river flowing below; stone "rivers"; descending rashes in the rocky sidelines. It is as if the trail carries within itself the ancient knowledge of the world and human wisdom, of life and death.
Moving to Abakan. Hotel accommodation.
(If there are less than 4 people in the group, the transfer can be carried out by public transport according to the traffic schedule.)

Day 4. Breakfast. 9:00. Meeting with your guide on the southern part of Khakassia. Departure from the hotel. Transfer Abakan-Abaza - used by Kubaika (230 km)
In the southern part of Khakassia, the ancient traditions of the Khakass, the indigenous population of the republic, are best preserved; today we will get acquainted with the traditional way of life of this people.
A visit to the museum "Ulug-Khurtuyakh-Tas" is a three-meter stone stele that was dug into the ground about 6 thousand years ago at the site of a geological fault, where a powerful radiation of special energy is noted.
For a long time, this statue is considered the patron saint of all women of Khakassia and today is one of the most revered stone statues. Also here is a real Khakass yurt (XIX century) with a full collection of traditional household items, mounds of Tagar archaeological culture (VII-III centuries BC).
Driving along the federal highway Abakan-Ak-Dovurak, in just three hours you will see a change in picturesque natural landscapes, various climatic zones: steppes with the famous Khakass mounds, mixed forests of the pre-taiga zone and, finally, through the Tashtyp pass - a real Siberian taiga!
Arrival at the recreation center "Kubayka", accommodation. Lunch
After lunch rafting on the river Ona. This is not just rafting, but a whole trip along the mountain river, with a rest on the picturesque banks and fishing! Do not forget to bring a photo or video camera, because often wild animals come to the river to drink water. We'll go fishing while rafting, and if we're lucky, we'll catch the harius.
Return to base. Dinner. Bath.

Day 5. Breakfast. Today, the whole expedition (about 230 km in one direction) is a car tour "from Khakassia to Tuva"! Departure along the Abakan-Ak-Dovurak highway through the Kanjul Pass (a magnificent panorama of the peaks of the Western Sayan) along the valley of the Karasibo River, through the Atgolsky Pass we go to the Ona River valley. (Sheer cliffs, narrow canyons, magnificent taiga and frenzied rivers), along the way unforgettable natural monuments - "Source of Youth" and "Blue Gate". A winding mountain road along the river B. On, leading to the Sayan Pass from the taiga to the high-mountain tundra, through lingonberry, blueberry and cedar places. Sayan Pass (2206 mN) – on top of the world! If you have time and desire, you can take a walk to the lake Nameless. Lunch (dry ration). Dinner.

Day 6. Breakfast. Free day. Today you can continue to get acquainted with the archaeological and historical sights of Khakassia or stay at the recreation center to enjoy a holiday in the protected taiga, on the banks of the purest mountain river.
You will be offered an excursion to the open-air museum "Kazanovka" (optional, for an additional fee from 1800 rubles / person)
The museum is located in Askiz district of the Republic of Khakassia, about 127 km from Abakan. Here in February 1996, the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve was created on the territory of 18 thousand hectares. Amazing nature, curious ethnography and archaeological monuments are the three components of "Kazanovka". Several millennia ago, people lived here who prayed to mountain spirits, depicted animals and various rituals on the rocks, built mounds. Archaeologists have been working in Kazanovka for many years. On the territory of the reserve more than two thousand only recorded monuments. Among them are excavated mounds and burial grounds, about a thousand cave paintings, which are six thousand years old. The earliest structures belong to the IV-III in BC. Dinner.

Day 7. Breakfast. Departure from the recreation center. Transfer to Abakan (230 km).
On the way, visit the excursion complex of the Khakass reserve in Abaza, where you will learn about the nature of the mountain-taiga part of Khakassia. Walk along the trail "Taiga Charter", visit the "Museum of Siberian crafts", located in a stylized hunter's hut with a canopy and labaz.
Trip to Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP (120 km), on the way (optional) visit the Church of St. Eudokia. Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is the largest and most powerful power plant in Russia. During the tour, you will visit the observation deck and hear the history of the construction of the HPP.
Arrival at Abakan. A short tour of the city. Transfer to the railway station (to the hotel). If you leave Abakan the next morning, don’t forget to book your hotel in advance!

Number of tourists in the group: 4-12 people.
The time is local, ahead of Moscow by 4 hours.