The Kurai steppe is an intermontane basin in the middle reaches of the Chui River. Travel to Altai

Altai is a land of a unique and diverse nature. Behind every turn, something new can be discovered: a mountain range, a plateau, a copse or a valley. The Kuray steppe is one of such places. Both man and the environment for centuries influenced it, changing beyond recognition. Such places make Altai attractive. Tourism is thriving here every year.

The Kurai steppe is a paradise for nomads

The steppe is bounded on two sides by ridges of mountains. This is the Severo-Chui Range and the Kuray. After a rather narrow exit, the Kuray ridge passes through the valley and overlooks the stony foothills. The Chuya River, the current of which is calm in these places, is markedly diversified by a desolate, harsh landscape. The steppe is covered with pebbles, only islands of poor vegetation revive it. Like the real old residents of these places, snow-covered ridges rise above the southern horizon. This is the majestic North Chuya Range. No, the multifacetedness of natural landscapes attracts travelers' attention to these places. There is something here that speeds up the heartbeat and fills with love and trembling in relation to the surrounding nature and the world. All everyday problems go to the background, leaving room only for the most important issues of the universe.

Orohydrography

The Kurai steppe is famous for places where, in connection with the floods on glacier-pond lakes, unique relief fields of giant ripple marks were formed, the only ones in the world. The field developed on the Tete River, in the area of flood-back currents near the right bank. Ripples are formed due to the catastrophic spillway from the lakes of Kuray and Chui, which occurred about fifteen thousand years ago. For discharges from glacial ponds, such a giant ripple of the current is the main argument. For the diluvial morpholithological complex, this relief is a very exotic element. Diluvial ridges are composed of coarse pebbles of coarse gravel with coarse-grained sand (around five percent). To better understand the scale of the wave (up to 20 meters) and an incredible flow rate on top of one ridge, a GAZ-66 car is delivered. All this is a vivid example of a classic mountain scablend. And the whole hollow, together with the mountain glaciers, is a glacial park, a true nature reserve. These places attract hundreds of people to the Altai Mountains. Tourism here is developing very quickly.

Features of climate and relief

The Kurai steppe is famous all over the world. It's all the fault of the ripples. They were formed as a result of the melting of massive ancient blocks of ice and floods from glacial high-altitude lakes. The relief of the ripples on the right bank of the Tete river is perfectly visible from the mountain range located not far from the settlement of Kurai, which can be reached by anyone, even by car. The climate in Kurai is also unusual. The sun ruthlessly burns every blade of grass in the steppe. And in winter blizzards make it impassable. This is an inhospitable place. Even in summer, the temperature can drop so low that the whole layer of fertile soil simply freezes. Precipitation here is very rare, but the winds are blowing violently. And it's not a high location above sea level. The features of such a climate are peculiar to this area because of the clear cloudless sky above the valley. Nothing prevents the hurricane winds from carrying away warm air warmed by it. From the end of August and until the spring on the Kuraisky mountain ridge there are snowdrifts. Under such weather conditions, fertile soil is out of the question. Fruitful layer simply does not have time to form under the snow. The almost flat Kuray plain is more like a desert, strewn with sandstone and pebbles. In some places there are areas of solonetz or clay. The faded and inconspicuous fauna in rare places covers the soil. This kind of climate can boast only the Kuraiskaya steppe. Altai is an unpredictable edge of an amazing nature.

Flora and fauna

There is so little rain here that it's simply impossible to talk about lush vegetation. She is extremely meager. Rare little shrubs cling to the riverbeds and streams, which carry their waters through the steppe. The rest of the place is just a stone and a brown clay with sand. But in those places where vegetation is available, there is an amazing delicate fragrance of wormwood. Low-grown herbs trample the flocks of sheep, which in large numbers roam the steppe, plucking a few plant remains. With time, vegetation in the Kurai is getting smaller and smaller. Some parts of the steppe are irrigated, which means that things are much better there. In the northern part and along the banks of streams one can see larch trees. Once there were many more. Here and there, from the ground, stumps are seen, so old that it is impossible to pick them up with a knife. So the cruel sun of the steppes dried them. However, larch still reach the sky from arid soil, at times creating entire exotic conglomerates. In the most unfit for existence, trees grow no taller than a meter, and in thickness - about 20-30 cm. Closer to the Chui steppe near the settlement of Chagan-Uzun along the banks of rivers grows a poplar grove. Here you can find and sea buckthorn thickets. And there, where the places are more humid, are the glades of Kuril tea. An ancient juniper bushes along the ground with huge bushes. Perhaps in the interglacial period in these parts was a softer and warmer climate. In those days tall trees grew here, and the herbs pleased the eye. However, now this region has collected an incredible variety of flora. There is also a deserted camel thorn, and steppe plants, and meadow - closer to the mountain ranges, and even forest and alpine. Among the world of animals in the Kuray Valley, you can find steppe grouse, hare, as well as wolves and foxes. On the banks of the Chui River, sometimes storks and cranes nest.

Archeology

Man began to master these places from ancient times. This is evidenced by numerous archaeological studies in the Kurai steppe. There is evidence of special veneration of the steppe among the local tribes. Thus, behind the small village of Kurai in the floodplain of the Chui River, several impressive barrows were discovered. They were excavated in the middle of the last century, and their contents became exhibits of many museums.

Ancient monuments of Kurai

The most famous Kurai monuments of archeology were stone women, who are still found in the steppe. They refer to the Turkic period, this is about the 7th-9th century. For example, at the Chui River, in the town of Tete, was discovered the famous "Keser", depicting a bearded man, knee-deep in the ground. It exceeds the height of one and a half meters and is made of gray-green granite. Now the statue was moved to the Altai local history museum. In addition, as a result of archaeological excavations, the remains of ancient irrigation systems were found. One of the largest - in the valley of the river Aktru. There is an assumption that in old times the channels ran for tens of kilometers along the steppe.

Legends of Local Peoples

A few kilometers downstream the scientists noticed a rock painting. Not far from the village of Chagan-Uzun in Choi there flows the same name river, which in Mongolian means "white river". The terrain here is significantly changing. On the right bank climb clay mountains - Kyzyl-Tash or Krasnaya Gora. On the name of this mountain goes the legend in the Altai. As if the Serpent and the Dzuren, the Mongolian antelope, were arguing over her, and they could not resolve the dispute by peace. Then they decided to find out who was stronger and started the fight. For several days they fought, not sparing each other, and finally both fell without power. Then the beasts decided that their strengths were equal, and they divided the mountain among themselves. Since then, on the southern slope, there are many snakes, and on the southern side - dzers. And the mountain at sunset is painted in the color of animal blood.

Legends of Altai

The Altai region is rich in legends and legends, the birth of which contributes to the surrounding nature. Therefore, a trip to the Altai will undoubtedly be interesting. Near Tytygam, for example, there are three large stones. According to the legends of the Kalmyks, these are the graves of the princess from China, servants and horses. The princess was the wife of the Kalmyk prince, but tried to flee from him to his homeland. A ferocious snowstorm killed both women and animals. But the abandoned husband still found their bodies and buried them with honors. It is said that the Chinese learned about the treasures buried with the royal person, and plundered the graves.

How to get to the Kuray Steppe

The easiest way to get to the Kurai steppe is by car along the Chuysk tract. The steppe itself begins after 817 kilometers from the Kuray pass. There is also a bus route from Gorno-Altaisk. For the extreme, there is a hiking path from the Ulagan district and above, along the Bashkaus river, and then through the Ildugem pass. It should be taken into account that it is high, more than two and a half kilometers.

A trip to the Altai, undoubtedly, will become fascinating and informative. After all, the Altai Territory is full of natural riches and beauties.