Katon-Karagay National Park

Katon-Karagay covers around six and a half thousand square kilometres of the Kazakh Altai on the borders with Russia and China, and it is the largest national park in the country: larch and cedar taiga, alpine meadow, glaciers on the higher ridges, the Bukhtarma and Berel valleys, and the Rakhmanov lakes. Maral, the Altai red deer, are farmed here for their antlers, and pantovye vanny, baths in a solution made from the velvet, are a fixture of the local sanatoria. Brown bear, lynx and snow leopard occur. Belukha, the highest Altai summit, rises on the Russian border at the head of the park. Border zone permits are required for the areas near the frontier and must be applied for in advance.

What you actually see

• Altai taiga - larch and cedar forest across the valleys.
• The Bukhtarma valley - the main river running through the park.
• Maral farms - the deer kept for antler velvet and the baths made from it.
• Alpine meadow - the high grazing under the ridges.

When to go

June to September; the high passes are snowbound from October and winter is long and severe. July and August are the warmest and when the meadows flower. Nights are cold at altitude in any month.

Honest expectations

Border zone permits for the frontier areas take weeks to obtain and are checked. Roads within the park are rough and river crossings can be impassable. Accommodation is guesthouses and sanatoria of basic standard. The park is a long journey from Oskemen.

Nearby

Rakhmanov springs and Belukha lie east; Berel is in the same valley.