Chulyshman Valley

The Chulyshman runs about a hundred and forty kilometres from the Ulagan plateau down to the southern end of Lake Teletskoye, in a trough with walls rising six to eight hundred metres, and getting into it is the memorable part: the Katu-Yaryk pass drops eight hundred metres in about three and a half kilometres of unpaved hairpins cut into the valley wall, at gradients that require low gear and a working handbrake, and it is the only road in. From the top the whole valley opens below. On the eastern slope opposite Ak-Kurum are the stone mushrooms, kurumy: columns of softer rock capped by harder blocks, standing several metres, reached by a river crossing and a steep climb. Uchar waterfall is up a side valley. The valley floor holds a few settlements, grazing, and camps along the river, and the far side lies inside the Altaisky reserve.

The landscape

• The Katu-Yaryk pass - eight hundred metres of unpaved hairpins, the only road in.
• The trough - a valley with walls six to eight hundred metres high.
• The stone mushrooms - capped rock columns on the slope opposite Ak-Kurum.
• The Chulyshman - a fast river running to the southern end of Teletskoye.

When to go

June to September; the pass is impassable in winter and dangerous when wet. Two to four days. Boat from Teletskoye is the alternative approach.

Practical notes

Katu-Yaryk is genuinely demanding - vehicles overheat and brakes fail on it, and a low car should not attempt it. There is no fuel or shop in the valley. The stone mushrooms need a boat crossing and a steep climb. Mobile signal is absent.

Nearby

Uchar waterfall is up a side valley; Lake Teletskoye is at the northern end.