Chuya Highway

The Chuysky tract follows a caravan route that has been used for centuries, and the modern road was cut in the 1930s, largely by prison labour, along the Katun and then the Chuya through gorges where the rock had to be blasted. The interesting part starts south of Gorno-Altaysk: the road climbs through the Seminsky pass, then the Chike-Taman pass with its switchbacks, runs along the Katun past the confluence with the Chuya, follows the Chuya through a gorge, and comes out onto the Kuray and Chuya steppes at around 1750 to 2000 metres with the North Chuysky range on the horizon. Beyond that it reaches Kosh-Agach and the Mongolian border. Along the way are Kalbak-Tash with its petroglyphs, the giant ripples left by an ice age flood on the Kuray steppe, and a set of viewpoints that make the drive the point rather than the destination.

What you actually see

• The gorge sections - road blasted along the Katun and the Chuya through rock.
• The passes - Seminsky and the switchbacks of Chike-Taman.
• The high steppe - Kuray and Chuya plains at 1750 to 2000 metres under the ranges.
• The petroglyphs - Kalbak-Tash carvings beside the road.

When to go

June to September; passes can close with snow outside that. Three to five days each way at a reasonable pace.

Honest expectations

It is a working federal road with lorries, not a scenic parkway, and overtaking on the passes is dangerous. Fuel and food are sparse in the southern half. The area near Tashanta is a border zone needing permits. Weather changes fast at altitude and mobile coverage is patchy.

Nearby

Chemal and the Katun valley are on the northern section; Kosh-Agach is near the border.