Katun River

The Katun rises on the southern slope of Belukha, runs about six hundred and eighty kilometres and joins the Biya near Biysk to form the Ob. Its colour is the first thing people notice: a strong turquoise for much of the year, from glacial rock flour suspended in the water, going grey-brown at high melt in spring and clearest in autumn when the glaciers stop feeding it. The upper river above Inya carries serious whitewater - the Akkemsky and Shabash rapids among others - and multi-day rafting trips are a fixture of Russian river running, at grades that have killed people. Below Chemal it eases into the wide braided reaches where the tourist strip along the Chuysky Trakt sits, with resorts, bridges, the Chemal hydro station and the Patmos island chapel. The confluence with the Chuya at Chuy-Oozy is a marked viewpoint and a traditional Altai sacred place.

What you actually see

• The colour - turquoise from glacial flour, changing with the melt season.
• The upper rapids - serious whitewater above Inya, run on multi-day trips.
• The Chuya confluence - the marked viewpoint at Chuy-Oozy, a sacred place.
• The lower strip - resorts and bridges along the Chuysky Trakt below Chemal.

When to go

June to September for rafting; May for the highest water and hardest grades. Autumn for the clearest colour. A day on the lower river, up to two weeks on a full descent.

Honest expectations

Upper Katun whitewater is genuinely dangerous and has a fatality record - go with a proper operator and be honest about experience. Water is glacier-cold year-round. The lower river strip is heavily developed and crowded in August. Sacred sites along the river deserve respect.

Nearby

Chemal and Patmos are on the lower river; Tyungur and Belukha are upstream.