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Àâòîð: Bezditko Sergey, Moscow
Informational report about mountain range Tabin-Bogdo-Ula in the Mongolian-Chinese Altaic
1. The Mongolian-Chinese Altaic.
The Western shoulder of Nairamdal
Right in the South of the Altaic region there is a blank spot in the strict sense of the word that attracts tourists’ attention – it is mountain range Tabin-Bogdo-Ula, the most powerful centre of glaciation in the Altaic. The bulks of ice cupolas of five of it’s main peaks (Tabin-Bogdo-Ula is translated from Mongolian like “five holy mounts”) tower over than 3900 meters, four of them are more than 4000 meters high.
The highest point of this range, peak Nairamdal (means “friendship”) reaches the altitude of 4374 meters and is lower than the highest peak of the Altai and Siberia Beluha (4506) only for 132 meters. Apropos, in the beginning of the 20th century it, situated only in two kilometers from the Russian border, was named Kiytin (“cold” – from Mongolian) and was considered to be the highest point of the Altais, at least up to the 1950 year. So, it wasn’t an accident that scientists-glaciologists and the best Altaic alpinists of the beginning of the 20th century, managed to do the ascents to Beluha and Kiytin in only a year apart, in 1914 and 1915.
Mount Snegnaya Cerkov, 4073
More over, there is situated a line of a great Asiatic watershed between the basin of the Arctic Ocean, that is a distance of 4000 kilometers, and internal-drainage areas of Central Asia.
The combination of extreme antiquity and absolute primevalness is really astonishing there. The archeological finds (for example, recently found mummy “the princess of Altai”) are irrefutable evidences of the fact that, for example, on the plato Ukok people appeared at least three and a half thousand years ago(!). They used this place not so much in economical as in cult aspect. Permafrost of this Southern lands is favourable to saving evidences and witnesses of the past. The conception “repose zone” is used for the protected territory of the plato Ukok absolutely officially. This is provided by both solitariness of the “bottom of the holy mount” (one more variant of translation the name of this mountain range) and the regime of the boundary control that is in force there.
The topographic map of the massif Tabin-Bogdo-Ula (Hi-Res: 2.5 Mb è 6 Mb)
2. Variants of approaches, customs and boundary formalities.
The main way to the region is the Cuyskiy highway. From the cities Barnaul or Biysk, having booked motortransport beforehand, it is necessary to reach (it takes about 1.5 days) a settlement Tashanta where a custom terminal is situated. For visiting the territory of Mongolia on legal ground you should validate the visas in Embassy of the Mongolian Republic. (In Moscow it is situated in Borisoglebsky str, 11, phone number 290-67-92).
Visas formalities (recommendations by the group of travelers under the direction of the guide from Novosibirsk M. Luchko, September 2005).
For camping in Mongolia it is necessary to get a visa.
The business address of the Mongolian Embassy:
191069 Moscow, Borisoglebsky str, 11(metro station «Smolenskaya», not far from Noviy Arbat)
Extra information about phone, fax numbers, e-mail addresses can be found at the Embassy website http://www.mongolianembassy.ru/. The address of the consular service:
Moscow, Spasopeskovsky str, 7/1 (metro stations “Smolenskaya” and Arbatskaya, not far from Stary Arbat) phone number +7 (495) 241-1548 fax number +7 (495) 244-7867
Documents, that are necessary to get a visa:
1.Passport for traveling abroad
2.A copy of a page from the passport for traveling abroad where the information about the owner is represented
3.Two black-and-white shots 3x4
4.A fulfilled form.
It usually takes 5 workdays to make an ordinary visa, it costs 900 rubles. An urgent visa you can get in 1 day, it costs 1650 rubles (information true for summer 2005).
They take documents from 09.30 till 12.00
They give documents out from 16.00 till 17.00
The tourists that are planning to be in Mongolia are to registrate themselves in Ulan-Bator (in the office of information and registration) or in the local police department in the residence.
Notes of people that have went through getting visa:
1.In spite of the fact that the Mongolian Embassy has a website, the information, got from there can appear to be incorrect, as the site does not renew regularly. Especially this concerns the form for getting visa.
2.It is impossible to get the information about getting visa by phone. First of all, employers in the consulate, that we came across with, didn’t know Russian well. And if in a private conversation this disadvantage can be compensated, using pantomime, then in phone talk you can be misunderstood. Secondly, in the consulate nobody takes the phone receiver or the modem is on.
3.If you have an opportunity, you should go to the consulate yourself and try to convince an employee that is busy with gathering/giving back documents that you need the example of the form for getting tourist visa. If they try to convince you that the form is to be given in a tourist firm, insist on the absence of the forms there. Otherwise you are risking to rewrite your form at the last moment as it can be written on the old-fashioned blank.
4.Near the window of gathering/giving out documents there is an informational stand, that is useful to become acquainted with, even if you had learned the website throughly. This stand can contain more fresh information.
5.If you had fulfilled the form incorrectly, don’t despond. The employees in the consulate are truly to rewriting the forms just at the sense.
Extra information: The Consulate General of Mongolia in Ulan-Ude:
Ulan-Ude, Profsouznaya, 6.Phone number +976 (1) 342-145, 342-445.E-mail: irconsul@angara.ru
The boundary and the custom.
On the Russian-Mongolian boundary (almost 3500 km long) there are 10 check-points: 8 motor-car and 2 railway. As for us, we passed the boundary via the motor-car check-point “Tashanta – Cagannuur” that is situated in Kosh-Agachsky region of the Republic of Altai.
The address of the customs station Tashantinsky (Gorno-Altaic custom house)
649787 the Republic of Altai,
Kosh-Agachsky region, settlement Tashanta
Phone: +7 (38842) 22289
Office hours: from 09.00 till 18.00 except Saturdays and Sundays.
Lunch time from 13.00 till 14.00
Ïðè ââîäå Ëîãèíà è Ïàðîëÿ,
