(Credit: http://vk.com/altaipark)

“Saylyugemsky” National Park has been organized in the Kosh-Agachsky District of the Altai Republic, in the centre of the Altai-Sayan mountainous country, only recently. The decision to create it was made in 2010; and the work began in 2013. 

However, the idea of the formation of this protected area is very old – for the first time it was proposed by the eminent geographer Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky in 1917. 

This is a unique natural region of Russia at the border with Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan. It is characterized by a high level of biological diversity, that is, there is a huge number of plant and animal species here, including rare and endangered ones. The National Park occupies an area of 118,380 hectares divided into three clusters: Saylyugem (34,400 hectares) and Ulandryk (3,250 hectares) located close to each other on the slope of the Saylyugem Ridge, near the Mongolian border, and Argut (80,730 hectares) on the spurs of the Katunsky and Severo-Chuisky ridges, near the border with Kazakhstan.

In order to visit the park, you must obtain a permission from the administration of the park in the village of Maima or in the village of Kosh-Agach.

In order to visit the clusters “Saylyugem” and “Ulandryk”, you must obtain permission for a visit to the border zone. Details can be found out in the office of the park. The zoning of the territory is underway now: it is assumed to allocate a special conservation area, a recreation area and an area of economic purpose. The first tourist routes have already been developed and will be presented in 2015.

Local peculiarities.

The following sights are located in the district of the park:

- Natural monuments of federal significance: Dzhumalinsky and Buguzunsky springs, Ustuu-Gimatskaya (Yustigimatskaya) cave-temple, Chagan-Uzunskaya erratic boulder, as well as the geological section of coal-bearing sediments of Kosh-Agachskaya formation and Chagan-Uzunskie stromatolites;

- the ridges of Saylyugem, Yuzhno-Chuisky, Severo-Chuisky, Katunsky; - the glaciers: Sophiysky, Taldurinskiy, Bolshoi Aktru, Maly Aktru;

-UNESCO World Heritage sites - the Ukok plateau where the monuments of the Scythian epoch are located, unique flora and fauna;

- the rivers: Argut, Shavla, Karagem, Karagemsky Rush on the river of Argut (a five-kilometer canyon), Chuya;

- the burial mound complexes of the plateau of Ukok, Chuiskaya and Kuraiskaya steppes, petroglyphic complexes of Elangash and Dzhuramal, Yustydsky archaeological complex, Tarkhatinskaya ancient observatory, runic inscriptions of Kurgak, Kyzyl-Kabak, Zhalgys-Tobe.

The History Museum of the Kazakhs of Chuiskaya Steppe is open in the village of Zhana-Aul. There is another museum in the administration of the Dzhazator village and a local history museum in the village of Kokorya.