1st till 5th Day

Day 2:

After we arrived in Abakan, we drive the rest 400 km to the starting point of our trek. Our camp is not far away from the Shivilig healing spring.

Day 3:

Today we walk over a small wooded pass up to an elevated plain, which is surrounded by colourful mountains. Our way thereby leads through colourful alpine meadows and a good horse trail. With the help of horses, we wade through a 70 cm deep river and get back to our camp. The camp is situated on the edge of the steppe zone near the entrance to a narrow gorge in the middle of a firs grove. All around you can see ancient rock paintings, Scythian burial mounds and Turkic Stella (stone pillars).
15 km hiking

Day 4:

Today we ascent about 4-5 hours up to the Chailag-Mongulek Mountain 2677 m to see several ancient burial mounds, which are still not unearthed. The Tuvans say that the God of Salchak clan is hidden here. We gain about 650 meters height and have a wonderful view from there of the Khemchik Valley. After about 2 hour descent we reach our camp on Sulug-Kholash River.
Tent is next to the Suglug-Kholash River.

Day 5:

Our way leads over a gentle mountain pass, which is covered with birch and juniper. From there we go down to the Kurgag Kholash river (dryers Kholash). The river is called "dry", because it disappears after a few kilometres below the earth. We cross the river by using the stones which jut out of the water. Then we take a relaxing walk along the edge of a cedar forest through a fascinating landscape. The forest ends with a short ascent to a pass where we can see a yak breeder hut. A nice grassy slope leads down to our camp next to the Sir-Buzun River.

6th till 10th Day

Through a larch forest on a good horse path we hike up to Tarbagannyg-Oy ridge. There it is possible to visit a Tuvan yurt and to enjoy the local cuisine. From the top of the ridge, we have a good view of the path we have travelled on. Afterwards we go down to the Khemchik valley. After the Yenisei, the Khemchik is the second largest river in Tuva. Over a bridge we cross the Khemchik and arrive at our camp next to the river.

Day 7:

Our 10 km hike today takes us through the narrow Ching-Khem River in the forest. We must wade through the river five times with sandals (not difficult). We will camp close to the ascent to Perevalny pass.
5 hours.

Day 8:

First a relatively steep path leads up to the forest. Then we walk on an easy path through the high-altitude tundra upwards to cross the Perevalny pass at 2,740 m. The pass is marked with an "Ovaa" a shamanic altar - a holy place with a cairn and wooden branches, which are adorned with fabric scraps. On the right we can see the white Ak-oyuk Massif - with its 3604 m the second highest mountain chain after the Tuva Mongun taiga. From the pass we descend carefully to our camp on Poshtug-Khem (cedar river).
Approx. 7-8 hours.

Day 9:

The descent from Poshtug-Khem River down to the river valley Shui takes about 1 ½ hours. We cross the Shui river on horseback. After that a short hike follows along the Shui River for about 10 km up to Uzun-Khem (Long River). Thereby we pass through a picturesque bottleneck, whose high walls raise up to a kilometre.
Camping at the forest frontier. 5-6 hours.

Day 10:

Today we mount Bely Klyk (White Fang), with its 3333 m. The route we take is technically simple and requires no special equipment. We will be rewarded with a breathtaking view of the Uzun-Khem mountain group.

11th till 17th Day

Day 11:

Over open altitudes today we hike 7 km into the Uzun-Khem Gorge. Steep zigzag the path leads through a large number of green lakes over the Uzun-Khem Pass at 3,100 m altitude. From the pass we have a fantastic view  of the white Mongun-Taiga massif. From the pass we hike down to the Karga river valley, where we will find a vehicle that brings us the about 30 km to the foot of the Mongun taiga. There we camped at the base camp at the forest edge.

Day 12:

Approximately 3 hours, we walk up to a beautiful campsite in a "moraine bag" in the vicinity of the glacier NE of Mongun-Taiga mountain.

Day 13:

Ascent to Mongun taiga at 3970 m. For this ascent we need crampons, an ice pick is not required. We will take a safe route without any crevasses. The route goes over a rocky ridge, over a glacier and then gently at the foot of the glacier dome up to the tip. From the summit, we have an excellent panoramic view of the Mongolian vastness and the many large lakes, the Altai Mountains and the mountains in south western Tuva. From the "moraine bag" camp the walk to the tip will take 3-4 hours. We descend to the camp for a cup of tea and then we continue our way to the main camp, which we will reach approximately at 4 pm. From here we drive another 1-2 hours  to the village Mugur-Aksy.
Accommodation in a house with a local family. Siberian banya (bath).

Day 14:

Journey to Kyzyl, about 400 km.
Overnight at hotel.

Day 15:

This day we spend Kyzyl. There we visited the National Museum, Buddhist temple and the Shaman hospital, where sick people are treated after the traditional medicine of the shamans.
Overnight at hotel.

Day 16:

Flights from Kyzyl to Krasnoyarsk, then on to Moscow.
Transfer to the Rossia Hotel.

Day 17:

Moscow city tour.
Transfer to the airport. Departure.

Prices & Services

The price does not include:

Things to know

Recommended Equipment

• For detailed explanations to the degrees of difficulty please follow this link: Explanation to the degrees of difficulty
• Information about visa and entry regulations, health information and tips for equipment, see this link: Things to know-1
• Please note our information about possible exchange rate fluctuations: Exchange rate fluctuation