We liked Gorny Altai very much, but didn't quite like the road. Therefore, I decided to sketch out a couple of lines on how to get from Moscow to Barnaul and beyond. Read the report on the hike on my links: hike to Maashei part 1 and hike to Maashei part 2.
There are two regions: Altai Territory and the Altai Republic (Altai Mountains). Accordingly, the first is solid fields, the second is mountains. On the first one you arrive / arrive, to the second you need to get by bus or car. That is, you fly to Barnaul, or by train you reach either Barnaul or Biysk, and then by buses and cars you go to your destination.
Foreword. It is clear that if you have money, then it is better to fly by plane than to shake in a train for 60 hours. We thought so too, but decided to save money by flying to Barnaul by plane and back by train, and we regretted it a little. I like trains, and I have a good attitude to reserved seats, but the contingent we came across was not very good, a cattle company that was drinking black all over, there was almost a fight. If you go for a day, then you could be patient, more is already difficult. In addition, we concluded for ourselves that it was too long, well, we really want to go back home, and besides, toil about idleness quickly gets boring. Better to go there by train, back by plane. Still, it is better in a compartment for a long distance. Better yet, by plane round trip.
Our route to Gorny Altai: Moscow - Barnaul - Gorno-Altaysk - Aktash.
Return: Aktash - Barnaul - Novosbirsk - Moscow
If you are going to the Maashey (Mazhoy) valley, to the Maashey (Mazhoy) glacier, to the Karagen mountain, to the Shavlinsky lakes, then you just need to go to Aktash or Chibit.
- If you plan your trip in advance, you can buy tickets (via Aviasales.ru and Skyscanner.ru) to Barnaul for the price of a compartment on the train. You need to buy at least 3 months in advance. This is a very tasty option. I know for sure that Aeroflot and S7 have inexpensive tickets.
- You can fly through Novosibirsk, then change to a train or bus in the direction of Barnaul, but time is lost.
- If you travel by train, then tickets, especially reserved seats, must be bought in the first days of their appearance (45 days in advance). Tickets are either to Barnaul or to Biysk, they are sold out very quickly.
- At the Barnaul airport, it is better to take a regular shuttle bus, it is cheaper. He will take you to the bus station.
- Buses from the bus station in Barnaul to Gorno-Altaysk run often, almost every hour, travel time is about 5 hours.
- In Gorno-Altaysk you will have to take a car to get to the place. The cost is about 1000 rubles per person (up to Akatash). We agreed on 800r, you can probably try it cheaper. Moreover, as practice has shown, it is useless to call in advance from Moscow to someone from the local and negotiate. The one with whom we agreed, dumped earlier, taking other tourists.
- From Gorno-Altaysk to Aktash go about 5 hours.
- It is important to be in Gorno-Altaysk not much later than lunch, if you want to get there in one day. We arrived just at lunchtime, and there were only 2 cars left. There are a lot of tourists, the income is popular.
- It makes sense to negotiate with the driver and exchange phone numbers so that he can pick you up on the way back. If there is no agreement, then it is best to get on the track early, at 7 o'clock, locals will just go to the city for tourists, and there is also a chance to stumble upon a bus to Barnaul, which travels around 8 a.m. Traffic is not big, hitchhiking is difficult.
- If you decide to travel by train, but have not bought a return ticket, do not be discouraged. You can buy it on the way back, but not in Barnaul, but in Novosibirsk. Novosibirsk is a large transport hub, and a lot of trains go through it. To do this, you need to take a bus to Novosibirsk on the way back to Barnaul, they run somewhere until 7 pm.
The best connection in the mountains, near Aktash - Beeline. Not advertising! They just zapped the tower somewhere high. The rest of the operators are already catching closer to the track.
