Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE¨WORLD'S¨WORST¨ROAD?
'
Russian military jeeps are the best in the world. So we had to make roads dreadful
enough to test them
.' Thus jokes our weatherbeaten driver Viktor as he squirms his
UAZ 4WD through axle-deep mud, crying 'Mamma Mia' at every new tyre-crashing chal-
lenge. The vehicle lumbers over football-sized boulders, between tacks of pine-debris,
through gushing treams and over treacherously re-frozen snow patches. He reaches
for his inhaler as we all join in to crow-bar away half a ton of rock that has fallen across
the middle of the roadway. Eventually, despite his endless heroics, the 4WD is inally
defeated by an impassable mudhole. But we're barely a kilometre short of the valley lip
and wave him farewell as he returns to face the whole odyssey again, this time alone.
ited, though the two lodges (Yak Tours
and Arashan) usually have a caretaker in
residence and Yak Tours' claims to open
year-round. Pitching your tent near one of
the lodges usually carries a 100som charge.
Lodges serve meals for pre-booked guests
and in mid-summer either place might be
able to sell non-guests a few food items but
it's wise to carry your own food (and water
purifying tablets). Either place can organise
guides and horses (per hour 100som).
Yak¨Tours¨Lodge¨
MOUNTAIN LODgE
(
%
039-226 0298; www.altyn-arashan.com; dm/d
250/500som, incl 3 meals 750/1500som)
The
communal lounge has an atmospheric open
fire and tree-trunk support, and the glass-
fronted veranda has a single hammock from
which to gaze at the view. Rooms are sim-
ple and toilets outside are fairly frightening.
When the guide, Valentin, stays, the food is
excellent. When he's not there things are hit
and miss: check whether indeed there will
be any food available. The lodge has its own
hot-springs bath around 400m upstream
(non-guests 100som) and more attractive
luke-warm outdoor pools hidden down-
stream.
Arashan¨Lodge¨
MOUNTAIN LODgE
(
%
039-486 0034; dm incl hot pool usage 500som)
The advantage of Arashan Lodge, around
200m beyond Yak Tours', is that there's a
hot-pool right on site, but the box-toilets
aren't great and the dorm rooms are tightly
packed with basic spring camping beds. In
mid-summer Arashan's kitchen bakes its
own bread but off peak there is not likely to
be any food available at all.
Around Karakol
Altyn
-
Arashan Алтын
-
Арашан
Probably the most popular destination from
Karakol is a spartan hot-spring develop-
ment called Altyn-Arashan (Golden Spa),
set in a postcard-perfect alpine valley at
3000m, with 4260m Pik Palatka looming at
its southern end.
Much of the area is a botanical research
area called the Arashan State Nature Re-
serve, which is home to about 20 snow
leopards and a handful of bears, although
the only animals you're likely to see are the
horses and sheep belonging to local families.
During Soviet times it is rumoured that
25 snow leopards were trapped here and
shipped to zoos around the world until Mos-
cow cancelled all collecting and hunting per-
mits in 1975.
Altyn-Arashan has several small
hot-
spring¨ developments
(admission 200som)
.
Natural hot water flows into a series of con-
crete pools enclosed by wooden sheds. The
pools reek of sulphur but there is a trans-
lated certificate pinned to the door extolling
the curative properties of these waters and
listing, in exhaustive detail, the diseases
they will cure.
Each shed is lockable and you can get
the key from the house closest to whichever
shed you select. It is a great way to relax and
it's almost mandatory to run, screaming,
into the icy river afterwards.
From the springs it's about a five-hour
walk on foot to the snout of the Palatka Gla-
cier, wrapped around Pik Palatka.
4
¨Sleeping¨&¨Eating
Altyn-Arashan is not a village and its half-
dozen houses are not permanently inhab-
8
Getting¨There¨&¨Away
From Karakol, agencies - notably Yak Tours
(p265) - and some independent drivers, includ-
ing
Viktor Ilin
(
%
0555-468255, 704 73, 719 41;
