Travel diary (in Finnish)
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This story will interest anyone keen on horseback trekking tours in exotic locations
The joys of riding in the Altai Mountains
By Ahti Kotisaari
In August 2007 I joined my first ever horseback trekking tour – in the Altai Mountains of Russia, in Central Asia. This wonderful experience included constantly breathtaking views from horseback during a peaceful, almost hypnotic few hours of riding each day, as well as complete relaxation around the campfire by night with my Finnish companions and our friendly Russian fellow travelers. Watching the horses resting and grazing free on the meadows made the trip feel like a totally natural travel experience. I've missed those beautiful places ever since. As we were supporting the local people's livelihood in a region where horses have been ridden for 2,500 years, we could also feel proud of spending a few days following and maintaining this ancient tradition.
Enchanted by the mountains, the steppes and horse-riding
With the help of kind-hearted Russian friends, I had already made my first visit to Altai in 2006, when I became enchanted with the region’s landscapes, the mountains stretching off towards the horizon in innumerable shades of blue, the mysterious permanently snow-capped peaks in the south, and the eternal steppes of the Mongolian borderlands.
But most of all I was delighted to watch horses grazing wild on the meadows, and then see riders mounting them, as if nothing had changed for 2,500 years from the days of the Scythians! In practice very little has changed over the ages. In the Altai Mountains riding is not the preserve of the rich as it is in the West, but rather the normal way to move from place to place. Horses are often the best or even the only suitable mode of transport for getting around in the mountainous terrain.
One day as we were trying to rest by a busy road, with noisy cars constantly screaming by, I spotted a rider cantering down through a steep meadow, waving a friendly greeting to us. As the rider spurred his mare on to gallop, and vanished over the hillside, I realised how stupid we were to be traveling by car. There was clearly only one good way to range through these hills! I resolved that the following year I would come back and enjoy this wonderful scenery at a much more leisurely pace, on horseback.
No previous experience required
I took a few riding lessons the following winter, and already felt reasonably prepared for our trip in the summer of 2007. But there were no problems even for some of the Russian participants in our tour who were on horseback for the first time in their lives. Horses are intelligent animals, and they seem to understand how to deal with beginners. I was the group leader for three other eager Finnish participants from a riding school, and I had been interested to see whether they would think such trips could be worth organising again in the future. I couldn't have imagined in advance how thrilled we would all be by the tour. The others have even started studying Russian to help them get even more out of another trip there next year, and one of the girls wants to be a guide on our tour.
During our trip in 2007, I was proud to be counted among the more experienced riders who were able to go on a special extra ride one evening that included galloping through rocky terrain. We were glad that we’d had the foresight to bring our own riding helmets! The idea of needing a helmet seems unthinkable to the locals or the Russian participants. But having a confident attitude towards the horse – and a helmet just in case – is enough to participate in such tours.
We frequently rewarded the horses who carried our food and other gear with affectionate pats. This kind of traveling certainly felt luxurious compared with foot-slogging bearing the extra weight of a 20 kg rucksack! The easiest way to progress was often just to let the horse lead you - they seem to be able to instinctively pick out the best routes in familiar terrain.
Follow in our hoof-prints
We were the first people from Finland to participate in this type of riding tour. Encouraged by our success and our wonderful experiences, I am dedicated to help people organising a travel to Altai mountains. Join us following in our hoof-prints.
Feel free to contact me with your wishes, and we will guide you to a safe tour organiser who will make your dream come true.
Altai Travels is dedicated to promote horseback riding culture and the native livelihoods of Altay, as well as to favour responsible tourism. The most important to us is that YOU can have a chance to introduce safely to exotic locations, that are not yet spoilt by mass tourism. We want to promote travelling that saves the environment and respects and is useful for the local people.
Altai Travels is no more a travel agengy, but it can help you organising the most difficult part of your culture trek, the riding tour itself.
We can help you arranging your transport from the airport of Novosibirsk or Barnaul to Altay, the horseback riding tour itself, the transport back to Novosibirsk or Barnaul, overnighting in a hotel and the transport to the airport for your departure flight. The preliminary price for all this is about 650 EUR, depending on the level of the hotel and how you want to make the local travels. Besides English, someone in your group is good to know a few words of Russian.
Affordable flights from Helsinki and some other European cities are available, e.g. through http://www.pulkovo.ru/en/.
Further requests are asked to be addressed by e-mail to: ahti.kotisaari (at) gmail.com. We can pass you to a responsible travel organizer, which is a very important issue in Russia.