SIBERIA - ALTAI

Whispering Altai Mountains

From the wide flat fields of the Soviet Union that never end, to the white acmes of the Altai Mountains, from the dark green universe of the deep Siberian taiga to your Kazakh altitude steppes, landscapes with inspiring panoramas appear to take us to the desert land of Mongolia. All the sensations are amplified by the intense cold that takes over your universe.

This morning, the sun, rising over the horizon, illuminates your alpine mountains with a bright pink. The last stars are still glowing and looking at the clear morning sky, your breath will be biting. The limit of your last taiga forests, that comes into sight on the slopes of the mountains, is a reminder that the plateau is already at 1’700 m high, one of your high-altitude steppes.  

The daylight decreasing quickly at this time of the year, the sunrays are just a tender kiss on your frozen ground. The negative temperatures reveal a crystalline universe. The glacial wind blows the smoke of each of the chimney of Kuray away. And the colourful flats of the small wooden houses give some bright colours in your aquarelle world.

The mist that covers the whole plain, lay down a freezing humidity and creates a pastel blue filter that form a serene atmosphere. The silence enveloping your land seems to touch the high summits of the Altai Mountains, bringing back the echo of their whispers. The rivers are now icy formations, but the farouche water that freed itself in the rapids engenders a steam. And its waves are dissipating with lightness in an inspiring dance. Two horses with thick hair gallop freely in these gigantic spaces covered by snow, right in front of the alpine scenery.

Further, your narrow canyon navigates between the ridges of the mountains, opening the door to wild lateral valleys. The wind rushes impressively in the passage, the gorge created. After the canyon, a vast steppe appears, fully encircled by a parade of small mounts and abrupt mountains.