Gorno-Altaisk (Russian: Го́рно-Алта́йск GOHR-nuh uhl-TIGHSK) is the capital of the Altai Republic.
. . . Gorno-Altaisk . . .
Situated in the foothills of the Altai Mountains, Gorno-Altaisk has a population of around 55,000. Most of organized tourist groups pass by the city since it is not on the routes to major destinations. However, there is a lot to see. The city is located on the northern border of the Altai Republic in a valley of two rivers. Millions of years ago it was a lake here, but the feeding river Maima changed position and the lake disappeared. Ancient people started to settle here around a hundred thousand years ago. Sprawled 10 kilometers from east to west and 7,5km from north to south, the city has 200 streets and pereouloks. The main ones are Kommunistichesky Prospekt, in parallel to Choros-Gurkina Prospekt and Lenina Prospekt. Kommunistichesky and Choros-Gurkina Prospekts are concentration of shops, cafes, banks, education and administrative buildings. Thanks to the number of institutes, the city is full of young students (over 5000) and the weekends are always some sort of holiday. However, herds of cows can be seen walking around the streets.
Gorno-Altaisk airport (RGK IATA) is 6 km from the city. S7 airlines operates regular flights to Moscow (2-3 times a week).
- Private taxis drive to Gorno-Altaisk from Barnaul and Biysk, buses depart from Biysk (every 2 hours), Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Kemerovo. Chuysky Highway is at the distance of 5km. The bus station is in the center of the city. From here private marshrutkas and taxis carry passengers to every town in the region.
In 2013 the construction of the railway from Biysk is planned.
The main transport in town are buses and marshrutkas (30 routes). Taxis are from RUB60. On a sunny day a walk takes 2 hours.
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