Kalbak-Tash is a place where the ancient peoples of the Altai left a message, carved into rock. The site, a stretch of dark, polished slabs and boulders on the bank of the Chuya River, near the highway, holds one of the largest collections of petroglyphs in Siberia, with several thousand images covering a span of perhaps six thousand years. The earliest are Bronze Age, showing wild animals, hunters and strange sun-headed figures, and later layers, from the Scythian period and from the early Turkic nomads, include deer with branching antlers, horsemen, mounted archers, and runic inscriptions. Some figures are life-size, and the effect of walking among them, with the river nearby and the hills behind, is of stepping into a very old story.
The rock art of the Altai belongs to a wider tradition across Central Asia, the work of herders and warriors who lived on these steppes, buried their chiefs under stone mounds, and honoured the sun, the sky and the animal world. The deer stones of Mongolia and the carved stones of Tuva are cousins of these images, and archaeologists treat the Altai as one of the great cultural crossroads of the ancient world. The nearby Pazyryk burials, in the high valleys, held frozen tombs with preserved textiles, tattooed bodies and horses, a find that astonished the world.
Please respect the site. The carvings are fragile, and climbing on the rocks, touching the images or scratching new marks does lasting damage. Many are better seen in raking light, in the early morning or evening, and a little patience helps you find them.
The Chuya Highway, which passes nearby, is one of the finest roads in Russia for riders. Smooth surface, long bends, wide valleys, the blue of the river alongside, and mountains ahead, all combine in a ride that gets better the further you go. The surface is generally well kept, with some frost heave, and traffic is usually moderate, though tourist buses and trucks appear. In summer, the weather is changeable, and afternoon thunderstorms are common. Dust can be an issue on gravel side roads. The best months are June to September.
Inya, about twenty-four kilometres away, is a small village with basic shops and fuel is not guaranteed, so fill up in Onguday or Gorno-Altaysk. Cafés on the highway offer hot meals, mostly in summer, but the choice is limited. Carry water, a repair kit and warm clothes, because the Altai weather can change very quickly. Stand among the carvings in the late light, and look at the faces of the animals. They have been waiting a long time.