In a high, lonely valley on the Ulagan Plateau, a line of low stone mounds marks one of the great archaeological finds of the twentieth century. Here, around two and a half thousand years ago, a nomadic people of the Scythian world buried their chiefs in log chambers beneath piles of stones. Water seeped into the tombs and froze, and the permafrost preserved what was inside: horses with their saddles and harnesses, felt hangings, clothing, tattooed bodies, and a wool carpet with a pile so fine that it is still the oldest of its kind known. That carpet, the Pazyryk carpet, is now in the Hermitage in St Petersburg.
The mounds were excavated by Soviet archaeologists in 1929 and again around 1950, and the finds transformed our understanding of the ancient steppe peoples, their art, and their connections with Persia and China. Today the site is quiet, with just the low stone heaps, a few signs and the wind blowing across the meadows. It takes imagination to see what lay beneath, but the setting, a broad valley among larch forest and mountains, makes it easy to understand why a people of horsemen would choose it as a place for their dead.
The ride to Pazyryk follows the road from Aktash up onto the Ulagan Plateau, then branches off toward the Katu-Yaryk pass and the Chulyshman valley. The road is narrow, partly paved and partly gravel, with washboard sections, potholes and soft edges. It crosses rolling, open terrain with larch woods, lakes and meadows, and the views stretch to distant snowy peaks. Weather at this altitude can change quickly, with cold rain or even snow possible in summer. Bring warm layers.
Ust-Ulagan, about fifteen kilometres away, has a shop, simple cafes and fuel that may or may not be available, so it is wise to fill up in Aktash before heading up. Beyond Pazyryk, the road continues to the edge of the plateau and the dramatic descent into the Chulyshman valley, which is remote and rough. Walk slowly between the mounds and feel the silence, broken only by the wind and the distant call of a raven; this is one of the most atmospheric places in the Altai.