Katon-Karagay National Nature Park was created with the goal of studying and preserving the outstanding landscapes of the Southern Altai. The water in the glacial rivers Belaya Berel and Bukhtarma has a milky-bluish hue, which inspired the ancient storytellers with the legend of a happy country with milky rivers and jelly banks. Only in the Katon-Karagai Park you can watch the parade of waterfalls. The largest of them is Kok-Kol. On the territory of the park are located not only amazing natural objects, but also significant cultural monuments: the Berel mounds, the Northern branch of the Great Silk Road, the Old Austrian Road, the Kok-Kol mine. The Kok-Kol mine was built in 1938, at an elevation of 3,000 meters. Tungsten and molybdenum were mined here. In the Upper Camp, barracks, an office, a club, a warehouse, a forge, and a processing plant have been preserved. The mine operated until 1954. Lake Yazevoe (Karakol) is worthy of a separate paragraph. Marals often appear on its banks. It is the only lake in our region where ide are found. During clear weather, it reflects the snow – white pedestal of Altai - Mount Belukha, and the surrounding slopes are painted in all shades of blue - azure, pearl, indigo, black and even pink...
