Altai is often called "the land of a thousand lakes" and "the country of blue lakes", as this area has been endowed by Mother Nature with countless beautiful bodies of water. Each of the lakes in the region is unique in its own way.
There are mountainous and lowland, salty and fresh, deep and shallow lakes, and some which are populated with aquatic inhabitants and others that are completely devoid of life. The lakes differ in origin, nutrition, colour, and composition of water, but all of them are united in their astonishing beauty. It is this unique charm that attracts romantically-minded tourists here who are tired of the crazy pace of modern life.
The Altai Krai territory stretches 600 km (373 miles) from west to east and 400 km (249 miles) from north to south. Two of the major rivers in Asia, the Ob and Irtysh, have their sources in the Altai Mountains.
