3 April 2019
How to get to Ust-Koksa, Tyungur or Multa
Since it’s one of the most frequently asked questions, which doesn’t have a simple answer, I present you a list of some possible options.
The village of Ust-Koksa, from which the path to Tungur and Multa starts, can be reached from three nearby cities: Novosibirsk, Barnaul and Gorno-Alataisk.
You can get to Novosibirsk and Barnaul by plane or by train, they are going in huge amounts in both directions. Skyscanner and RZD are to your aid.
You can get to Gorno-Altaisk by taking a straight S7 flight from Moscow, Sila also flies to Gorno-Altaisk, but you won’t find any of their tickets on usual marketplaces. Sila flies to Gorno-Altaisk from Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk. These flights are daily and cost about 6000 rubles two-way. You can examine the timetable on their website. Note, that Sila has only small jets.
Next, we’re going to look at the options for how to get to the village of Ust-Koksa, Tungur and Multa from three cities:
I want note it in advance, that all the prices here are approximate to the ones for the summer 2019 and they may change. We can only be certain about the bus delivery cost, which we organize ourselves.
From Novosibirsk:
- Altair-tour company bus.
Night drive. Leaves at 20.00 every Thursday and Saturday and for every company’s active tour (you can get familiar the tour schedule on the website). The delivery cost for the route Novosibirsk – Ust-Koksa – Novosibirsk is 5400 r. (luggage of any size is included). Bus type is determined by the number of the tickets sold. Most often, it’s big highly comfortable Korean 45-seat buses, in the beginning and the end of the season – it’s usually Mercedes Sprinter-like buses.
This is the only option without connections. Moreover, our bus gets to its destination much faster, as it doesn’t stop at the villages and bus stations. Approximate time of arrival to the village of Ust-Koksa – 10.00 AM. We can’t forget to mention how comfortable our buses and how polite our drivers are!
- Regular buses.
Here some connections are possible:
Novosibirsk – Barnaul, Barnaul – Ust-Koksa connection.
Barnaul – Ust-Koksa bus is regular (full name is Barnaul – Multa) and daily, leaves at 7.15 AM from Barnaul. There are no convenient connections, so you’ll have to wait for some time in Barnaul. Novosibirsk – Barnaul bus cost is approximately 700 r. + 150 r. for luggage. Barnaul – Ust-Koksa bus cost is 1600 r. + 300 r. for luggage. In total, two-way tickets are 5500 r.
Novosibirsk - Biysk, Biysk – Ust-Koksa connection.
There’s only one regular bus going from Biysk to Ust-Koksa and it’s the same «Barnaul-Multa» one. Biysk – Ust-Koksa drive cost is 1250 + 250 for luggage, Novosibirsk – Biysk cost is 1000 r. + 200 r. for luggage. What’s interesting about this one, is that you can leave Novosibirsk at night and connect in Biysk in the morning. The bus leaves Biysk at 10.15 AM. In addition, choosing this option, you won’t need to drive an extra 100 km from the fork to Barnaul, thus the overall price will a bit lower: 5000-5200 r.
Novosibirsk – Gorno-Altaisk, Gorno-Altaisk – Ust-Koksa connection.
You can reach Ust-Koksa from Gorno-Altaisk taking the same bus – “Barnaul – Multa”. It leaves Gorno-Altaisk bus station at 12.00.
In addition, a daily regular Gorno-Altaisk – Tungur bus leaves at 10.00 am.
In total, all the tickets cost will be about the same as for the route with a connection in Biysk– 5000-5200 r.
- Train + bus.
Not the most popular way, but it is still an option. I used it myself and I quite liked it. There is a regular train Novosibirsk – Biysk, which leaves at 22.25 from Novosibirsk and arrives at 7.45 the next morning. You can have a good sleep in a compartment for 1600 r. or in a regular seat for 1000 r. and continue your journey taking the same bus “Barnaul – Multa, which leaves from Biysk at 10.15 AM. Biysk bus station is right in front of the railway station. You can spend three hours of waiting at a comfortable and completely empty railway station in Biysk.
In total with a compartment, it’s 6200 r., two-way including a bus, with a regular seat – 4500 r., bus included. - Blablacar.
Now popular, this service hasn’t passed Altai cab drivers. In summer, trips from Novosibirsk to Ust-Koksa are a usual thing. It costs about 1500-2000 rub one-way. Very profitable, fast and extremely unreliable. You should switch your blablacar to russian language to see the rides. For some reasons they are not avaliable in other languages.
- Plane + bus.
As I already mentioned, you can take a Sila flight to Gorno-Altaisk. This summer the flight schedule is pretty inconvenient – arrival to Gorno-Altaisk airport is at 18.30. At this hour it’ll be almost impossible to find any regular buses or individual drivers going to Ust-Koksa. Hence, you’ll need to stay overnight in order to continue your journey in the morning according to the options already described earlier.
Novosibirsk – Gorno-Altaisk – Novosibirsk flight cost is 6000 r. That includes 10 kg of luggage, each additional kg is equal to 100 r. of extra payment.
In total, the plane + the Novosibirsk – Ust-Koksa – Novosibirsk bus will cost you about 8500-10000 r.
Novosibirsk – Gorno-Altaisk – Novosibirsk flight cost is 6000 r. That includes 10 kg of luggage, each additional kg is equal to 100 r. of extra payment.
In total, the plane + the Novosibirsk – Ust-Koksa – Novosibirsk bus will cost you about 8500-10000 r.
Sila flight schedule. - Blablacar + bus.
This option also has its advantages. If you don’t mind using the service, but there are no direct drives to Ust-Koksa, you can first get a car to Gorno-Altaisk, as there are plenty of such drives. It’s recommended to take an early morning drive, not to get late for the regular buses or individual drivers’ rides to Ust-Koksa. Usually, all of them depart before the noon.
In total, it’ll cost you about 4500 r. two-way.
- By car.
I have traveled from Novosibirsk to Ust-Koksa by car countless number of times and I tried all the options. There are three main ways to do it:
1. «Through Seminsky Pass». The most popular route. 830 km. The gentlest route from the automotive suspension point of view, but also the longest one. First 615 km before the turn in Tuekta village, you’ll drive on an almost perfect asphalt of Chuisk road. Then, the road will get worse. After the village of Ela there are 20 km of a dirt road, then there’s asphalt road to the village of Ust-Kan. After Ust-Kan there’s a dirt road in some places.
2. «The one with the shortcut in Cherga». A short route. 760 km. It’s more suitable for SUVs. You’ll need to take a turn in Cherga village and drive in Ust-Kan direction. The road is 120 km long, 80 km of which is made of gravel. It saves you about 2 hours of driving, in comparison to the first route.
3. «Through Soloneshnoe». Go to the city of Biysk from the Chuisk road and drive all the way through the village of Soloneshnoe until you reach the village of Ust-Kan. It’s 725 km of not so good of a road. You can cover it in any vehicle, but is it worth it? :) I, personally, love that road, because in summer it rounds Gorno-Altaisk region and all the traffic jams along the Katun’s camp sites. There are almost no cars on this road, so it saves you some time. But keep in mind that since there are very few cars, there are also very few cafes and petrol stations.
- Taxi.
Yes. It’s also possible. One-way ride will cost you about 15-20 thousand r.
From Barnaul:
- Altair-tour company bus.
Night drive. Leaves at 23.50 from the cafe «Облепиха» every Thursday and Saturday and for every company’s active tour (you can get familiar the tour schedule on the website). The delivery cost for the route Novosibirsk – Ust-Koksa – Novosibirsk is 5400 r. (luggage of any size is included). Bus type is determined by the number of the tickets sold. Most often, it’s big highly comfortable Korean 45-seats buses, in the beginning and the end of the season – it’s usually Mercedes Sprinter-like buses. - «Barnaul – Multa» regular bus.
Leaves at 7.15, arrives at Ust-Koksa at 21.00.
The price of this bus is 1638 r. + 300 r. for luggage. In total, it’s 3876 r. two-way. - Regular buses with connections in Gorno-Altaisk/Biysk
Logic here is similar to that described for the delivery from Novosibirsk. - Blablacar.
Costs about 1200-2000 r. Very profitable, fast and extremely unreliable.
In total, 2400-4000 r. two-way. - Taxi.
Costs about 10-15 thousand r. one-way.
From Gorno-Altaisk:
- Altair-tour delivery.
You will be picked up at the airport at 10.00 AM and taken to the village of Ust-Koksa. Two-way ticket with all the luggage included costs 4000 rubles. - Regular buses.
A daily Gorno-Altaisk – Tungur bus leaves at 10.00 AM. It costs about 1200 r., luggage included.
A daily regular Barnaul – Multa bus leaves from Gorno-Altaisk railway station at 12.15. Costs about 1200 r., luggage included. - Local individual drivers (Marshrutka).
Depart from the bus station. Mostly before the noon. They bill about 1200-1500 r., luggage included. They arrive faster than the regular buses. - Taxi
Costs about 10-15 thousand r.
Yes, exactly, the cost of a taxi from Barnaul is almost the same as the cost of a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk. At the same time, it’ll be much harder to find a cab in Gorno-Altaisk and, most likely, the car would be worse off than a car from Barnaul.
Once you get to the village of Ust-Koksa, you will be able to taxi to Tungur or Multa. If you are using an Altair-tour company bus, you can order the delivery to one of these destinations right away. Ust-Koksa – Tungur – Ust-Koksa transfer costs 1000 r., Ust-Koksa – Multa – Ust-Koksa – 800 r. In that case, you will take a minibus that will drive you to the chosen destination, and will later pick you up at the specified time.
There are also regular buses Ust-Koksa – Tungur and Ust-Koksa - Multa, but for now it’s unclear what timetable they will have for this summer.
Good luck on the road and welcome to Altai!
