Altai Mars

Altai Mars is a unique mountain relief, painted with yellow and orange, red and green, lilac and purple colors in smoothly shifting shades.

The name Kyzyl-Chin ("Mars" in Altai) means red gorge in Turkic, and indeed red color prevails in this area.

Located near the village of Chagan-Uzun in the Kosh-Agach district.

A long time ago, more than 300 million years ago, the red-brown layers that we see now on Mars were formed-1 and 2. The green colors also belong to this period. These are ancient clays with an admixture of sandstone and limestone. The colored stripes are arranged in almost horizontal layers.

Each layer was formed at a certain period, and the color of the clay depended on the conditions of that period and the chemical composition.

On the colorful mountains, you can see how the wind and meltwater have worked. The weathered slopes stand in almost vertical walls and ravines, creating a bizarre relief of the entire valley.

There is life on Altai Mars, but there is very little of it, and there are no trees at all, so when you plan a trip, be sure to bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.