Teletskoye Lake is the biggest lake in Altai and one of the largest in Russia. The maximal depth is 330 m. Due to the fact it takes 25^th place among the deepest lakes of the world.

The name of the lake originates from Altai tribe called teleuty. It is often called “the younger brother of Baikal”. Like Baikal it’s a very deep lake which stretches between the mountains and is rather long with a lot of rivers and mountains (about 80), flowing into it. Only one river flows out – it is the Biya.

In Altai language Teletskoye Lake means “golden lake”. According to an old legend, there was starvation in Altai in ancient times. And one person had a big golden bar, but in all Altai he couldn’t find anything to buy. Hungry and getting vexed, the “rich” poor threw his bar into the lake and sank himself. From that time it’s called “golden lake”.

The lake remains cold even in summer due to mountain waters. That’s why it’s not for swimming. The lake draws tourists’ attention due to its unique beauty, mysterious and enigmatic power…

Teletskoye Lake is a godsend for amateurs of adventures. In present time, in spite of its popularity, there are no many tourists there, as only its northern part is widely accessible, as for the southern part, you can get it by boat, motor ship along the river or by four-wheel drive vehicle  over the pass Katu-Yaryk. So you can easily feel yourself a discoverer of ancient territories. The major part of the shore and the surroundings of the lake avoided the influence of civilization and preserved its primary appearance.

Nevertheless, the amateurs of classical tourism can find here everything they got used to. In its northern area there are tourist complexes, from which various walking, water, horse itineraries around north-east part of Mountain Altai start. The main sights which are rather popular with tourists are waterfalls Korbu and Kishte, Stone Bay and waterfalls on the Tretya River.

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