Gorno-Altaysk is the only city in the Altai Republic and the capital of the region. It was founded in 1830 as settlement called Ulala. Since 1928 it has a status of a city.

During the existence it has been changing the names for several times – till 1932 it was called Ulala, till 1948 it was Yorot-Tura and only after that Gorno-Altaysk.

The history of the city began when the Russian missionaries came to this territory and the first cases of turning the Altai people into Christians happened there. That time it was settled by 19 Altai families and 3 Russian families. Simultaneously with the missionaries, merchants from the nearest territories opened shops, purchased cattle, fur skins and cedar nuts. In the nearest future the first school and then the first churches were open in Gorno-Altaysk.

Today Gorno-Altaysk is an administrative, cultural and industrial center of the Republic. From the industry only the Precast concrete plant is left. Speaking about cultural life of the city, one of the oldest sights here is the National Museum (1920). In addition, the city has the Institute of Altai studies, Department of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, National Drama Theatre.

Gorno-Altaisk is situated in the north-western part of the Altai Mountains, picturesque valley on the banks of the Maima River. It is surrounded by mountains, thick birch groves and coniferous forests. Not very far from the city center there is a ski resort on the slopes of Tugaya mount (641 m), tracks are 1 km long, altitude difference 350 m. Alpine skiing season is from December to March. On the southern outskirts of the city there is Komsomolskaya Mount (427 m).

It's a small town, its population is only 62.8 thousand people. Residents are as well indigenous Altai people (about 35%) as Russian (65%), who should speak two official languages: Russian and Altai. The architecture is dominated by its one- and two-storey houses. Widely represented are private houses. The central part is filled by 4-storey brick and block houses. The longest street is a Communist avenue, 6.5 km long, it’s two kilometers longer than Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg. Another important street is Grigoriya Choros-Gurkina street. City center is considered to be between the Communist avenue and Choros-Gurkina street, Lenin Square and the bus terminal, it’s about 2.5 km long.

Very close to Gorno-Altaysk there is Mayma village with a developed infrastructure, we can call it a satellite town of Gorno-Altaysk or even city outskirts. Mayma village is situated on the Chuysky tract, turn left and you are in Gorno-Altaysk.

In 1961 during the excavations on the banks of the Ulalushka River the traces of primitive people were found by academician Alexey Okladnikov. The debates over this discovery are conducted to this day - many scientists believe, it would a grand hoax of the 20th century. But nevertheless, after the excavation the city became widely known. Now their ancient tools, which were found there, can be seen in the coat of arms of the city. It will be quite interesting to visit Ulalinskaya Paleolithic site and see this mysterious place with your own eyes.

In addition, some other archaeological sites of Afanasiev culture, Scythian time, Old-Turkic burial-mounds, stone monuments were discovered in the city. All this proves that the area was inhabited many years ago, although the official chronicle is carried out only in since 1830.

Today the city's economic progress is seen in tourism development: in plans there is a construction of a ski resort, trails for equestrian sports and mountain bike, the establishment of deer antlers and honey production. The city is almost completely gasified; boiler stations and public buses were transferred to the gas.

Time zone GMT +8