Move over Katun; time for some radical rapids on the Chuya.

Another day, another spot of Altai whitewater rafting – but not on the captivating Katun!…

No, this year we took a detour – yes, as the title indicates, for a stretch of rad-rapids down the Chuya river.

After the Akkem Rush and the following relaxing day, we took a break from the Katun. Why? But of course – for the rapids! For there are some good ones on the lower reaches of the Chuya – like the “Turbine” and the “Horizon”. Check these beauts out: the Turbine ->

And the Horizon ->

And here they are on the map:

We drove the six kilometers from the Katun to the Chuya. In all, the drive + rafting (including the necessary scouting) down the Chuya’s rapids takes just two-and-a-half to three hours.

And here’s the Chuya! ->

The Chuya is an interesting river in its own right – perhaps mostly since it’s rapids-heavy. There are other notable rapids, like the “Behemoth”, but they’re a bit too far: around 50km by road from the Katun (and even farther by river), so you can’t make it there and back in a day. And a bit upstream there’s the Mazhoy Cascade – dozens of challenging (serious-level) rapids definitely not meant for beginners. So for us, it was just the Turbine and the Horizon, which were more than enough.

We loaded up the main raft and the rescue catamaran onto the trailer, and off we drove…

We head down to the Chuya – a fantastic, lively river!

A few simple preparations:

And we’re off!…

Almost immediately, we hit the Turbine ->

We always pull over to scout rapids first. Curiously, rafting through rapids like these only takes a few minutes, while rafting down a cascade (like the Akkem Pipe) can take 10–15 minutes; you spend much more time just reccy-ing them from the riverbank. Actually, it’s a lot like those fancy waterparks: the water slide itself is about a minute (if that) of fun, but you could be waiting in line for it for over an hour!…

So – the Turbine rapids…

If you build up speed and try to punch through the entry wave, you run straight into the huge rock in the center, get spun around, and go through the second (and best) drop backward. A smarter strategy is needed…

Yes, you could play it safe and skirt along the right bank, slipping down the slower chute to the right of the rock – but one of our guides reckoned we could hit upon rocks on the riverbed. I had to agree: the left, faster-flowing channel was the way to go…

The rescue catamaran went first, then us:

Almost right after the Turbine comes the Horizon (why these names? No idea). Again – a must-scout:

There are two possible routes here too – to the left or the right of the rocks down the middle:

You have to clear the first “step” cleanly, because just around the turn is the rapid’s second drop:

And if you mess up here…

… Well, things can go south real quick – dangerously so. Like this:

// That’s not our video; I’m just sharing the link. You can start from the beginning, but the scary action really starts at 50 seconds. Yes, they were lucky no one was hurt – or worse.

Fortunately, we avoided any such trouble. So what went on in our raft? This! ->

And here’s the video:

What can I say? Wild water is always beautiful…

…even when it’s a murky gray:

Check this out: if you look closely, you’ll spot the calm “bathtub” among the churning currents – a kind of reverse jacuzzi! ->

Videos don’t hang off trees for easy picking; you’ve got to put in plenty of legwork ->

Stunning!

Then we continued on down the lower Chuya to where it meets the Katun:

Another fantastic day!

And here’s the Katun again:

The Katun’s water is turquoise, the Chuya’s is gray. When they flow together here’s what you get:

A perfect day!

And the following one – more Katun fun!…