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Border crossing RUS to Mong, in Altai region. Help! Border crossing RUS to Mong, in Altai region. Help!
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Photo by George Guille, It's going to be a long 300km... Bolivian Amazon

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Photo by George Guille
It's going to be a long 300km...
Bolivian Amazon



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  #1  
Old 27 May 2014
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Border crossing RUS to Mong, in Altai region. Help!
Hi,We are two norwegian guys heading for the mongolian border through Altai russia,. We are in Astana right now and just read about needing to have a permission by the FSB to go further south then kosh-agash to the mongolian border. and that it is necessary for an application in russian at least ten days in advanced.

This sounds like a nightmare!

Does anybody know anything about this? I have never heard of it before, but if its true it really messes up the trip.

Would be very grateful for any information about this!

Espen
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  #2  
Old 27 May 2014
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As long as you stay on the main road to Tashanta, you need no border (FSB) permit.
Has the permit application improved? When we got the permit in 2011, it was application 60 days in advance for foreigners.

If you search in this forum, you find similar threads.
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  #3  
Old 27 May 2014
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We're heading to Mongolia through Tashanta. I checked with the travel agency that handles my visas, and the special FSB permit for border zones is only need if you plan on exploring off the main transit routes.

If you're just driving through and staying on the main highway, no special permit is needed.
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  #4  
Old 28 May 2014
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You don't need one for the main road. It's 60 days for the permit if you want to go off the main road.
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  #5  
Old 30 May 2014
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Tashanta border crossing 21-05
We crossed the border without any problems. We had no permit. We also didn't go of the main road. The only thing at the border was that the russians asked for the customs declaration we got in Kazachstan. Luckily we didn't trow it away, so keep this declaration which you got in Kaz.

Good trip!
Pieter
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  #6  
Old 30 May 2014
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Which border crossing did you leave Kazakhstan from??
The Shemonaikha/Zmeinogorsk or did you use the Semipalatinsk/Rubtsovsk crossing.
I was thinking of using the Shemonaikha/Zmeinogorsk crossing and go up to Petropavlovskoe then down to Ust Kan before getting back on to the highway to go to the Tashanta crossing
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Old 1 Jun 2014
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you can actually deviate off the main road. We crossed from Semey and headed east from Rubtsovsk and Kurya on minor roads.

You will know when you have gone too far off the track because there is a sign mentioning permits in Cyrillic... and English! We were stupid enough to carry on through minor villages trying to find a direct route through. We went about 20km off road east from Sentelik (sp?) but couldn't find a way through.

Adam (Short Way Round | …short on legs…short on hair…and short on cash – riding around the world the ShortWayRound!) tried again the next day but got hideously bogged about 5km further than we got the day before. We asked around and none of the locals knew a way through so we canned the idea and worked our way around instead.

Great area, beautiful part of the world.

Russian Altai Region – Taking the road less travelled from Kazakhstan to Mongolia | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

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  #8  
Old 1 Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by Griffdowg View Post
you can actually deviate off the main road. We crossed from Semey and headed east from Rubtsovsk and Kurya on minor roads.

You will know when you have gone too far off the track because there is a sign mentioning permits in Cyrillic... and English! We were stupid enough to carry on through minor villages trying to find a direct route through. We went about 20km off road east from Sentelik (sp?) but couldn't find a way through.

Adam (Short Way Round | …short on legs…short on hair…and short on cash – riding around the world the ShortWayRound!) tried again the next day but got hideously bogged about 5km further than we got the day before. We asked around and none of the locals knew a way through so we canned the idea and worked our way around instead.

Great area, beautiful part of the world.

Russian Altai Region – Taking the road less travelled from Kazakhstan to Mongolia | Sirocco Overland | Сирокко Оверленд

G
Permits??!! is this the FSB thing? Where did you head to from Kurya? I take it eventually you ended up on the R256 which takes you to the Mongolia Border Crossing
Last edited by Caps; 1 Jun 2014 at 09:31. Reason: add info
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  #9  
Old 1 Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by Caps View Post
Permits??!! is this the FSB thing? Where did you head to from Kurya? I take it eventually you ended up on the R256 which takes you to the Mongolia Border Crossing
This is where we ended up: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@51.2.../data=!3m1!1e3

From Google Earth it does look like there is a route through, but we had no joy.
This is well within the area requiring permits. We worked our way back north and around the mountain range back down and joined the M52 at Ust-Kan.

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  #10  
Old 1 Jun 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffdowg View Post
This is where we ended up: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@51.2.../data=!3m1!1e3

From Google Earth it does look like there is a route through, but we had no joy.
This is well within the area requiring permits. We worked our way back north and around the mountain range back down and joined the M52 at Ust-Kan.

G
Just had a look thx, so did you end up going through any of the places i am looking at going through?? See further up the thread

Thx
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  #11  
Old 3 Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by Espen View Post
Hi,We are two norwegian guys heading for the mongolian border through Altai russia,. We are in Astana right now and just read about needing to have a permission by the FSB to go further south then kosh-agash to the mongolian border. and that it is necessary for an application in russian at least ten days in advanced.

This sounds like a nightmare!

Does anybody know anything about this? I have never heard of it before, but if its true it really messes up the trip.

Would be very grateful for any information about this!

Espen
Do yourself a favour and stop reading lonely planet. That information went out of date in 2004.
I assume its LP as they were the only people promoting this false info.

All their info in this part of the world is hopelessly out of date and inaccurate. So much so thats its farcical.

Your LP guide has its primary value as fire kindling. If you arent using it for that then you might as well be carrying a brick in your luggage as ballast.

You need a permit from border guards (which is part of FSB) if you want to turn off the highway aafter Kosh Agach. I.e if you want to take the track to Tuva or to go south towards the KZ border. You need no permit to turn off the highway BEFORE Kosh Agach or to be on the Federal Highway to the border after Kosh Agach
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  #12  
Old 3 Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by Caps View Post
Which border crossing did you leave Kazakhstan from??
The Shemonaikha/Zmeinogorsk or did you use the Semipalatinsk/Rubtsovsk crossing.
I was thinking of using the Shemonaikha/Zmeinogorsk crossing and go up to Petropavlovskoe then down to Ust Kan before getting back on to the highway to go to the Tashanta crossing
That route is fine. Done it many times. Widely regarded as the shortest and more scenic route from Kz to MN.

Lots of waypts on that route on my HUBB waypoints collection including hotels and fuel stops.
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Old 3 Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by colebatch View Post
That route is fine. Done it many times. Widely regarded as the shortest and more scenic route from Kz to MN.

Lots of waypts on that route on my HUBB waypoints collection including hotels and fuel stops.
Thanks a lot, I have got your waypoints download, that route it is then
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  #14  
Old 7 Jun 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffdowg View Post
This is where we ended up: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@51.2.../data=!3m1!1e3

From Google Earth it does look like there is a route through, but we had no joy.
This is well within the area requiring permits. We worked our way back north and around the mountain range back down and joined the M52 at Ust-Kan.

G
From memory you are in a border zone too if you approach Ust Kan from either West or South. Ust Kan can only legally be approached on roads heading north and east. So even if a track through that area is found, theres a risk u get in trouble for it.

The Zmeinogorsk, Kurya, Petropavlovskoe, Ust Kan, Ongudai route works.

Am testing out a variation that skips Petropavlovskoe this season and goes slightly closer to border in that part of the route, but dont expect it to be any quicker
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Old 7 Jun 2014
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Originally Posted by colebatch View Post
From memory you are in a border zone too if you approach Ust Kan from either West or South. Ust Kan can only legally be approached on roads heading north and east. So even if a track through that area is found, theres a risk u get in trouble for it.

The Zmeinogorsk, Kurya, Petropavlovskoe, Ust Kan, Ongudai route works
I think that is the route we backtracked on in the end. Adam came on the same route but cut across over the mountain I think.



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