The village Dzhazator ?

Outskirts of the village are very picturesque. Here at the confluence of the rivers Dzhazator and Ak-Alakha lies Argut. On the one side the village is surrounded by spurs of Yuzhno-Chuiskiy mountain ridge. In good weather it is possible to see sparkling triangular peak Iiktu, the top of Yuzhno-Chuiskiy ridge (3936). On the other side mysterious and magnificent plateau Ukok covered with legends is hidden by the mountains. Westward the village small and beautiful steppe Samakha is located, and further one can find Katunskiy ridge with mountain Chinelju (3889) and Belukha(4506).

The village Dzhazator lies far away from civilization. It takes you 140 kilometers to get to the nearest large settlement (district centre Kosh-Agach). The transport connection is realized on the only one earth road which is kept up all the year round. There is one more road which is used only for local purposes and connects Dzhazator to the remoted village Arkyt (Argut) located not far from Katunskiy ridge. Local residents also use horse paths leading to the plateau Ukok, numerous valleys, Chuyskiy route (on the river Argut), village Beltir (on the river Tara). It is only 60 kilometres from the village to the border with China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. It is a border zone and for the people who don't have registration here the entry is possible only with special passes. The valley of Dzhazator is situated at a height of 1625 meters above sea level. This fact allows to equate the local climate to the one of northern regions of Russia. The average temperature in summer is 17-23С (but there may be light frosts even in July), and in winter the average temperature is 25-29С . However, last years abnormal low temperature ( -47-50С) occured. There are1800 residents living in the village. 65% of population is represented by Kazakhs, 30 % - by Telengits, 4% - by Russians, and 1% - by other nationalities. The main occupation of the residents is cattle breeding. They breed goats, rams, cows, sheep, yaks and horses. The name of village Dzhazator can be translated as " summer stopping place " because at summer time cattle are grazed here. In winter they are driven to another pasture which is on the plateau Ukok.

In Dzhazator you can visit a koumiss farm and try a traditional Kazakh drink.

There are 378 one-storeyed dwelling houses in the village. They are built from larch which is the basic building material here. Dzhazator also has local administration, frontier post, school, kindergarten, and hospital. In the centre of the village you can find more than 20 stores. Local business owners provide the residents and tourists with all necessary food and manufactured goods. There is also a small cafe where you can drink tea and try round fried meat pie. In the centre of the village a big stadium is located. Much attention is devoted to sports here. Local skiers and athletes win only prize-winning places in Altay.
Surprisingly, Dzhazator's own hydro power, which has solved the problems with electricity in the village, was built only in 2007 on small but rough river Tyunj. With electricity mobile telephone communication has appeared in the village . Now MTS is functioning here.

There is a gas station in the village but gasoline is supplied not very often that is why if you set up to a journey to Dzhazator it is better to stock up petrol in Kosh-Agach. In the village you can rent horses, ask for Albert Kamenov, everyone here knows where to find him.