Day 1:

We arrive in the town of Abakan, the capital of Khakassia Republic (by train or by air). Car transfer from Abakan to the town of Abaza (district center) on the bank of the River Abakan (about 200 km). Overnight accommodation in a comfortable tourist lodge.

Day 2:

Transfer from Abaza to the starting point of the hiking part of the tour (one hour). Hiking to the Ona river (app. 20 km). Overnight accommodation in tents.

Days 3-4:

Hike to the Karatosh river mouth - the Ona's tributary. Hike to the Pozarym Lake - the pearl of the Sayans, situated near the buffer zone of the ''Maly Abakan'' Nature Reserve. Total length of hike is about 36 km. Overnight accommodation in tents.

Days 5-6:

Rest on the Pozarym Lake; radial hike to waterfalls. These days are also reserved in case of rainy weather.

Days 7-8:

Return to the Karatosh River mouth, where the rafting equipment will be prepared. Rest, banya (Russian steam bath).

Days 9-10:

Rafting down the Ona River to Big On village. Rapids quickly follow one another with short whitewater intervals in between. Main obstacles are: continuous 7-km long rapids; then ''Maxim'', ''Kosiye Vorota'' and ''Bobsley'' rapids. The river gets calmer near the village and splits into several channels. Overnight accommodation in tents.

Days 11:

In the morning, short rafting trip to Big On village. Transfer by an off-road vehicle (cross-country car or truck with trailer) to the Kantegir river. Rafts assembly and preparation for the journey.

Note. According to your wish, the tour duration can be extended by 3-5 days by taking a hike to the Kantegir, crossing a rarely visited picturesque plateau with high chances to encounter various wild animals (including brown bear and Siberian stag) at a close distance. Local people speak about several occasions of meeting with the Yeti in this area.

Days 12:

We start rafting from the mouth of the left tributary - the Sambyl River. Upstream from this tributary, the Kantegir is represented by a shallow stream steeply running down for over 3 km to the place of confluence with the Sambyl along a rocky bed (''Moscow rapids''). At the end of the rapids, the riverbed inclination is 45 m/km. When water level is high or medium-high, a peculiar side-show can be arranged here: rafting on a light and strong unloaded 4-person catamaran with 2 guides on board (or on a large 2-person vessel) - only such vessels can get through this picturesque rapid without an accident. The rest of the group can walk around this rapid and watch from the shore.

Days 13-17:

Rafting down the Kantegir. There are no permanent human settlements on the river's banks, but there are many hunter's huts that are not used in the summer. Overnight accommodation will be in tents, but in case of rain the group can always get warm and dry in one of the huts. The banks are very beautiful with many picturesque rocks. Rocks and rock fragments in the river bed are primarily deep red or deep green and look especially impressive over the clear and transparent water. The river has about 60 obstacles and rapids, the majority of which present no danger to catarafts. The most characteristic are rapids with ''barrels'' and ''teeth''; the ''Semishiverka'' rapid is especially fun. There is an interesting natural phenomena on this river: in sunny weather warm air masses climb up the valley from the water reservoir area and form a stable warm air flow drying clothes and keeping the tourists warm after getting through a rapid.

After the "Novy" rapid, formed ten years ago in the result of a landslide from a mountain slope, the river flows into the Sayano-Shushensky reservoir. A motor boat from the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve will meet us. Overnight accommodation will be on a "floating lodge" in the reservoir with Russian banya.

Day 18:

Hike along the picturesque ecological trail of the "Shushensky Bor" National Park (from mountain taiga via alpine meadows to the bare rocks zone). Bus transfer to Shushenskoye village, overnight accommodation in a local hotel.

Day 19:

Visit to a theatrical show in the Shushensky ethnographic museum, where a late-19th century Russian village has been preserved with its houses, interiors, household items, crafts. Lunch at the restaurant of the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve. Visit to the reserve's Museum of Nature, meeting with scientific staff, video show. Overnight in the hotel.

Day 20: Departure

Departure to Abakan (1 hour) for a flight (train) to Moscow. A short sightseeing of Abakan can be arranged.

Notes

According to your wish, this itinerary can be changed. For example, we can reduce some rafting or hiking parts and extend the other parts of this tour. This program can be combined with other tours.