Altai Pilgrim Studio Launch!
I wrote my first post for Altai Pilgrim blog five years ago in 2010. It was the year of the white tiger, a year of which it is said, that […]
Tag Archives: Altai
A Note of Confidence
There are so many things I feel insecure about in this gift life I am living. All those fretful hours make me fear that ‘worrying’ has simply become a habit. […]
A Letter From the Altai Republic
This article was published in The Calvert Journal (online journal on contemporary Russian culture). The longer version (before being chopped for Calvert) is published here. A Letter From the Altai […]
Article for “Sacred Natural Sites” on Uch Enmek Ethno-cultural Nature Park
I wrote the article uploaded here as a pdf and coauthored with Park Director Danil Mamyev, whilst living in Uch-Enmek Naure Park, It was published in a IUCN publication on sacred natural […]
Snow Leopards: ‘Seek and Ye Shall Find’
My closest encounter with a snow leopard took place in the Altai Mountains with an ink brush in hand. My eyes locked onto the powerful hind legs and broad paws […]
3/3 Snow Leopard – Hero of the bio-cultural landscape (previous posts continued…..)
What I Have Heard and Seen of the Snow Leopard (Letter from a reader, A. Kachakov, UlaganVillage, 2012) “Altaidyn Cholmoni” Altai Republic Newspaper, № 127, 10th July 2012. Translated from […]
2/3 Snow Leopard – Ancient Hero of the Bio-cultural Landscape (previous post continued…)
This image is copied from a tattoo image worn by an individual from the Pazyryk culture. The tattoo was found on mummified remains excavated by researcher Rudenko from a permafrost […]
In the Light Looking Forward With Hope & Resolve
This photograph was taken 23rd June in Karakol village at a friend’s wedding. Altai wedding rituals are fascinating. This photograph illustrates just one part of a single ritual in which the […]
A Mountain Inside
Loving Mountains – Respecting Worldviews This article is a response to a request by Svetlana Katinova that visitors to Altai send contributions concerning their experience of sacred Mount Belukha and […]
Spiritual Wisdom from the Altai Mountains
Now Available on Amazon: ‘Spiritual Wisdom from the Altai Mountains, Altai Bilik’ by Nikolai A. Shodoev, translated by Joanna Dobson and produced for publication as a project of the Altai Pilgrim Friendship Circle […]
2011 The Year of the Hare
The year of the hare, the metal hare to be precise. What a fantastic combination! See below for my 2011 slideshow (in place of new year resolutions) As always, […]
Conservation Film ‘The Pines of Askat’
THE PINES OF ASKAT by Lena Chevalkova, translation into English by Joanna Dobson This film by Lena is exactly what’s needed to draw attention to the types of issues local people face in Altai. This […]
‘Kuira’ ritual, A Rags to Ribbons Tale
‘Kuira’ – A Rags to Ribbons Tale If there is anything one may learn from the Altai people, it is how to truly interact with the landscape. Probably the most […]
Pilgrim’s Pages April (UNESCO Conference on Permafrost Burials)
Pilgrim’s Pages April 2006 UNESCO conference, Gorno-Altaisk, “The problem of preserving permafrost burials in the Altai” Unesco have just held a conference at the Gorno-Altaisk (capital) state university on “The […]
Belly of a Whale – a learner guide at an Altai nature park
When I first visited the lands of Altai, I dreamt of one day, riding a horse freely through a particular sacred valley; never though, did I dream, that I would conduct an […]
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