Mount Belukha: Sacred Sanctuary and Gateway to Shambhala in the Altai Mountains
Mount Belukha (4,506 m), the highest peak of the Altai Mountains and a UNESCO World Heritage site, is revered by Indigenous peoples as the sacred abode of the gods and a spiritual center equidistant from the Arctic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Nicholas Roerich, during his expedition in the 1920s, identified the mountain as a possible gateway to Shambhala, based on accounts and local legends of secret passages and the Stone of Wisdom in the Yarlu Valley. This site continues to attract pilgrims and scholars, preserving its cultural and spiritual significance as a threshold between the visible world and the legendary realm of enlightenment.






