[1][2] It has been sighted very few times and only on the borders between Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, all near or on the Altai Mountains.

[1] A special characteristic of the V. altaica species is that they have the highest number of ventral scales within the genus Vipera.

[1] It also has colouring typical of mountain species while usually being in the lowlands, as well as having unique sexual dimorphism, with dark sutures on male's labial scales and varying loreal scale numbers between males and females.

[1] The colouring of V. altaica is a uniquely non-bilineate ground color with a white belly and small lateral blotches and spots.

[1] The Altai Viper patten is a dark brown dorsal zigzag band.