Southern Buryatiya & Zabaikalsky Territory

Scenically magnificent, southern Buryatiya crouches on the Mongolian border like a cartographic crab squeezing Lake Baikal with its right pincer. Buryatiya Republic's vibrant capital, Ulan-Ude, is surrounded by hilly steppe dotted with lakes and criss-crossed by many rivers and streams. This is the heartland of the Buryats – relatives of Mongolians who have been strongly Russified over centuries, but still retained much of their culture (especially food!) as well as Buddhist and animist traditions.

The vast, sparsely populated Zabaikalsky Territory (Забайкальский край) stretches as far east as the wild Chara Mountains on the BAM railway, but in its more accessible southern reaches it’s most interesting for the capital (Chita) and Buryat-populated areas to the south.

For the predeparture lowdown, check out Buryatiya’s official English-language tourism website (www.visitburyatia.ru) and the government website (http://egov-buryatia.ru/eng/), which has English-language tourist information.

Buryat Culture

Indigenous ethnic Buryats are a Mongol people who comprise around 30% of Buryatiya’s population, as well as 65% of the former Agin-Buryat Autonomous District southeast of Chita. Culturally there are two main Buryat groups. During the 19th century, forest-dwelling western Buryats retained their shamanic animist beliefs, while eastern Buryats from the southern steppes mostly converted to Tibetan Buddhism, maintaining a thick layer of local superstition. Although virtually every Buryat datsan was systematically destroyed during the communists’ antireligious mania in the 1930s, today Buryat Buddhism is thriving. Many datsany have been rebuilt and seminaries for training Buddhist monks now operate at Ivolga and Aginskoe.

The Buryat language is Turkic, though very different from Tuvan and Altai. Dialects vary considerably between regions but almost everyone speaks decent, if heavily accented, Russian. Mongolians claim some Buryat dialects resemble their medieval tongue.

Ulan-Ude Улан-Удэ

%3012 / Pop 414,000 / Time Moscow +5hr

With its smiley Asian features, cosy city centre and fascinating Mongol-Buddhist culture, the Buryat capital is one of Eastern Siberia’s most likeable cities. Quietly busy, welcoming and, after Siberia’s Russian cities, refreshingly exotic, it’s a pleasant place to base yourself for day trips to Buddhist temples and flits to eastern Lake Baikal’s gently shelving beaches, easily reachable by bus. For some travellers UU is also a taster for what’s to come in Mongolia.

Founded as a Cossack ostrog (fort) called Udinsk (later Verkhneudinsk) in 1666, the city prospered as a major stop on the tea-caravan route from China via Troitskosavsk (now Kyakhta). Renamed Ulan-Ude in 1934, it was a closed city until the 1980s due to its secret military plants (there are still mysterious blank spaces on city maps).

Ulan-Ude

1Sights

1Geological MuseumB3

2Khangalov Museum of Buryat HistoryC4

3Lenin HeadB3

4Odigitria CathedralB7

5Opera & Ballet TheatreB4

6Ulan-Ude City MuseumB5

7Ulitsa SobornayaC7

2Activities, Courses & Tours

8Baikal Naran TourC4

Denis SobnakovB2

MorinTurD2

4Sleeping

9Hotel Sagaan MorinD2

10Hotel ShumakD2

11Mergen BatorB1

12Ulan-Ude Travellers HouseB2

5Eating

13Chay KhanaD6

14IntaliaB6

15Modern NomadsB3

16MyasoroobB2

17ShashlykoffB4

18Shenekhenskiye BuuzyC7

6Drinking & Nightlife

Bar 12B1

19BisquitB2

20ChurchillB3

21Macondo Coffee & StoreB5

7Shopping

22Central MarketC5

23DomboB3

24ZamB3

Transport

25Buses & Marshrutky to Arshan, Irkutsk and ChitaB1

26Central Ticket OfficeB3

27Marshrutka Stop for Ethnographic Museum & Rinpoche Bagsha DatsanB3

28Marshrutki for IvolgaB7

29S7 AirlinesB2

30Selenga Bus StationA5

1Sights

You can take in pretty much all that matters in Ulan-Ude by walking down ul Lenina from pl Sovetov to Odigitria Cathedral. The newly pedestrianised part of the route, locally known as Arbat (after its Moscow equivalent), features a statue of Russian writer Anton Chekhov, who spent one night here and noted in his diary that Ulan-Ude is a 'pleasant little town'. He didn't elaborate any further.

Lenin HeadMONUMENT

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; pl Sovetov)

Ulan-Ude’s main square is entirely dominated by the world’s largest Lenin head that creates an ensemble with the grey constructivist government building behind it. The 7.7m-high bronze bonce was installed in 1970 to celebrate Lenin’s 100th birthday. Oddly, UU’s bird population never seems to streak Lenin’s bald scalp with their offerings – out of respect for the great man’s achievements, bark diehard communists (but perhaps due to the barely visible antibird spikes, groan the rest).

Rinpoche Bagsha DatsanBUDDHIST TEMPLE

( GOOGLE MAP ; www.yelo-rinpoche.ru; ul 1ya Dzerzhinskaya)

Roosting high above the city’s far north, the inside of this new and unexpectedly modern Tibetan temple looks like a kind of Buddhist-themed bus terminal, though the 6m-high gilt Buddha is pretty impressive. However, the real show-stealer here is the panoramic view, the smog-hazed city ringed by rumpled dust-bare peaks.

Take marshrutka 97 from outside the Hotel Baikal Plaza on pl Sovetov to the last stop (right by the temple entrance).

If you catch the monks doing their thing with drums, cymbals and chanting, the atmosphere can be electric. An extra feature is the circular walk around the temple featuring pavilions with grotesque, man-size representations of the Chinese signs of the zodiac.

Ulitsa SobornayaSTREET

(Соборная улица MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Sobornaya (Linkhovoina))

The pedestrianised street abutting Odigitria Cathedral preserves the spirit and the wooden lace architecture of the old downtown, populated by merchants and intelligentsia. Original inhabitants suffered badly from Bolshevik violence. A grim reminder of those violent times is the white stone building at the cathedral end of the street, which housed the NKVD – Stalin's secret police, responsible for torture and mass executions. You'll find a touching monument to the victims of oppression at the other end of the street.

Tragedy and comedy often walk hand in hand, as evidenced by the hilarious gilded statues on top of a house that stands right in front of the sombre monument. The house contains Lev Bardanov art gallery, the brainchild of a local businessman, and the statues depict four of his favourite local cultural figures. Locals say the collection is no less eccentric, but the gallery had still not been opened for the public, when we hung around.

Ethnographic MuseumMUSEUM

( GOOGLE MAP ; www.ethnomuseum03.ru; Verkhnyaya Berezovka; R200; h9am-5.30pm Wed-Fri, 10am-6.30pm Sat & Sun)

In a forest clearing 6km from central Ulan-Ude, this outdoor collection of local architecture plus some reconstructed burial mounds and the odd stone totem are worth the trip. The collection is divided into seven areas, each devoted to a different nationality, tribe or ethnic group. There are Hun-era standing stones, Evenki chumy, traditional Buryat yurts, timber European town houses and a whole strip of Old Believers’ homesteads, all brimming with period furniture and inhabited by costumed ‘locals’ giving craft demonstrations.

Marshrutka 37 from outside the Hotel Baikal Plaza on pl Sovetov passes within 1km and drivers are used to detouring to drop off tourists.

Opera & Ballet TheatreTHEATRE

(Бурятский государственный академический театра оперы и балета MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-213 600; www.uuopera.ru; ul Lenina 51)

UU’s striking Stalinist-era theatre reopened after lengthy renovation in 2011 (the first performance was for a group of foreign tourists from the luxury Golden Eagle train). Visitors cannot fail to be impressed by the level of craftsmanship inside, though some might be slightly surprised at the new lick of paint and rub of polish given to all the Soviet symbols, including a couple of smirking Stalins. The trademark performance is Angara – a ballet inspired by Buryat folklore and traditional music.

Ulan-Ude City MuseumMUSEUM

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.uumuseum.ru; ul Lenina 26; R60; h9am-6pm)

Occupying the merchant’s house where imperial heir Nicholas II stayed in 1891, this small but progressive museum has exhibits examining Verkhneudinsk’s role in the tea and fur trades, the huge fairs that took place at the trading arches and several other aspects of the city’s past.

Odigitria CathedralCHURCH

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 2)

Built between 1741 and 1785, UU’s largest church was also the first stone structure to appear in the city. Used as a museum store from 1929 until the fall of communism, its exterior has been renovated in a chalky white and the domes are once again tipped with gold, but the interiors are plain whitewash, awaiting their Byzantine decoration.

Geological MuseumMUSEUM

(Геологический музей Бурятии MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 59; h11am-5pm Mon-Fri)F

This museum displays rocks, crystals and ores from the shores of Lake Baikal as well as art (for sale) made using multihued grit, sand and pebbles.

Khangalov Museum of Buryat HistoryMUSEUM

(Музее истории Бурятии им. М. Н. Хангалова MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Profsoyuznaya ul 29; per exhibition R100-160; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun)

Housed in a badly ageing Soviet-era structure, the historical museum has rotating exhibitions dedicated to Buddhism, shamanism and traditional costumes. The 'Buryat timeline' history exhibition on the 2nd floor is mostly photographs, but at least there are English signs. Tickets to each exhibition are sold separately.

2Activities & Tours

Ulan-Ude has several agencies happy to sell you Buryatiya and Baikal tours. English is often spoken.

oBaikal Naran TourTOURS

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-215 097; www.baikalnaran.com; Office 105, Hotel Buryatiya, ul Kommunisticheskaya 47a)

There’s nothing director Sesegma (aka Svetlana) can’t arrange for travellers in Buryatiya. An award-winning tour company and by far the best folks to approach if you want to see the republic’s more remote corners, Old Believers' villages, the Selenga Delta, the Barguzin Valley and the region’s Buddhist and shamanist heritage.

Denis SobnakovTOURS

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %8-950-391 6325; www.burtour.com; ul Lenina 63)

English-speaking Denis and his deputy Ivan run the city’s best hostel as well as fun-packed walking tours of UU and many other Buryatiya-wide trips, including those to famous datsany, Old Believers' villages and beauty spots on Baikal. Denis has also started guiding groups along the entire Trans-Siberian route and in European Russia.

Andrey SuknevVOLUNTEERING

(%8-902-564 2678; www.facebook.com/andrey.suknev)

The man who conceived the idea of the Great Baikal Trail has sadly closed his popular homestay hostel, but he is still someone to consult on GBT volunteer work in Buriyatiya, as well as on trips to Shumak in Tunka Valley.

Sergey KlimovSKIING

(www.facebook.com/sergey.klimov.7146)

The head of Buryatiya's rather informal Extreme Sports Federation is the person to ask about off-piste skiing and accommodation at Mamay Mountain.

MorinTurTOURS

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-443 647; www.morintour.com; Hotel Sagaan Morin, ul Gagarina 25)

Focuses on east Baikal, offering various ice and fishing adventures, a horse-sledge trip, seal watching, rafting in the Barguzin Valley and climbing on Svyatoy Nos (Holy Nose) Peninsula.

4Sleeping

UU's hotel scene is improving, with new midrange places filling the gap between high-end hotels and hostels. The city doesn't suffer from very high occupancy, except in the summer months when booking ahead is advisable.

oUlan-Ude Travellers HouseHOSTEL$

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %8-950-391 6325; www.uuhostel.com; ul Lenina 63, apt 18; dm R500-650; W)

So central is this high-ceilinged apartment hostel, you might even catch a glimpse of Lenin’s conk from one of the windows. The 14 beds are divided between two spacious, ethnically themed dorms (Russian and Buryat), there’s a small kitchen where a free light breakfast is laid out daily, and heaps of UU information is pasted on the walls.

There's also a washing machine for guests to use. The exceptionally friendly owner, Denis Sobnakov, is in and out of town these days, but the place runs like a well-oiled machine and his staff are just as helpful in setting up trips to Baikal and around Buryatiya.

Hotel UlanHOTEL$$

( GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-551 110; ul 50-letiya Oktyabrya 32; s/d R1400/2100)

This tiny hotel, with 10 comfortable rooms on the 1st floor of a Soviet apartment block (entrance at the back of the building), is good value for money. The location is not central, but a short tram ride from the main square. Receptionists put on funny folk costumes when they serve breakfast in your room in the morning.

Hotel ShumakHOTEL$$

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %8-902-160 8181; http://гостиницашумак.рф/; ul Revolyutsii 1905 goda 32; s/d R2000/2300)

Sleeping on a comfy bed amid a wood-dominated interior, you may very well forget it's just another apartment-block hotel in a not-so-pretty location. But being so close to both the train station and the centre makes it good value for money.

Hotel AyanHOTEL$$

(Отель Аян GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-415 141; www.ayanhotel.ru; ul Babushkina 164; s/d R850/1700; aW)

The inconvenient location 2km south of the city centre is more than recompensed by pristine international-standard rooms, some with air-conditioning. The cheapest singles are a good deal and every room has its own water heater. There’s also a tiny cafe should you get peckish from all the stair climbing you’ll do here – incredibly, this six-storey new-build has no lift.

A taxi from the train station costs around R170 or arrange a R300 private transfer with the hotel.

Mergen BatorHOTEL$$$

(Отель Мэргэн Батор MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-200 002; www.mergen-bator.ru; ul Borsoyeva 19b; tw/d R6200/7000; aW)

UU’s only 21st-century hotel is a swish pad indeed and completely on a par with any Western four-star establishment. From the trendy retro-veneered corridors to the commendably equipped fitness centre, the modern-as-tomorrow bathrooms to the impeccable service, this place is worth splashing out on. Breakfast is included and can be served in your room free of charge.

Hotel Sagaan MorinHOTEL$$$

(Отель Сагаан Морин MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-444 019; www.sagaan-morin.ru; ul Gagarina 25; s/d from R3800/4800; W)

The gleaming 17-storey, 89-room ‘White Horse’ offers spacious, crisply designed, almost understated rooms, lots of amenities and a 14th-floor restaurant (Panorama) with look-while-you-eat city vistas.

5Eating

Ul Kommunisticheskaya, ul Sverdlova and the surrounding streets are packed with (sometimes very) basic dumpling canteens. For a fascinating insight into traditional Buryat life, Baikal Naran Tour can arrange dinner in a yurt with a local family out in the suburbs of Ulan-Ude.

Shenekhenskiye BuuzyBURYAT$

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %8-902-565 2862; www.vk.com/shenexen; ul Sverdlova 20; mains R120-200; h8.30am-8pm)

This heritage wooden izba painted in a rather psychedelic shade of green is a local institution run by Buryats who have been returning from Chinese exile in recent decades. They are widely considered as keepers of the buuzy golden standard. Order at the counter telling how many dumplings you want. Korean fern salad is our preferred side dish.

ShashlykoffGRILL$

(Шашлыкофф MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-222 288; http://shashlikoff.com; ul Lenina 52; mains R200-250; h10am-3am)

A nationwide chain run by a national culinary show celebrity, Shashlykoff wins the battle for the hearts and stomachs of young Buryatians with the simple barbecue+beer formula, with homemade brew going as cheap as R73 per pint. The place is always heaving and getting a table can be challenging at dinner time.

MyasoroobBURGERS$

(Мясоруб MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %8-983-438 5386; www.facebook.com/myasoroob03; ul Sukhe-Batora 7; burgers R250-350; h11am-11pm)

Lumbersexual butchers seduce Buryatiya with nine kinds of gourmet burgers, craft beer and their trademark ginger mors (berry drink). A nice place for a quick lunch in the company of gadget-wielding hipsters.

OrdaBURYAT$$

(Орда GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-403 838; www.orda03.ru; ul Pushkina 4a; mains R500-1300; hnoon-2am)

An aspiring centre of Buryat cultural renaissance, the 'Horde' elevates coarse nomad cuisine to haute levels. Yes, it is largely meat with more meat and some onions, but the chef knows how to make lamb and even horse meat pieces as tender as spring artichokes. Frequent dinnertime concerts by famous Buryat musicians, including throat-singing artists, cost an extra R500 to R1000.

Modern NomadsMONGOLIAN$$

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Ranzhurova 1; mains R400-700; h11am-11pm)

Clean-cut and very popular Mongolian place, good for a quick snack and a beer or for a full-blown dinner splurge costing thousands. Meat features heavily on the menu, but there are many veggie-friendly salads and other dishes with a contemporary twist to choose from, too.

Baatarai UrgööBURYAT$$

( GOOGLE MAP ; www.baikalkhan.ru; Barguzinsky Trakt, Verkhnyaya Berezovka; mains R300-450; h11am-11pm; W)

This yurt complex in the Verkhnyaya Berezovka suburb is a great lunch spot after a visit to the Ethnographical Museum. Take a seat in the main tent and give your taste buds the Buryat treatment in the form of buuzy (meat-filled dumplings), bukhuler (meat broth) and a glass of airag (fermented mare's milk). Take marshrutka 37 from pl Sovetov to the yurt stop.

IntaliaITALIAN$$

(Инталия MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-210 204; https://vk.com/club69737023; ul Lenina 24b; mains R300-500; h11am-11pm)

Hidden in a quiet courtyard off the main pedestrian drag, this lovely trattoria treats visitors to competently cooked, if standard, Italian fare as well as juicy steaks.

Chay KhanaUZBEK$$

(Чай Хана MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Evropa Business Centre, ul Baltakhinova; mains R250-590; h11am-midnight Mon-Thu, to 2am Fri, 1pm-2am Sat, to midnight Sun)

This high-perched Uzbek restaurant has a triangular cushion-scattered dining space, trendy oriental fabrics and a menu of exotic plov, grilled meats and imaginative salads. But it’s the spectacular views of UU and the Selenga valley that are the real showstopper here, best enjoyed from the summer terrace. Take the lift to the 9th floor, then the stairs.

The business centre building is nicknamed ‘the toilet’ – you’ll soon see why.

6Drinking & Nightlife

Bar 12BAR

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 12th fl, Mergen Bator Hotel, Ul Borsoyeva 19b; h24hr)

Capping off the Mergen Bator hotel, this bar probably offers the best views of any in Russia: the entire Buryat capital and the surrounding mountainscape are laid out dramatically below you. The bar’s party piece is to rotate through 360 degrees every 30 minutes, meaning you see the entire panorama without leaving your seat.

Macondo Coffee & StoreCOFFEE

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 26)

A bric-a-brac shop attached to the city museum comes with a hobbit-sized coffee bar that provides a welcome respite from dust, railway slime and instant coffee. It also brews by far the best latte this side of Khamar-Daban. Note the Gabriel García Márquez reference in the name.

BisquitCAFE

(Бисквит MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Sukhe-Batora 7; h11am-midnight)

A stylish coffee-shop-cum-bar with bare brick walls and leather couches serves as coffee ambassador to Asian tea lands. Food is also available. A giant mirror at the entrance is handy for morning arrivals to examine damage after days on the train.

ChurchillPUB

(Черчилль MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.pubchurchill.ru; ul Lenina 55; hnoon-2am)

A bekilted Scottish piper (well, a bagpiping dummy at least) greets you at the door of this relatively upmarket British-themed pub. The Brit paraphernalia extends throughout the two stylishly finished halls, the food is tasty and there’s an international draught beer menu at central London prices.

7Shopping

ZamGIFTS & SOUVENIRS

(Зам MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.vk.com/zamspace; ul Sukhe-Batora, 16a; h10am-7pm)

This sparkling new shop doubles as a Buryat culture centre that runs lectures and masterclasses in traditional crafts. Goods include stylish jewellery by local artists, folk-themed clothes, locally produced leather bags and shoes. A little coffee bar attached to the counter comes as a bonus.

Orda Ethno-MarketARTS & CRAFTS

( GOOGLE MAP ; %3012-441 001; http://ordagallery.ru/; ul Pushkina 4a; h10am-7pm)

Sometimes moving, sometimes kitschy modern Buryat art, clothes and souvenirs. Buddhist-themed metal sculpture contains some of the most striking items.

DomboGIFTS & SOUVENIRS

(Домбо MAP GOOGLE MAP ; www.facebook.com/dombo.buryatia; ul Sukhe-Batora 16a; h10am-1pm & 2-6.30pm Mon-Sat)

Elegant artisanal ceramics by Ayuna Dorzhieva, who fuses Buryat motifs with modern art.

Central MarketMARKET

( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Baltakhinova; h9am-8pm)

Tidy, Soviet-era market selling unusual local produce such as pine nuts, reindeer meat, buckthorn juice, salo (raw pig fat) and seasonal fruit and veg. At the back of the building are several stores offering unty, beautifully decorated reindeer skin boots. Prices start from around R12,000 a pair.

8Orientation

UU’s small city centre is divided into two districts: the communist-era upper city centred around pl Sovetov and the Lenin Head; and the riverside former merchant quarter, half of which still serves as the commercial hub extending from the 19th-century trading rows (pl Revolutsii). Dusty streets of crooked timber dwellings make up the other half.

8Information

Handy ATMs can be found in the Buryatiya hotel and at the train station.

Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 61; h8am-10pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & Sun; W)

Tourism Portal (www.uutravel.ru) Official tourism website with a smattering of interesting information in English.

Visit Buryatiya (%3012-210 332; www.visitburyatia.ru) Official tourist board, which runs a summertime-only yurt-based information office on pl Sovetov.

8Getting There & Away

Air

UU’s Baikal Airport (www.airportbaikal.ru), 11km from the city centre, handles surprisingly few flights. Buy tickets at the Central Ticket Office ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Erbanova 14; h9am-7pm) or S7 Airlines ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 63; h9am-7pm). Ulan-Ude has the following flight connections:

AIrkutsk R3400, five weekly

AMoscow R16,000, at least two daily

Bus

Ulan-Ude's Selenga bus station (Автовокзал Селенга MAP GOOGLE MAP ; http://03bus.ru; ul Sovetskaya 1) is a tiny but user-friendly affair located to the west of pl Sovetov. Buy all tickets at least a day in advance. The useful Russian-language website http://03bus.ru updates schedules and prices for destinations all over Buryatiya. The city has the following connections:

AArshan R800, 11 hours, four daily

ABarguzin R660, seven hours, three daily

AKurumkan R800, nine hours, daily

AUst-Barguzin R530, six hours, twice daily

Additional marshrutky to Irkutsk (R1000, eight hours) and Chita (R1430, seven hours) run from the train-station forecourt ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ), departing throughout the day when full.

Minibuses run from pl Banzarova to Ivolga ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; pl Banzarova), where you can change for Ivolginsky datsan.

Train

When travelling to Irkutsk, take a day train for superb views of Lake Baikal.

Ulan-Ude has the following rail connections:

ABěijīng kupe R15,000 to R19,000, 43 to 61 hours, two weekly

AChita platskart/kupe R1800/R2600, 10 to 12 hours, up to six daily

AIrkutsk platskart/kupe R1600/R2500, seven to nine hours, up to nine daily

AUlaanbaatar kupe R4900, 15 or 23 hours, daily

ULAN-UDE TO ULAANBAATAR

With flights between the two capitals once again grounded, there are just two ways to travel from Ulan-Ude to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The least comfortable way is by Trans-Mongolian train, which takes between 15 and 23 hours to complete the 657km trip. A much cheaper and convenient way to go is to hop aboard the daily coach (R1500, 10 hours), which leaves from the main bus station in Ulan-Ude. Tickets can be bought from Baikal Naran Tour and the Ulan-Ude Travellers House.

8Getting Around

From pl Sovetov marshrutky 28, 55 and 77 run a few times hourly to the airport, while marshrutka 37 passes the hippodrome, the Ethnographic Museum ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) and Baatarai Urgöö restaurant. Marshrutka 97 climbs to the Rinpoche Bagsha Datsan.

Around Ulan-Ude

You could spend a week making day trips out of Ulan-Ude to explore Buddhist temples, Old Believers' villages and forgotten border settlements. The main routes south are the scenic Ulan-Ude–Kyakhta road, which hugs the Selenga River for much of the way, and the Trans-Mongolian Railway, which crosses the border at the unremarkable railway town of Naushki. Note that both Naushki and Kyakhta are officially off limits to foreigners as they fall within the border zone. Permits to visit these places should be arranged through UU agencies at least two months before you travel.

All destinations around Ulan-Ude are served by marshrutky leaving from Ulan-Ude bus station. Marshrutky for Ivolginsk depart from pl Banzarova.

WORTH A TRIP

NOVOSELENGINSK НОВОСЕЛЕНГИНСК

Stockades and wooden houses on broad dust-blown roads give this small, 19th-century town of ten thousand souls a memorable ‘Wild East’ feel. The town’s top attraction is its Decembrist Museum ( GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 53, Novoselenginsk; R50; h10am-6pm Wed-Sun), which tells the story of noble exiles who ended up here.

Walk a couple of kilometres east of the museum through the town towards the Selenga River to see the isolated ruins of the whitewashed Spassky Church on the grassy far bank; this is all that remains of Selenginsk, the original settlement, which was abandoned around 1800 due to frequent floods. You’ll also find an unremarkable obelisk commemorating Martha Cowie, the wife of a Scottish missionary who spent 22 years here translating the Bible into Mongolian and trying (wholly unsuccessfully) to wean the Buryats off Buddhism.

Marshrutky make the scenic trip from Ulan-Ude (R 200, 1½ hours, two daily).

1Datsan

Ivolginsk (Ivolga) DatsanTEMPLE

(Иволгинский дацан GOOGLE MAP ; hpremises dawn-dusk, temples 8am-5pm)

The confident epicentre of Russian Buddhism owes its existence to none other than Josef Stalin, who reversed the Bolshevik policy of destroying temples and allowed it to be built, in a plot of marshy land 35km from Ulan-Ude, in gratitude to the Buryats for their sacrifices during WWII. The first temple was a modest affair, but today the datsan has grown large and is expanding fast. Pilgrims and tourists flock here on half-day trips from the Buryat capital.

The Ivolginsky datsan was one of only two working Buddhist temples in Soviet days (the other was at Aginskoe); most of what you see today has been built in the last two decades. A clockwise walk around the complex takes in countless monastery faculties, administrative buildings, monks’ quarters and temples, but the most elaborate of all is the Itygel Khambin Temple honouring the 12th Khambo Lama, whose body was exhumed in 2002. To general astonishment, seven decades after his death his flesh had still not decomposed. Some ‘experts’ have even attested that the corpse’s hair is still growing, albeit extraordinarily slowly. The body is displayed six times a year, attracting pilgrims from across the Buddhist world.

To reach the monastery, first take marshrutka 130 (R45, 40 minutes, four hourly) from pl Banzarova to the last stop in uninteresting Ivolga. There, another marshrutka (R25, no number, just a picture of the monastery or the word Дацан pasted to the front windscreen) waits to shuttle visitors the last few kilometres to the monastery compound. Otherwise contact agencies in Ulan-Ude, which offer private transfers and tours with well-informed guides.

The daily Gunrig Khural Ritual, which is said to protect participants from bad reincarnations and black magic, is held at 9am.

Tamchinsky DatsanTEMPLE

(Тамчинский дацан GOOGLE MAP )

First founded in 1741, this was Buryatiya’s first Buddhist monastery and the mother ship of Russian Buddhism for two centuries. The original complex, 160km south of Ulan-Ude, was destroyed in the 1930s and the modern reconstruction is small scale and surrounded by the slowly dying village of Gusinoe Ozero (30km south of Gusinoozersk). View the newly renovated former school of philosophy, test out the amazing acoustics of the main temple and chat with the mobile-phone-toting head lama who, for a donation, may let you camp in the grounds and eat in the small refectory.

To get there, take the 7.24am Naushki train from Ulan-Ude (four hours) and alight at Gusinoe Ozero. A train runs back to Ulan-Ude late afternoon or you could hitch a lift to Gusinoozersk at the opposite end of the lake, from where there are regular marshrutky back to Ulan-Ude.

Atsagatsky DatsanTEMPLE

(Ацагатский дацан GOOGLE MAP )

Once the centre of Buryat Buddhist scholarship with an important scriptorium, this datsan was completely destroyed in the 1930s, but has crawled back to life since the fall of communism. The tiny on-site Ayvan Darzhiev Museum commemorates the Atsagat monk who became a key counsellor to the 13th Dalai Lama. Photogenically gaudy, the little monastery sits on a lonely grassy knoll and is set back from km54 of the old Chita road – unfortunately there is no convenient public transport. A tour from Ulan-Ude will cost around R6000 for up to three people.

WORTH A TRIP

OLD BELIEVERS’ VILLAGES

To the south of Ulan-Ude lie several relatively accessible Old Believers’ villages, most notably Tarbagatay (50km south), with its whitewashed church and small museum, and nearby Desyatnikovo. Turn up unannounced in these places and you’ll see precious little; visits involving lots of colourful costumed singing, deliciously hearty homemade food and detailed explanations of the Old Believers’ traditions and way of life must be prearranged through Ulan-Ude agencies. Otherwise you could try contacting Semeyskie ( GOOGLE MAP ; %30146-56 160, 8-924-653 9501; www.starovery-pro.ru; ul Pushkina 2, Tarbagatay), the Old Believers' organisation that arranges visits, directly.

Chita Чита

%3022 / Pop 329,400 / Time Moscow +6hr

Of all Eastern Siberia’s major cities, Chita is the least prepared for visitors. It was literally put on the map by the noble-blooded Decembrists, one of whom designed its street-grid layout. Today there’s nothing aristocratic about this regional capital where Soviet symbols still embellish Stalinist facades, shaven-headed conscripts guard pillared military headquarters and Chinese cross-border peddlers lug monster bales past a well-tended Lenin statue. Non-Chinese foreigners are still a rarity here; tourism is a thing that happens elsewhere.

Echoes of the Decembrist chapter in Chita’s history make the city just worth visiting, and a number of attractive old timber merchants’ houses grace its arrow-straight streets. It’s also the jumping-off point for important Buddhist sights in the south of Zabaikalsky Territory.

History

Founded in 1653, Chita developed as a rough-and-tumble silver-mining centre until it was force-fed a dose of urban culture in 1827 by the arrival of more than 80 exiled Decembrist gentlemen-rebels – or more precisely, by the arrival of their wives and lovers who followed, setting up homes on what became known as ul Damskaya (Women’s St). That’s now the southern end of ul Stolyarova, where sadly only a handful of rotting wooden cottages remains amid soulless concrete apartment towers.

As gateway to the new East Chinese Railway, Chita boomed in the early 20th century, despite flirting with socialism. Following the excitement of 1905, socialists set up a ‘Chita Republic’, which was brutally crushed within a year. After the ‘real’ revolutions of 1917, history gets even more exciting and complex. Bolsheviks took over, then lost control to Japanese forces who possibly intercepted part of Admiral Kolchak’s famous ‘gold train’ before retreating east. By 1920 Chita was the capital of the short-lived Far Eastern Republic, a nominally independent, pro-Lenin buffer state whose parliament stood at ul Anokhina 63. The republic was absorbed into Soviet Russia in December 1922 once the Japanese had withdrawn from Russia’s east coast. Closed and secretive for much of the Soviet era, today Chita is still very much a military city and is once again flooded with Chinese traders.

1Sights

oDecembrist MuseumMUSEUM

(Музей Декабристов GOOGLE MAP ; www.museums75.ru/chitadekabr.htm; ul Selenginskaya; R130; h10am-6pm Tue-Sun)

If you’re on the Decembrist trail through Siberia, this small but comprehensive museum is one of the best. It’s housed in the 18th-century Archangel Michael log church, an unexpected sight amid the neighbourhood’s shambolic apartment blocks. Inextricably linked to the Decembrist story, this was where they came to pray, where Annenkov married his French mistress Pauline Geuble and where the Volkonskys buried their daughter Sofia. Signs are in Russian only, but an English-language audio guide is available for R70.

The ground-level exhibition begins with the names of all the Decembrists picked out in gold on a green background, followed by interesting items such as the original imperial order sentencing the noble rebels to banishment in Siberia and oils showing their leaders’ executions. The 2nd floor looks at the wives who followed their menfolk into the Nerchinsk silver mines and the fates of all the Decembrists once they were allowed to settle where they pleased. Some of them lived long enough to feature as elderly, but rather stylish and optimistic-looking gentlemen, in black-and-white photographs displayed at the end of the exhibition.

Kuznetsov Regional MuseumMUSEUM

(Забайкальский краевой краеведческий музей им. А.К. Кузнецова GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-260 315; www.museums75.ru/museum.htm; ul Babushkina 113; R140; h10am-5.45pm Tue-Sun)

The unexpectedly lively Kuznetsov Regional Museum has been around since 1895 and the imposing mansion it currently occupies was purpose-built to house it in 1914. The inevitable stuffed animals fill the 1st floor, but it is the collection of Buddhist art and exhibitions dedicated to indigenous Siberians and Russian settlers, both located on the 2nd floor, that attract most visitors. An interesting and politically neutral exhibition telling the gruesome story of Russian Civil War fratricide was added in 2017.

Kazansky CathedralCATHEDRAL

(Казанский кафедральный собор GOOGLE MAP ; train station forecourt)

The train station reflected in its gilt onion domes, Chita’s bright turquoise cathedral is the city’s most impressive building, though inside it’s lamentably plain. The original pre-Stalin cathedral stood on the main square, right on the spot where Lenin now fingers his lapels.

House of OfficersARCHITECTURE

( GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 88)

Striking gilded statues of soldiers adorn this landmark building that defines Chita as a military stronghold on the border with China. Walk through an archway to find yourself in ODORA Park, dotted with vintage military hardware.

DatsanBUDDHIST TEMPLE

( GOOGLE MAP ; ul Bogomyagkova 72; h24hr)

Chita’s main Buddhist temple lies just outside the centre, a 15-minute walk or R150 taxi ride along Bogomyagkova from where it meets ul Babushkina. It’s a recently built affair, but well-kept, with all its prayer wheels, butter lamps and yin-yang drums firmly in place. The tranquil grounds are home to a tiny buuzy (dumpling) joint.

THE DECEMBRIST WOMEN

Having patently failed to topple tsarist autocracy in December 1825, many prominent ‘Decembrist’ gentlemen revolutionaries were exiled to Siberia. They’re popularly credited with bringing civilisation to the rough-edged local pioneer-convict population. Yet the real heroes were their womenfolk, who cobbled together the vast sleigh/carriage fares to get themselves to Siberia.

And that was just the start. Pauline Geubel, the French mistress of one aristocratic prisoner, spent so long awaiting permission to see her lover in Chita that she had time to set up a fashionable dressmakers shop in Irkutsk. By constantly surveying the prisoners’ conditions, the women eventually shamed guards into reducing the brutality of the jail regimes, while their food parcels meant that Decembrists had more hope of surviving the minimal rations of their imprisonment. The Decembrist women came to form a core of civil society and introduced ‘European standards of behaviour’. As conditions eventually eased, this formed the basis for a liberal Siberian aristocracy, especially in Chita and Irkutsk,where some Decembrists stayed on even after their formal banishment came to an end.

TTours

LantaTOURS

(Ланта GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-353 639; www.lanta-chita.ru; ul Leningradskaya 56; h9am-7pm Mon-Fri)

Runs limited tours of Chita and Zabaikalsky Region. No English spoken.

SunmarTOURS

( GOOGLE MAP ; %8-914-808 2020; www.turpomiru.com; mikrorayon Tsarsky 8; h10am-6pm)

Tours of Alkhanay National Park and Khahatay ice caves; rafting trips. Some Chinese spoken, but no English.

4Sleeping

Chita has little budget accommodation and homestays are nonexistent. Hotels are often full, meaning many travellers who fail to book ahead often have no choice but to check into top-end hotels.

Gostinny DomGUESTHOUSE$$

(Гостинный дом GOOGLE MAP ; %8-914-521 7829; http://gostiniy-dom-chita.hoteloj.ru; ul Kirpichno-Zavodskaya 31a; d/tr from R1800/2300; W)

This log house on the outskirts of Chita has developed a bit of a following with the international biker crowd, particularly Korean and Japanese overlanders. That’s partly because the owner is an avid motorcyclist, but more importantly because the place is both quiet and comfortable, perhaps the best value for money in Chita.

No breakfasts served, but there is a kitchen, equipped with a multicooker and a microwave for self-caterers. The centre can be reached by taxi for R130 or by marshrutka 21 for R22.

Hotel ArkadiaHOTEL$$

(Гостиница Аркадия GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-352 636; www.arkadiyachita.ru; ul Lenina 120; s/d from R2450/3800; W)

Chita's best deal has well-kept rooms, clean bathrooms, online booking, efficient staff and no-fuss visa registration. Often offers very good rates on popular booking websites.

Hotel ZabaikaleHOTEL$$

(Гостиница Забайкалье GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-359 819; www.zabhotel.ru; ul Leningradskaya 36; s R1650-3100, d from R3680; W)

Unbeatably located overlooking the main square, the cheaper renovated rooms at this huge complex are a fairly good deal. The hotel has a huge range of facilities including an air and rail ticket office, a spa, a children’s playroom and a gym.

Hotel VizitHOTEL$$$

(Гостиница Визит GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-356 945; www.chitahotelvizit.ru; ul Lenina 93; s/tw R3400/6400; aW)

Occupying the 5th floor of a smoked-glass tower at the busy intersection of ul Lenina and ul Profsoyuznaya, this is Chita’s best luxury offering with relaxing en-suite rooms, English-speaking receptionists and sparkling bathrooms. Some doubles have baths and the air-con provides relief from Chita’s superheated summers.

Hotel MontblancHOTEL$$$

( GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-356 945; www.montblanc.eldonet.ru; ul Kostyushko-Grigorovicha 5; r from R4900; aW)

A block away from the main square, this purpose-built business hotel has immaculately snazzy rooms, though at these prices the plumbing could be a touch more professional. The buffet breakfast is served in the Ukraine-themed restaurant and check-out time at reception provides an opportunity to witness just how badly Russian and Chinese businessmen can behave.

5Eating & Drinking

Eating out ain’t high on the list of things to enjoy in Chita, but despite the lack of choice and unimaginative menus, you won’t go hungry.

PrivozCAFETERIA$

(Привозъ GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 93; canteen mains R90-250; h10am-midnight Sun-Wed, to 1am Thu-Sat)

This clean and modern Odessa-themed service canteen serves well-cooked standard Russian fare and features a WWI machine gun on display in the middle of the premises.

ShchastyeINTERNATIONAL$$

(Cчастье GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-507 808; http://happiness75.ru; 2nd fl, ul Lenina 93; mains R380-580, set-menu lunch R350; h1pm-11pm)

Happiness (as the name translates) is when you find this oasis of neatness in the middle of a scruffy Siberian city. Soviet-style redneck patrons who inhabit this dollhouse of a place add a comic edge to the picture. The globalist menu includes several kinds of tasty shashlyk and a mean tom yum.

Mama RomaITALIAN$$

( GOOGLE MAP ; www.mamaroma.ru; ul Lermontova 9; mains R280-500; h11am-10pm)

Chequered tablecloths, glass divides, an English menu (!) and pleasant staff make this chain pizzeria an unexpectedly welcoming experience near the train station.

Harat's PubPUB

( GOOGLE MAP ; ul Leningradskaya 15a; hnoon-2am)

Savour the slightly surreal experience of sipping a pint of Newcastle Brown in an Irish pub in Chita, while pondering just where the owners got all those Celtic flags, old US number plates and imitation Tiffany lamps. Friendly service.

ShokoladnitsaCAFE

( GOOGLE MAP ; ul Leningradskaya 36; h9am-midnight; W)

This Europeanly stylish, peaceful oasis of a cafe is good for people-watching from the big windows while sipping coffee or tea and making full use of the free wi-fi.

7Shopping

Zabaikalsky Khudozhestvenny SalonGIFTS & SOUVENIRS

(Забайкальский художественный салон GOOGLE MAP ; ul Lenina 56; h10am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat, 11am-6pm Sun)

This huge shop stocks every conceivable souvenir from across the entire Russian Federation, from Buryat dolls to Kostroma linen, Dzhgel plates to Chita fridge magnets. Local artists’ work and the owner's photography are also available.

8Information

VTB Bank (ВТБ Банк GOOGLE MAP ; ul Amurskaya 41; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri) Has ATMs and currency-exchange window.

Main Post Office ( GOOGLE MAP ; ul Butina 37; h8am-10pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & Sun) Quaintly spired wooden building on pl Lenina.

8Getting There & Away

Air

Kadala Airport (www.aerochita.ru) is 15km west of central Chita. Take bus 40 or marshrutka 12 or 14. AviaEkspress (АвиаЭкспресс GOOGLE MAP ; %3022-450 505; www.aviaexpress.ru; ul Lenina 55; h8am-10pm) sells tickets for all flights, including the twice-daily service to Moscow (R16,800).

Bus

The only two services you’re likely to need are the marshrutky to Aginskoe (R400, two hours, five daily) and the long-distance minivans to Ulan-Ude (R1100, seven hours). Both leave from a stop on the train station forecourt.

Train

Chita has the following rail connections:

ABěijīng kupe R16,700, 53 hours, weekly

ABlagoveshchensk platskart/kupe R3850/5200, 38 hours, two daily

AKhabarovsk platskart/kupe R4900/6500, 43½ hours, two daily

ATynda platskart/kupe R3100/5000, 27 hours, every other day

AUlan-Ude platskart/kupe R1800/2500, 10 to 12 hours, up to six daily

AZabaikalsk platskart/kupe R1500/2600, 12 hours, daily

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

OUT OF CHITA

If you find yourself in Chita, you are already well off the trodden path, but if you want to explore this wild corner of Siberia even more deeply, here are some ideas for you.

Around 270km from Chita lies Nerchinsk. Anyone with a knowledge of Russian history will be familiar with that name. The 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk, recognising Russia’s claims to the trans-Baikal region, was signed here and 130 years later the Decembrists were sent to work the silver mines around the village.

The only visitable attraction in Nerchinsk is the Butin Palace Museum (ul Sovetskaya 83, Nerchinsk; R100; h10am-1pm & 2-5.30pm Tue-Sat). Mikhail Butin, the local silver baron, built himself this impressive crenellated palace, furnished with what were then claimed to be the world’s largest mirrors. He’d bought the mirrors at the 1878 World Fair in Paris and miraculously managed to ship them unscathed all the way to Nerchinsk via the China Sea and up the Amur River.

To reach Nerchinsk, take any train from Chita to Priiskovaya (platskart/kupe R900/1200, six hours) on the trans-Siberian main line, 10km from Nerchinsk. Change there onto local marshrutky.

There is also a fair amount of important Buddhist sights in the areas south of Chita that are predominantly populated by ethnic Buryats. Set just 2km from the ‘holy’ Onon River, Tsugol Datsan is surely the most memorable Buddhist temple in Russia. Located in the village of Tsugol, the almost 200-year-old building is extremely photogenic, with gilded Mongolian script-panels, wooden upper facades and tip-tilted roofs on each of its three storeys. Getting to/from Tsugol is a pain – it lies 13km from Olovyannaya, reachable by a single morning bus from Chita. From Olovyannaya take a taxi (at least R500, more if asked to wait) or hike along the river.

Directly south of Chita, Alkhanay National Park combines Buddhist history with natural beauty. Its rocky terrain with many streams and little waterfalls contains numerous objects of religious veneration so important they warranted a visit by the Dalai Lama in 1991. Reachable from Chita via Duldurga, 12km away, the park provides rather spartan accommodation in log cabins. Popular with Chita residents, the park is often closed due to bad weather conditions or forest fire. Its website (http://alkhana.ru) runs regular updates.

Travel agencies in Chita organise tours to these and other attractions in the vicinity, but they have little experience dealing with Western travellers.