Barguzin Valley

The Barguzin runs south-west between the Barguzin range and the Ikat range in a broad flat-floored rift valley of steppe and meadow, some two hundred kilometres long and up to thirty-five wide, with the mountains rising sharply on both sides - a landscape that looks more Mongolian than Siberian, where a Russian fort was founded on the river as early as 1648. It carries a set of separate things: the Ininsky Sad, a stretch of valley floor strewn with enormous granite boulders carried there by glacial outburst floods and standing in open grass; the Suvinskaya Saxony, weathered rock outcrops that resemble ruined castles; Bukhe-Shulun, the Bull Stone, a sacred rock with offerings; hot springs at Alla, Kuchiger and Umkhey used for bathing; the Barguzin nature reserve on the western range, Russia's oldest, founded in 1916 to save the sable; and a small dune field. Buddhist and Buryat shamanic sites are scattered through, several of them active.

What you'll find

• The Ininsky Sad - a field of huge granite boulders left by glacial outburst floods.
• The Suvinskaya Saxony - weathered outcrops standing like ruined castle walls.
• The hot springs - Alla, Kuchiger and Umkhey, used for bathing.
• The 1916 reserve - Russia's oldest, created on the western range to save the sable.

When to go

June to September. Two to four days. The valley road is long and rough in places.

Practical notes

Sacred rocks and ovoo sites in the valley are in active use - leave offerings alone and ask before photographing. Hot springs are informal and unregulated. Roads are rough and distances long. Mosquitoes and horseflies in summer.

Nearby

Ust-Barguzin and Svyatoy Nos are south; the Barguzin reserve is on the Baikal shore west.

Key facts