Ubsunur Hollow

The Uvs Nuur basin straddles the Russian-Mongolian boundary around a large saline lake, and UNESCO listed it in 2003 as a transboundary site for a specific reason: within a basin of modest size it holds nearly every landscape type of the temperate northern hemisphere, stacked by altitude - sand desert and dunes on the floor, saline marsh, dry and mountain steppe, taiga on the slopes, alpine tundra and glacier on the ridges above. That compression makes it a natural laboratory, and it has been studied as one. The Russian portion is protected in a set of separate clusters of the Ubsunurskaya Kotlovina reserve, each covering a different zone. Snow leopard, argali, manul and a large bird list are present. Kurgans, standing stones and rock art are scattered across the steppe. Access needs reserve permits, and the areas near the boundary are a border zone with their own paperwork.

The landscape

• The zone stack - desert, steppe, taiga, tundra and glacier within one basin.
• The clusters - separate protected areas each covering a different landscape type.
• The steppe archaeology - kurgans, standing stones and rock art across the floor.
• The transboundary listing - a UNESCO site shared with Mongolia since 2003.

When to go

June to September. Three days to a week. Reserve permits and, near the boundary, border zone paperwork must be arranged in advance.

Practical notes

Permits are compulsory for the reserve clusters and border paperwork for the southern edge. Access is off-road only, hours from Kyzyl. Summer heat on the basin floor and cold nights. No facilities, signal or rescue.

Nearby

Kyzyl and the Yenisei headwaters are north; the Mongolian border is south.

Key facts