Ulan-Ude is the capital of Buryatia, the center of Russian and Buryat cultures on the Trans-Siberian Railway

Ulan-Ude, the third largest city in Eastern Siberia, was founded in 1666 as a Cossack winter hut. 20 years later, the royal ambassador left his retinue here and gave the village a name - Verkhneudinsk. The name Ulan-Ude, translated from Buryat as “red river,” was assigned to the city only in 1934.

In the 19th century, Ulan-Ude, close to China and Mongolia, became a major trading city, and it remained so in the 21st century.

The capital of Buryatia is the center of Russian Buddhism. Followers of Siddhartha Gautama peacefully coexist with Christians: there are equal numbers of datsans and Orthodox churches in the city.

Historical monuments of the 17th-19th centuries have been preserved in Ulan-Ude. And at the end of the 20th century, a tradition appeared in the city: every year a new attraction opens here.

From Ulan-Ude it is worth traveling through the amazingly beautiful surroundings - we have highlighted the most interesting places in Buryatia in this guide.

For ease of route planning, we have marked all the mentioned attractions on the city map:

Parks, streets and monuments

Arbat

Address: st. Lenina, 24

The only pedestrian street in the city was created by analogy with Moscow's Arbat. On the central street of Ulan-Ude there are sights from different times:

• Odigitrievsky Cathedral of 1741 - the first stone building of the city;
• Gostiny Dvor 1791;
• wooden arch 1891;
• cinema "Erdem" 1909;
• regional library 1925;
• Opera and Ballet Theater 1952;
• puppet theater "Ulger" 1967;
• merchant houses and shops of the 19th century.

The city's Arbat is paved, there is a fountain, and souvenir shops are open.

Theater Square and musical fountain

Address: st. Lenina, 51

The musical fountain is located next to the Opera and Ballet Theater. The building was opened in 2011, the area was equipped with a recreation area and a summer stage. Water jets “dance” to Buryat folk melodies and classical symphonies. In the evening, the musical accompaniment is complemented by color.

Victory Memorial Park

Address: st. Baltakhinova, 17

The park is dedicated to the city residents who died in the Great Patriotic War. In the center of the square there is a T-34 tank on a pedestal. Nearby are bronze portraits of Heroes of the Soviet Union.

The park has a small fountain, benches, and free Wi-Fi.

Triumphal Arch "Royal Gate"

Address: st. Lenin

The first “Royal Gate” was erected in honor of the arrival of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich in the city in 1891. The arch stood until 1917 and was destroyed by revolutionaries.

An exact copy of the decoration was built in 2006.

Monument to the Verkhneudinsk merchant

Address: st. Lenin

In 2012, a competition was held for the best project: the winner, Yuri Erdyneev, became the author of the monument.

It is believed that the object has no real prototype, but a merchant with the name engraved on the monument actually lived in Verkhneudinsk. Local residents say that the stone Evsey Lukich brings financial success.

Sculpture “The Rod of the God of Trade Mercury and the Cornucopia”

Address: st. Lenin

Back in 1790, Catherine II approved the city’s coat of arms: the rod of Mercury and the cornucopia, symbolizing prosperity. The sculpture dedicated to the coat of arms was built in 2004.

On the bronze horn there is a ball where tourists throw coins to return to Ulan-Ude. There is a fountain next to the composition and benches for relaxation.

Monument “Mother Buryatia”

Address: Selenginsky Bridge

The entirely bronze statue, created in 2002, can be seen from anywhere in the city. The height of the sculpture is 16 meters, the length of the outstretched arms is 6.

At the Selenginsky Bridge, before entering the city, the monument was erected only in 2008, by analogy with the location of the American Statue of Liberty. The sculpture symbolizes a Buryat woman.

Ulan-Ude

Video: Ulan-Ude

Basic moments

The summer tourist season in Ulan-Ude is short. The most comfortable weather for visiting the city is in June-July. And getting here won’t be difficult, because the capital of Buryatia is connected to major Russian cities by air and rail.

A walk along the cozy central streets of Ulan-Ude transports tourists to the second half of the century before last. But today, in the restored low-rise buildings of the old provincial town, the windows of boutiques, branded stores and cafes, fashion salons and art galleries sparkle. The busiest neighborhoods are located in the center, some streets are closed to transport, and the pedestrian promenade is called the Buryat Arbat. Here, a good mood is created by original street sculptures, cozy taverns and restaurants serving original dishes of Buryat national cuisine. However, in Ulan-Ude you can easily find establishments serving European, Chinese or Japanese cuisine.

In the capital of Buryatia, there are more than two hundred objects of urban planning and cultural heritage, there are interesting museums, a philharmonic society, a circus, and several theaters. Exotic pagodas and ritual drums remind us that Ulan-Ude is the center of Tibetan Buddhism in Russia. Monasteries-datsans have been restored in the city and in its picturesque mountainous surroundings, and there are religious educational institutions and art schools there. After many decades of prohibitions, shamanism, an ancient religion dating back to the origins of nomadic civilizations, has also been revived.

The primordial traditions of hospitality inherent in the Buryats are felt in the friendly manners of local guides and the smiles of the staff of numerous hotels and restaurants in the city. Many of these young people are graduates of the prestigious Baikal College of Tourism and Service, located in Ulan-Ude.

History of Ulan-Ude

The foundation of Ulan-Ude dates back to the middle of the 17th century. It is known that during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of Peter I, a detachment of servicemen of 50 sabers, led by Gavrila Lovtsov, went to the confluence of the Uda and Selenga rivers. In 1666, on a high cliff near the crossing, the Cossacks built the Udinsky fort, intended to collect tribute from the “Mungal” peoples who inhabited the surrounding area. They professed Lamaism, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism, and an even more ancient belief - shamanism. There were no state borders in this region at that time; nomads moved freely from Lake Baikal to the provinces of China and the Gobi Desert in Central Asia. The fortress controlled the route to Dauria - that’s how the lands in the Selenga basin and Transbaikalia were then called. The Great Tea Route from China also ran here.

Already in 1690, the strategic citadel expanded significantly and joined the list of cities of the empire, first receiving the name Udinsk, and over time - Verkhneudinsk. The ambassador of Peter I to the Chinese Emperor, passing here in 1692, wrote in a report: “The city is considered the key to the Daurian provinces.”

The places here were remote and wild. There were few people willing to voluntarily move to Dauria from Russia. The tsarist government sent here fugitive peasants, schismatic Old Believers and “objectionable freethinkers,” conspirators and outright rebels, among whom were the Decembrists, who left vivid memories of these lands. One of them, a demoted naval officer and aristocrat Nikolai Bestuzhev, collected Buryat legends, fairy tales and songs into a book, and captured the surrounding landscapes in paintings. He was keenly interested in the philosophy of Buddhism and became friends with Hambo Lama Gomboev and married a Buryat woman, Dulma Sabilaeva. Bestuzhev’s daughter married the son of Hambo Lama, who served in China as the head of the telegraph service at the Russian embassy in Harbin. This is just a small touch to the centuries-old intertwining of the destinies of Russian and Buryat families, the interpenetration of such dissimilar national cultures of the two peoples.

In the vicinity of Verkhneudinsk, reserves of iron ore, gold and other minerals were explored. In the 18th-19th centuries, industry and trade developed rapidly here, new streets were laid in the city, stone churches, beautiful public and residential buildings, shops, and hotels were built. Verkhneudinsk became famous for its rich fairs, which attracted merchants from all over the Far East, China and Mongolia. Banks and trade missions operated here. In 1878, there was a fire in Verkhneudinsk, most of the historical wooden buildings were destroyed by fire, but the rich city, located at the crossroads of important trade routes, was quickly rebuilt. A railway line was built here in 1899, a power station appeared at the beginning of the last century, wealthy townspeople brought the first cars from abroad.

With the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917, Verkhneudinsk found itself at the very center of the civil war in the Far East. In the spring of 1920, after the death of the White Guard Admiral Kolchak, recognized by the monarchists as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, a political vacuum formed in the region. A Constituent Assembly was convened in Verkhneudinsk, which proclaimed the creation of a Far Eastern Republic independent from Bolshevik Russia. Verkhneudinsk was chosen as its capital. A few months later, the Amur region, deprived of central authority, joined this quasi-state. As a result, the Far Eastern Republic extended over a vast territory from Transbaikalia to the Pacific Ocean, and in the fall of the same year the capital was moved to Chita. In 1923, the civil war ended with the victory of the Red Army. Soviet power was established in Verkhneudinsk, and the city became the capital of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Republic within the USSR.

In 1934, Verkhneudinsk, located on the banks of the Uda River, was renamed Ulan-Ude, which means “Red Uda” in Buryat. The construction of large enterprises began in the city, a river port, scientific centers and educational institutions appeared. During the first five-year plans, Ulan-Ude became a major industrial and cultural center of the Far East, but during the Stalin era, tragic pages were also written into the history of the Buryat capital. Here, traditional religious cults and ancient folk beliefs were eradicated with an iron hand, ancient Buddhist monasteries, sanctuaries of shamanism, Christian temples were destroyed, and clergy were repressed and shot. In the 30-40s, the headquarters of the Yuzhlag, a system of forced labor camps, was located in Ulan-Ude.

During the Great Patriotic War, important defense factories and hospitals for soldiers wounded at the front operated here. In 1958-1992, the city had the status of the capital of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ulan-Ude received the status of the capital of the Republic of Buryatia, included in the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia.

Geography and climate

Ulan-Ude is located in a rocky and hilly valley, squeezed by mountain ranges, and is a narrow intermountain depression stretching from the northeast to the southwest. The city was built at the confluence of the Uda River, which gave it its name, into the deep Selenga, the main tributary of Lake Baikal. The terrain of Ulan-Ude is hilly, the streets run down from the mountainous neighborhoods to the low-lying parts of the development, and then climb up the hills again. In recent decades, the capital of Buryatia has grown and become the center of an agglomeration, which includes four suburban districts with villages. The city's population exceeds 435,000 people.

There is a road bridge across the Selenga that leads to the airport. This crossing is part of the Baikal federal highway. Two more road bridges cross the riverbed of the Uda, and residential areas rise on both banks of the river. Part of the urban development has stepped onto the river islands. The third bridge over the Uda is a railway bridge, along which the rails of the Trans-Siberian Railway are laid.

The city is located in a zone of sharply continental steppe climate. The impact on the local climate of the not so far located vast Baikal is excluded by the high mountain ranges separating the lake from the valley in which the city is built. Summers in Ulan-Ude are short and quite hot, while winters are long and frosty. Winter comes here for almost six months, brought by the Siberian anticyclone. It gets very cold already in October; from December to February the thermometers often drop to –27…–24 °C. During the period of meteorological observations carried out here since 1892, the record low temperature was –54.4 °C. This happened on Christmas night from January 6 to 7, 1931.

The first thaws come in early April, but spring weather is extremely unstable, with wet snow even in May. The short summer season either pampers citizens and tourists with sunny weather with an air temperature of +18...+26 °C, or upsets them with cloudy rainy days. Most of the dry and clear days occur, as a rule, in June and July. There are also abnormally hot days in Ulan-Ude. Thus, June 2010 brought unprecedented heat, when street thermometers rose to +40 °C. In August it becomes rainy, heavy precipitation is brought here by eastern cyclones that arise over the Pacific Ocean.

Sights of Ulan-Ude

Guests of Ulan-Ude entering the city from the airport via the Selenginsky Bridge are greeted by the “Hospitable Buryatia” monument. The figure of a friendly woman hands the arrivals a hadak - a scarf with an image of a deity, symbolizing in the Buddhist tradition the joy of a pleasant meeting with friends and the hospitality of the owners of the house. By the way, khadak is one of the elements of the republic’s coat of arms. Another noticeable monument from a distance can be seen on a high cliff on the right bank of the Uda River. Here, in memory of the Cossacks who founded the Udin Fortress on this site, a memorial stone cross was erected.

Local guides begin walks with tourists around Ulan-Ude from the building of the capital's Main Post Office, on the corner of Lenin and Sukhbaatar streets. A bronze hemisphere decorated with artistic casting is installed here. This is a symbolic designation of zero kilometer. The main city square stretches here, surrounded by administrative buildings, and the opera house and philharmonic are located here. In the eastern sector of the square, a pedestal has been erected on which stands the colossal head of Lenin. The height of the monument is 7.7 meters, and its weight is 42 tons. Guides claim that this is the largest portrait bust of a leader in the world.

In 2011, a beautiful color and musical fountain was built in front of the opera house. The fountain's sound repertoire includes classical works. The jets dance to the rhythm of the music, and in the evenings the multicolor lighting turns on. At the entrance to the theater there is a sculptural composition “Beauty of the Angara”.

Part of Lenin Street with ancient buildings has been turned into a pedestrian promenade. Here flower beds delight the eye, in houses of the 19th century. There are cafes and shops, the street is decorated with monuments and sculptures. Near the building of a former hotel, built in the 70s of the 18th century, there is a bronze Verkhneudinsk merchant, in his hand he has a chest with capital. Thanks to the people of this class, prosperity came to the provincial city of the Russian Empire, and grateful descendants remember this. There is a slot in the merchant's chest. Place a coin there and call on the merchant's ingenuity in money matters.

The formation of the architectural ensemble of the ancient Bazar Square began with the solid stone house of the merchant Titov, built in 1795. Nearby is the Gostiny Dvor with through passages, arcades and columns. Construction of this complex began in 1804 and continued for several decades: wealthy businessmen added new rows to the popular shopping center. For more than a hundred years, fairs “with a fair amount of bargaining” and public entertainment were held here. Trading traditions do not fade away today; here is the Central Department Store and shops, fashion studios, cafes. In 2002, a chapel was erected near Gostiny Dvor in the name of the royal passion-bearers of the Romanovs.

On Lenina Street, 2, there is a wonderful architectural monument of Russian Baroque - the Holy Hodegetrievsky Cathedral, founded in 1741. The temple is considered the oldest stone building in the city. There are several more Orthodox churches in Ulan-Ude. One of them, the Holy Trinity, stands nearby, in the city garden. This temple is also of very respectable age; its construction began in 1798.

Between the Holy Hodegetrievsky Cathedral and Kommunisticheskaya Street there is a monumental building of the former gendarmerie administration, erected in 1880. Now it houses the Center for Oriental Medicine. By the way, a unique ancient Atlas of Tibetan healing is kept in Ulan-Ude. They say that Buryat folk healers, who pass on ancient knowledge from generation to generation, are able to restore health to the most hopeless patients.

Entire blocks of buildings characteristic of the urban architecture of Verkhneudinsk of the century before last have been preserved in the historical center of the city. Here are the houses of wealthy citizens of that time. All of them are well restored and look attractive. The estates of the merchant Chernykh and the tradesman Butyrin were built from darkened wood. The window casings and plank cornices of these buildings rest on figured brackets and are decorated with elegant saw-cut carvings. Wooden buildings alternate with brick mansions, decorated with classical friezes and stucco on the facades. At the corner of Pochtamtskaya and Nekrasova streets, a two-story building with a turret, known as the Old Post Office, attracts attention. At the beginning of the 20th century, the postal and telegraph service was located here.

The appearance of the central streets of Ulan-Ude is formed by buildings erected in different architectural styles. In 1904, the building of the Institute of Oriental Languages ​​was built in the Art Nouveau style. The trend of constructivism, fashionable in the 20s of the last century, is embodied in the appearance of the House of Soviets. And to the pompous building of the former regional committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, built in the Stalin era, the architects gave the features of eclectic pseudo-classicism - the facades are decorated with columns of the Corinthian order, Roman arches and porticoes, and decorative obelisks. Now the People's Khural of the Republic of Buryatia and the administration of the President of the Republic are located here.

Museums

On pedestrian Lenin Street, 26, in the elegant house of the merchant Goldobin, there is the Museum of the History of Ulan-Ude. The entrance ticket costs 100 rubles, and the museum has a cozy cafe. This house is also famous for the fact that Tsarevich Nicholas stayed here in June 1891, who would soon wear the crown of Emperor of Russia. In honor of the arrival of the heir to the throne, a triumphal arch was erected in the city. This structure was demolished in 1936, and then restored according to surviving drawings and photographs in its original location in 2002.

Near the museum building you can sit on a park bench, where the bronze Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is located, serenely looking at passers-by. There is a travel bag on the bench, because the writer was passing through the city during his trip to Sakhalin. In a letter sent from here, he noted that Verkhneudinsk is a “pretty little town.” This phrase is engraved on a metal plaque attached above the sculptural composition.

The National Museum of Buryatia (Profsoyuznaya str., 29) contains more than 75 thousand exhibits telling about the history of the region from the Bronze Age to the present day. An interesting exhibition is dedicated to the period of the Huns. The display cases display archaeological artifacts related to the culture of these warlike nomads. The central place in the museum is occupied by an exhibition dedicated to Buddhist art. The collection has collections of jewelry, ancient national clothing, and objects of decorative and applied art. The cost of visiting the museum is 150 rubles; it is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, closed on Monday.

A rich collection of works by Buryat artists and sculptors can be viewed in ten halls of the Republican Art Museum, the largest collection of paintings in the Far East. A large collection of women's silver jewelry from the 18th to 20th centuries, skillfully made by Buryat craftsmen, is also on display here.

Since 2022, on Lenin Street, 42, there has been a private Gallery of Asian Arts, created with funds from patrons. Interesting works by contemporary artists and sculptors are presented here, developing the traditions of original Buryat art. The gallery is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00. Free admission.

The Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia, located within Ulan-Ude, 8 km northeast of the center, is worthy of the attention of travelers. This is one of the largest open-air museums in Russia. On a picturesque territory of 37 hectares, you can see more than four dozen ancient buildings brought here from the most remote corners of the region and meticulously collected by restorers - log village huts, Buryat yurts, Evenki tents, outbuildings, forges, baths. Each of the houses brought to the museum has its own real history. In some, simple peasants lived, in others, wealthy Cossack elders and merchants lived. In accordance with the social status of the families that once inhabited the ancient housing, the rooms are furnished with peasant or merchant furniture. Agricultural implements, millstones, household utensils, boats, sleighs, carts, and horse harnesses are collected under the sheds.

One of the oldest buildings in the museum is a 17th-century log house, intended for overnight accommodation for exiles sent to the “Baikal Prison” in transit. They say that the disgraced Ukrainian hetman Demyan Mnogohreshny once spent the night in this house, who in 1672 was put on trial in Moscow and exiled to eternal settlement in Buryatia. Subsequently, the hetman commanded the Cossack garrison of the fortress in the Selenga fortress, which was located on the territory of modern Ulan-Ude, and in his old age he became a monk.

One of the first exhibits of the open-air museum was the wooden St. Nicholas Church from the village of Nikolskoye. Another log church, built by the Old Believers, was brought from the wilderness of the Irkutsk region, and an authentic iconostasis was recreated in its interiors. Buryat temples with narrative paintings are also installed here.

The museum is divided into thematic zones. Part of the territory is occupied by the Evenki and Buryat complexes, there is an exhibition dedicated to the culture of the Transbaikal Cossacks. In addition, the exhibitions feature 11 thousand objects structured in archaeological and ethnographic collections. The most valuable archaeological artifacts are collected on display in a special pavilion.

On the territory of the museum there is a small zoo where deer, yaks, camels and even the Amur tiger live. There are playgrounds for children, and there is a café nearby.

The entrance ticket will cost 200 rubles. The cost of a two-hour tour around the museum is 750 rubles. In summer you can ride a horse here, and in winter you can ride a sleigh with a dog sled. Minibuses run here from the city center; the fare is 20 rubles. You can get to the museum by taxi; you will have to pay about 200 rubles for travel from the center.

Excursions

Local guides organize exciting trips to nearby attractions. You should start getting acquainted with them with a one-day excursion to the famous archaeological location - the Ivolginsky settlement, located 25 km from the center, in the near suburbs of Ulan-Ude. Here, more than 2000 years ago, stood a fortress built by the Huns, also known in historiography as the Xiongnu. Concentric defensive ramparts have been preserved, ditches that were once filled with water have been cleaned. In the vicinity of the fortress, mineral springs with water saturated with silver come out of the ground. They have long been considered sacred and have miraculous healing powers.

Nearby is the Ivolginsky datsan Hambyn Sume - the largest Buddhist complex in Buryatia with temples, monastery cells and administrative buildings. There is a university here, where future clergy and religious philosophers, interpreters of sacred texts, translators of canonical books, healers, and artists study. There are art workshops in the datsan. Their works are sent to decorate churches, to museum collections, and put up for sale.

On the territory of the monastery town, a pagoda was erected, which contains wonderful examples of Buddhist art; tourists should definitely see this gallery. The ministering monks will gladly give inquisitive travelers the necessary explanations about the purpose of certain ritual objects and explain the essence of the plots of paintings and bronze sculptural compositions. The gallery doors are open from 10:00 to 18:00. Admission is free, but you can leave a donation in the piggy bank.

There are souvenir shops in the gallery and at the western entrance to the monastery. They sell rosaries, amulets, and illustrated Buddhist literature. The most popular souvenir is a copy of the composition “Little Buddha”, donated to the datsan gallery by the talented sculptor Dashi Namdakov. This world-famous Buryat master now lives and works in London. European art critics call him a plastic genius. The famous bronze sculpture depicts the child Buddha sleeping on the back of a lion, the guardian of the sacred teachings. The good-natured smiling animal put its paw on the globe, keeping the fragile planet of people from shock.

In the datsan there is an amazing shrine - a sarcophagus with the body of the 12th Pandito Khamba Lama Itigelov, who fell into deep meditation in 1927. Over time, Pandito stopped breathing and his heart stopped. He was buried, and, according to his will, the sarcophagus was opened 75 years later, at the beginning of the 21st century. No signs of decay were found on the body of the Khamba Lama. Scientists do not find an explanation for this incredible fact. Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world come to the Ivolginsky Datsan to look at this miracle and pray at the incorruptible body. They believe that the ascetic has achieved the highest enlightenment. A hotel was built here for visitors, and city bus No. 130 runs from Ulan-Ude to the monastery.

A 15-minute drive from the center of Ulan-Ude, on the high Bald Mountain hill, towering above the city, is the Buddhist center of Rinpoche Bagsha, built in 2000 with the blessing of the 14th Dalai Lama. The largest 6-meter gilded statue of Buddha Shakyamuni in Buryatia is installed here, and the largest Buddhist bell of the Four Seals in Russia sounds. Here you can marvel at the art of carving on huge wooden rosaries weighing 350 kg. This relic was presented in 2008 by monk Hayashi Hiroshi, who came from Japan.

In the center there are special sacred places with poles on which Khiy-morin flags are tied. Translated, this means Wind Horse; it brings a person good luck, health and well-being. You just need to know what color of the flag to choose, what part of the world to direct it to, what day and time to tie it. Here you can buy a bronze copy of the ancient Tibetan image of Khiy-morin as a souvenir, somewhat reminiscent of the flying Little Humpbacked Horse from the famous fairy tale by Pyotr Ershov.

There is a park around the central pagoda, where the Path of Long Life winds through the trees. On the promenade there are 12 openwork pavilions for meditation, each with an image of one of the animals of the twelve-year cycle of the Buddhist calendar. From the observation decks of this park, tourists take excellent panoramic photos of Ulan-Ude. The path leads to the Garden of Good Thoughts. This rock garden is designed in Japanese style and features curved wooden bridges over streams of multi-colored gravel, gazebos for private reflection and a terracotta statue of Buddha. This is a quiet and peaceful place, the city is not visible from here, the noise of the streets does not reach this corner, and from the garden there is a magnificent view of the peaks of the Khamar-Daban mountain range, covered with centuries-old taiga forests.

Minibus No. 97 goes to the center of Rinpoche Bagsha.

Purchases

Spectacular souvenirs in Ulan-Ude shops shine with oriental exoticism and variety. In September 2022, the city hosted the finals of the All-Russian competitive festival “Tourist Souvenir”, where 339 of the best memorable gifts were presented to the public. Among them, products of Buryat artisans, mystical Buddhist objects, souvenir copies of pagodas of famous temples, and sculptures stood out clearly.

In Ulan-Ude, dolls in national Buryat costumes, toy copies of musical instruments and yurts made of white felt embroidered with beads, combs, vessels made of wood and horn, and hunting knives are also in demand. You can inexpensively buy traditional silver jewelry that has been “aged” to look like an antique.

Souvenir shops are located on all central streets of the city, in hotels and museums, at the railway station, at the Baikal airport.

As a tasty souvenir, they bring from Ulan-Ude something that is simply impossible not to buy - smoked, dried, lightly salted Baikal omul. Fish is sold in specialized stores and markets.

Cuisine of Ulan-Ude

Buryat cuisine is in many ways similar to Mongolian, but the natural conditions of the Baikal region make the diet of the Buryats much more varied. In addition to several types of meat and cereals, it includes fresh vegetables, fish, berries, nuts, and herbs. A traditional Buryat hot appetizer is fried omul, cooked over a fire. Small fish are strung on sticks, stuck into the sand close to the fire and turned until the carcass is fried until crisp. The spicy and spicy Buryat pilaf, borrowed from the peoples of Central Asia, is very tasty. Only here the ingredients are not mixed, but placed in a pot in layers, sprinkled with rice: butter, meat, onion, garlic. In the recipes of some Buryat dishes, connoisseurs recognize elements of the cuisine of neighboring Yakutia, for example, in frozen fish stroganina.

Milk dishes are especially varied in Buryatia. Khuruud, dried and pressed cottage cheese, is traditionally used as bread. Festive feasts begin with milk drinks, kumis made from mares' milk is served for lunch, and the meal ends with dairy desserts. Those with a sweet tooth will appreciate delicious cheese snowballs and thick cream cakes - urme. The Buryat names of delicacies are not easy to remember, and even by hearing they will not tell the gourmet traveler anything about what they actually mean. A menu with illustrations of dishes comes to the rescue.

The most popular national dish is buuzy, tender, voluminous bags of thinly rolled dough filled with juicy minced meat. Buuza looks very appetizing and resembles a small yurt in shape; it is steamed. Cooking this dish is a real ritual. The ideal buuza is folded with folds, with which the cook shapes the dough and holds it together, creating exactly 33 pinches on each “yurtka”, leaving a small hole at the top for steam to escape from the filling contained inside. Thus, the dish acquires a sacred meaning, symbolizing both the yurt where people live and the vault of heaven inhabited by thirty-three Buryat gods. This iconic national dish was recently immortalized in the world's only buuza monument. The monument, carved from marble, was installed in 2022 on the territory of the Buddhist complex of Rinpoche Bagsha. This copy of the buuz weighs more than a ton. In honor of the buuza, the Buuzin Bayar festivals are held in Ulan-Ude, where chefs compete in preparing the most delicious treats of national cuisine. Here you can taste all the delights of Buryat cuisine, served piping hot.

To fully immerse yourself in the world of Buryat delicacies, go to Dokuchaev Street, 11, where the colorful ethno-restaurant “Baataray Urgoo” awaits you. Guests are accommodated in festively decorated nomadic yurts; the interiors are decorated with carpets, embroidery, chasing, and sculptures. In the center of each yurt a fireplace burns, and Buryat folk music sounds here. The performers play morin-khuur - stringed musical instruments. Here you can rent Buryat national outfits and have a photo session on the carved thrones of the khan and his beloved wife.

Truly royal interior design in. Prominent people, famous film actors, pop stars, and politicians stayed here. Among them are Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj.

At the end of the meal, you will be able to stay in the authentic atmosphere with an afternoon walk to the nearby datsan and a tour of the exhibition of the ethnographic museum located nearby.

The capital of Buryatia has a great variety of inexpensive eateries, cafes and restaurants. While walking through the historical center of the city, you can inexpensively taste local cuisine, for example, in the Shene Buuza restaurant (Lenina St., 44). Actually, similar catering outlets are found at every step in Ulan-Ude. You can have a snack of buuzas (5 pieces) and salad for an average of 200 rubles.

A full lunch in a mid-level establishment in Ulan-Ude costs from 700 rubles, in expensive restaurants - from 1000 rubles.

Where to stay

There are more than 150 hotels, apartments, mini-hotels and hostels in Ulan-Ude. In 2022, the first five-star hotel in the republic, Mergen Bator, opened here. It pleasantly surprises tourists with its comfort and oriental exoticism. The new hotel is crammed with modern electronics; the Smart Home system has been introduced here. The cost of living is from 7400 rubles.

Among the luxury hotels of the European level is Reston Hotel & Spa 4* (Grazhdanskaya St., 20). There is an excellent spa complex here, and a panoramic restaurant is located on the roof of a high-rise hotel building. Accommodation in a double room costs from 5,500 rubles per day, in a “suite” with a city view – 9,000 rubles. Wealthy travelers stay in the 130 m² presidential suite with a living room and two bathrooms. Their cost is 23,000 rubles per day.

Among the best three-star hotels, tourists name the stylish Ulan-Ude Park 3*+ hotel, located in the historical part of the city. The building was erected in a park area on Ranzhurova Street, 11. The hotel restaurant is equipped with halls and separate booths with panoramic windows; days of national cuisine from different countries of the world are held here, and music shows are held in the evenings. The daily cost of a single room is from 2,700 rubles, a standard double room can be rented for 4,750 rubles, a spacious three-room “suite” with a bedroom, living room and study will cost 9,000 rubles.

In a quiet location on 50 Letiya Oktyabrya Avenue, 32, the recently renovated 3* Ulan Hotel is located. Its rooms have new furniture, minibars, and modern electronics. The hotel has an inexpensive cafe, there is a large shopping mall nearby, and within walking distance there is a good restaurant with Korean, Buryat and Russian cuisine. The train station is three stops away on tram number 4. Accommodation here will cost from 3,650 rubles per day (including breakfast).

In the area of ​​historical buildings, you can stay inexpensively at the Menshikov Hotel, located in a restored old building on Lenina Street, 24-B. Price range – 1950-2425 rubles per room. You can stay even cheaper at the Odon Hotel on Gagarin Street, 43. Accommodation here will cost from 1,650 rubles per day. The advantages of this hotel will be appreciated by tourists arriving in Ulan-Ude by train. The entrance to this budget hotel is just 200 meters from the train station.

In Ulan-Ude it is not difficult to find very inexpensive but comfortable housing. For example, in the well-equipped apartments “2nd Tolstoy Lane” the price for accommodation is only 900 rubles per day. At the Vitaliya mini-hotel, located in the very center, on Revolution Street 1905, rooms are rented out for 1,000 rubles per day.

Guests will long remember the impressive exoticism of staying in the small ethno-hotel “Noyon”, located on Dokuchaeva Street, 11. Here, vacationers are accommodated in well-equipped rooms, friendly staff are dressed in festive national costumes, and there is a souvenir shop. Each room is decorated in an individual folklore-mystical style, decorated with oriental esoteric symbols, and, moreover, has its own name. Here you can stay, for example, in the studio-suite “Ulzy”, which means “Room of Happiness”, in the “Yin-Yang” apartments, in the double suite “Badma Seseg” (Lotus) or in the romantic room called “Khurde”. (“Wheel of Life”). The cost of living is from 1800 rubles per day. The complex houses a popular folklore restaurant serving national cuisine.

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Transport

The city's transport network is served by buses, trams, minibuses, and taxis. The cost of travel in a minibus of private carriers is 20 rubles, a tram ticket costs 15 rubles.

Regular bus service has been established with cities and towns of the republic from Ulan-Ude.

How to get there

Airlines, S7, and Pobeda regularly fly from Moscow to the Baikal International Airport, located 15 km west of Ulan-Ude. The flight lasts 5 hours 55 minutes. The capital of Buryatia is also connected by air with Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Chita, Yakutsk, and other cities of Russia and foreign countries. You can inquire about departure/arrival times and ticket prices on the Aviasales.ru website.

From the airport to the city center there are buses No. 28, 55, 77. The traffic interval is about 10 minutes.

The Moscow – Ulan-Ude train departs from the capital’s Kazansky Station 2-3 times a week. Travel time is 92 hours. Trains heading from Moscow to Vladivostok, Chita and Ulaanbaatar stop in the capital of Buryatia. It is convenient to find the exact train schedule on the Tutu.ru website.

There are combination travel options that allow you to save a little on tickets. For example, you can fly from Moscow to Irkutsk relatively inexpensively, and then transfer to any passing train that stops in Ulan-Ude.

There is another combined option. There is a bus station near the Moscow metro station “Butyrskaya”, on Ogorodny proezd, 14. From there buses depart to Ufa; travel time is 20 hours. At the Ufa bus station you need to take bus No. 839 to Yekaterinburg, it will take you to the Ural city in 7 hours. The local bus station is combined with the railway station. Trains run from here to Ulan-Ude. Travel time – 56 hours.

Autotourists from Moscow will have to travel 5,627 kilometers and cross approximately half the country to get to Ulan-Ude. You need to take the M-7 federal highway leading east. The path will pass through Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Ufa, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk. After passing Irkutsk, you will drive along the southern coast of Lake Baikal, the route is laid through the territory of the vast Baikal Nature Reserve. The trip with rest stops will last at least 3-4 days.

Churches, cathedrals and temples

Datsan Rinpoche Bagsha

Address: st. Streletskaya, 1 Phone: Website: https://yelo-rinpoche.ru/ Opening hours: 09.00-16.00 Mon-Sun Cost: free

Datsan opened in 2004 on the highest point of the city. The largest Buddhist bell in the country is installed on the territory of the temple; in the building itself there is a 6-meter statue of Buddha made of bronze. 8 stupas next to the datsan are a symbol of the wisdom of Siddhartha Gautama.

The park area of ​​the temple is equipped with 12 gazebos made in the shape of animals of the eastern calendar. On the one kilometer long road of life there is a park of stones, the path is decorated with stands with excerpts from sacred texts.

The datsan houses a rosary weighing 350 kg, donated to the temple by the Japanese monk Hayashi Hiroshi.

Holy Hodegetrievsky Cathedral

Address: st. Lenina, 2 Phone: Website: https://uud.cerkov.ru/ Opening hours: 07.00-20.00 Mon-Sun Cost: free

The Orthodox church, built in 1785, is designed in the Siberian Baroque style. The cathedral was built in a zone of high seismic activity - the building was gradually destroyed by earthquakes. In 1929, the church decoration was finally destroyed by the Bolsheviks, and the temple was closed.

The restored cathedral reopened in 2001. A 100-pound bell was installed here, and the icons were painted anew by Buryat masters.

In 1996, the Ural icon of the Smolensk Mother of God Hodegetria was given to the temple; in 1999, the image streamed myrrh for 12 days.

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

Address: st. Revolution of 1905, 56a Phone: Website: https://www.uud-eparh.ru/index.php/2010-10-29-02-43-41/2010-10-29-02-49-10/2012 -08-27-02-20-04/92-2010-01-04-09-38-33 Opening hours: 07.30-19.00 Mon-Sun Cost: free

The wooden building next to the railway station was rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century; in the 1930s, the temple was converted into a waiting room.

The new church was erected in 2005, the construction style is traditional: golden domes, white stone walls. The outside of the temple is decorated with icons.

Church of the Ascension of the Lord

Address: st. Proizvodstvennaya, 6 Telephone: Opening hours: 07.00-19.00 Mon-Sun Cost: free

The two-story wooden church was opened in the 18th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, the temple, which had become dilapidated, was repaired, but the entire building could not be saved - the second floor had to be demolished.

In 1929 the temple was closed and returned to believers after the Great Patriotic War, at which time a new iconostasis was created. During the Soviet era, the church was the only one operating in Buryatia. In the 1980s, the building was renovated, icon cases, a five-meter iconostasis, and candlesticks were made.

Entertainment

Tourist complex "Steppe Nomad"

Address: st. Babushkina, 164 Phone: Website: https://etnoatsagat.ru/ Opening hours: 09.00-18.00 Mon-Sun Cost: from 500 rubles

The complex is located near the sacred Mount Tamkhita in the Atsagat Valley. The doctors of the local datsan treated the royal persons. People from all over the world came to Lamas Choinzon Iroltuev and Agvan Dorzhiev in the 19th century for healing.

“Steppe Nomad” introduces tourists to the Buryat culture and traditions of the people. Complex services:

• culinary master classes on preparing national dishes;
• walking and horseback excursions;
• accommodation in a real yurt;
• archery training;
• participation in national games;
• the ability to care for camels and horses;
• master class on Buryat dances.

A stream flows through the complex, there is a vegetable garden, and there is a sauna and bathhouse.

Athletic facilities

There are several places in the city for sports activities and maintaining physical health:

• Stadium. At the beginning of Kirov Street there is a sports facility for 10,000 people. Sports competitions, concerts, and social events are held here.
• Physical education and sports sports complex 32,000 sq. m. Address: Ryleeva street, building 2. Accommodates:

1. pool;
2. Sport halls;
3. premises for coaches and referees;
4. sauna and hammam;
5. phyto-barrel for restoring health;
6. solarium to strengthen the immune system;
7. massage chair for relaxation and recovery after injuries.

• Sports and tourist center. Coast of the Barguzin Bay of Baikal. Comfortable rooms, large terraces, capacity of 65,000 people. Swimming pool, sauna and massage rooms.

The Directorate of Sports Facilities is responsible for the condition of the city's sports infrastructure. It is financed by the government of the republic.

Attractions in the surrounding area

Lake Baikal

GPS coordinates: 53.5149078, 108.1054688

Ulan-Ude is located near the eastern coast of the lake: here Baikal is shallower than on other sides. In summer, the weather in the area is sunny, there are sandy beaches on the shore, recreation centers and hotels operate.

The road from Posolsky Sor to Chivyrkuisky Bay is considered one of the best for relaxing on Lake Baikal and exploring the sights.

You can read more about Baikal in these articles:

• Which Baikal resort to choose for a holiday with children?
• What attractions are there around Baikal and on Olkhon Island
• How and when to travel wild

Ivolginsky datsan “Khambyn Sume”

Address: s. Verkhnyaya Ivolga, st. Dorozhnaya Phone: Website: https://sangharussia.ru/ Opening hours: 09.00-18.00 Mon-Fri, Sat-Sun - days off Cost: free How to get there: route No. 108 from the stop. Verkhnyaya Berezovka in Ulan-Ude

The first service in the largest datsan of Buryatia was held in 1945, by 1972 the main Cathedral Church was completely rebuilt. On the territory of “Khambyn Sume” there are:

• library;
• Buddhist University;
• souvenir rows;
• museum;
• sacred stupas;
• Green Tara is a stone that fulfills good wishes.

The main shrine of the datsan is the burial place of Dasha-Dorzho Itigelov, who predicted the onset of atheism and revolution.

In 1927, the head of Russian Buddhism fell into nirvana, but bequeathed to dig up his body after 70 years. The elder’s wish was fulfilled; decades later Itigelov retained the signs of a living person: no decay, a whole nose and eyeballs, movable joints, warm skin. No explanation has been found for the miracle; scientists put forward only hypotheses.

If you have not yet chosen where you will live and want to save money when booking, we recommend using the RoomGuru service. Firstly, it contains hotels, apartments and guest houses from many different booking systems, so you won’t miss out on a worthwhile option. Secondly, you can immediately compare prices for one place in different services and book where it is cheaper (this is not always Booking!).

State of the city's infrastructure

The city's transport system includes the country's largest airport, Baikal. Charter flights have been organized to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. There are routes to almost all major cities of Russia.

Due to the increase in the number of cars, roads, junctions and parking lots are being built. Cars occupy courtyards and roadsides. New buildings are trying to take this problem into account, but not effectively enough.