The Back of the Backcountry(and how to get there)By Joshua HartshorneThere are places we have not been that we would like to see. There are places we have not been that we do not care to see. There are places we have not been that we would like to see but don’t know that yet because we don’t know they exist. Some of these places we should have been to. Siberia is such a short word that it’s easy to forget that it accounts for 1/7 of the world’s land. Traveling a couple days by train is accounted a short trip. Failing to visit Siberia is a serious oversight, both for those who desire to be well-traveled and for those who wish to see some of the world’s great landscapes.
This makes traveling Siberia a daunting task – but a worthwhile one. It’s hard to go to the Grand Canyon or Paris and make believe that you are an intrepid explorer, the first to discover an exotic land. In Siberia, you might well be among the first foreigners to visit. In contrast to similar rarely-traveled lands, like the rainforests of Africa, Siberia has the modern conveniences: hotels when you’re sleepy, restaurants when you’re hungry, and drugstores and hospitals when you’re sick. We have all watched Dr. Zhivago so many times that we forgot that Siberia has a summer. We have all heard the phrase “a giant prison without walls,” that we forget the tsars chose Siberia as a prison not because it’s a horrible place (it’s not), but because it was far from Moscow. Before I left the States for Siberia, every one of my friends to the last cracked the same joke: “What did you do?”
There is of course the world’s great train journey: the Trans-Siberian Railroad. There are also boat journeys up Siberia’s mighty rivers that last weeks and traverse a thousand miles. There is the jagged and volcano-scorched land of Kamchatka. There is the exotic Republic of Tuva, known for throat-singing and a nomadic lifestyle. There are the picturesque and almost unpopulated Altai Mountains, the bustling port town of Vladivostok, the cosmopolitan Irkutsk, reindeer-herders, vast berry patches and wildflowers as far as you can see. Where I went first (almost by accident) and what I fervently recommend to anyone who will listen long enough is Lake Baikal. Surrounded by low, jagged mountains and a lush green countryside, it is far more reminiscent of Switzerland than Antarctica. With over a thousand endemic species, its statistics read more like that of a rainforest than the Sahara. The water is so pure that one can see over 100 feet down; it’s no wonder locals believe it has healing powers.
Thanks to its remoteness and Siberia’s poor PR, Lake Baikal has remained nearly untouched. 95% of its shores are entirely undeveloped, and approximately 80% lie within the boundaries of national parks and wilderness reserves. Tourists remain relatively few. Nonetheless, compared with most of Siberia, Baikal is not especially difficult to reach. Two of the nearby cities (Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude) maintain reasonably large regional airports. However, flights to Irkutsk generally run $1500-$2000 from most major US airports. A cheaper variant is to fly to Moscow ($500-$900) and then take the renowned Trans-Siberian Railroad ($100 roundtrip). The trains run to both Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude and actually brush the lake itself at both the north and south tips.
Ulan-Ude is small (270,000 residents) and not as charming as its sister on the other side of Baikal. Its primary claim to fame is the world’s largest Lenin head. Less-widely published in guidebooks but clearly more important is that it also boasts on of Russia’s great opera houses. The primary reason to visit Ulan-Ude is ethnographic: it is the capital of the Republic of Buryatia, the only region of Siberia where indigenous Siberians outnumber Russians. This gives Buryatia a very different feel. Moreover, the Ivolginsk Datsan, the headquarters of Buddhism in Russia, is located nearby. There are few places both simultaneously remote and accessible. Some day, world-wide tourism may wake up and remember Siberia’s steppes, mountains, rivers, lakes and ancient cities. Before that happens, you should go. Irkutsk: Hotels include Hotel Angara (www.angarahotel.ru) and Hotel Intourist (bulvar Gagarina 44), but to experience the fantastic Siberian hospitality, arrange a homestay through a travel agent. Plus, they’re cheaper by a fair margin ($15-$20/night). Ulan-Ude: The Great Baikal Trail: Baikal: |
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Siberia maintains no major airports, only a couple rail lines and few roads. Most of the lines snaking across my map of central Siberia turn out to be foot trails. Many towns and villages can be reached only by chartered helicopter.
What I did was read a few books. Siberia is not the barren wasteland we’ve been lead to believe. It’s a traveler’s paradise.
Not that 100 feet down is very far for Baikal: measuring in at one mile in depth, Baikal is the world’s deepest lake. Due to its incredible depth (about 4 times that of Lake Superior’s), it holds a staggering 1/5 of the world’s fresh water – more than all the Great Lakes combined.
The cities themselves are worthy destinations. Irkutsk, over 350 years old, was long an administrative capital of Siberia. To this day, Irkutsk maintains a cosmopolitan feel, with far more museums and theaters than a small town of 700,000 would normally have. Beautiful 18th- and 19th-century architecture lines the compact center. Even the obligatory Lenin statue downtown has more grace than is typical.