Tunkinskaya valley. Location and attractions.

Tunkinskaya valley is one of the most beautiful places in Buryatia. Here there were silk, bronze, tea and gold ways. Also along the valley stretches the road leading from Russia to Mongolia.

Location of the Tunka Valley

The Tunkinskaya valley is geographically a continuation of the Baikal basin. It is a hollow almost round. The name of the valley came from the Buryat word "tunekhe", which translates as "wander". The Tunka valley still owes its name to the meandering Tunka river flowing through it.

The valley is surrounded on all sides by mountains: from the north by the Tunkinsky Alps, from the west by the Elotsky spur, from the east by the Elovskiy spur, from the south by the Khamar-Daban range. In its widest place, the Tunkinskaya valley has a distance between the ridges about 35 kilometers. The surrounding mountains are largely covered by coniferous forests.

The Tunkinsky Alps are difficult to access and precipitous, the rocks are sharp. The height of some mountains exceeds 3 km. Because of the considerable height of the peak, even in the second half of the summer often remain snow-covered. The peaks of the Khamar-Daban ridge have a more sloping rounded shape.

From the geological point of view, the Tunkinskaya valley is the bottom of an ancient lake. As a result of the tectonic catastrophe, a powerful jumper was destroyed, and the water of the ancient reservoir went to Baikal.

Coymora

The northwestern part of the valley is called Caimor. This is a terrain with a lot of lakes, some areas are swamped. Favorable natural conditions, including abundant moisture, made this area ideal for livestock. Local people have long been growing cattle on the flood plains of the Koymora. Previously, the collective farm was engaged in this, now - small livestock farms.

The river Tunka, flowing along the northwestern part of the valley, originates in the Tunkinsky Alps and flows into the Irkut River (left tributary).

Irkut

The Irkut River crosses the southern end of the valley. The river received its name from the Buryat word "irhu", which means "capricious". Indeed, the current of the river is extremely volatile. In the cramped places, Irkut is boiling with a mighty stream, and when it comes to the open space, it is replaced by meanders.

This river begins on the highest glacier of the eastern Sayan and flows into the Angara, being its left tributary.

The Buryats have a legend, which says that Irkut wanted to marry Angara, but the bride fled to the Yenisei. Since then Irkut is forced to endlessly catch up with the water of his beloved in her eternal quest.

Hills

The north-eastern part of the valley is replete with traces of former volcanic activity. Numerous barrows, many of which are covered with coniferous forest, are cooled volcanoes. These elevations bear the generalized name of Bugry, and some of them, the most outstanding, bear their own names. These are, for example, Hara-Baldok, Tal's Peak, Shandagatai.

In the immediate vicinity of the Tal peaks, a lot of spongy basalt lumps of volcanic origin are scattered. At the foot of this hill, as well as in almost all the Bugrovs, unfreezing springs are being struck from the ground. In this respect, Kunten Arshan is an interesting deposit of natural waters from one of the extinct volcanoes. There are natural mineral springs with a high content of hydrogen sulfide, which are considered medicinal.

National Park

Tunkinsky National Park covers an area of 1.2 million hectares. It includes the entire Tunkinskaya valley. Observatory "Siberian Cross" is studying the activity of the sun and owns one of the largest solar telescopes. This place was chosen for observations of the luminary, because here is the cleanest and clearest air. Also in the park are three museums - Local Lore (Kyren village), ethnographic (Hoytogol village) and Buddhist history (Zhemchug village).

Very beautiful and visited by tourists Tunkinskaya valley. Recreation bases presented here are of great interest. There are resorts with hot and cold mineral water, such as Arshan, Nilova Pustyn, Vyshka (Zhemchug village), and Khonsor-Uula. Here you can also admire the landscapes that abound in Tunkinskaya valley. Nilova Pustyn is a resort with a radon source that has healing properties. Here, joints and diseases of the skin are treated.

In the valley there is an ancient cult place - Buha-Noion (you can translate as "leader, master, bull"). It represents a huge white marble rock at an altitude of 1050 m, which is shaped like a bull. In addition to the fact that Buha Noyon is a totem of local nationalities, at the top of this rock there is also a Buddhist idol (in Buddhism it is revered as Rinchen Khan, patron of wealth). According to traditional views, it is forbidden to visit this shrine to young girls (who, according to beliefs, face in this case infertility). Before visiting, a Buddhist monk conducts a preparatory cleansing ritual.

Tunkinskaya valley is one of those places where there are a lot of beautiful species and interesting sights.