Russia & Mongolia

Siberia & the Far East

With all going well in Vladivostok and the Disco passing shipping and customs unscathed, we were straight into some big distances crossing the Far East province of the Russian Federation, shadowing the border with China all the way. Major destinations along this leg included the cities of Khabarovsk, Chita, Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk. Apart from expanses of forest and taiga, natural highlight of this leg was a few days on the shoreline of Lake Baikal at Listvyanka.

Mongolia

Coming South from Russia our first stop will be the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar, for some fresh Russian transit visa. After stocking up on supplies it’s then South to the Gobi Desert fringe at Dalanzadgad. Khuvsgul, Mongolia’s largest freshwater lake, then leads us across the steppe towards the Altai Mountains and a crossing back into the Russian Federation. We strung together camping, guest house and ger stays across the plains and mountains of Mongolia.

The Altai Republic

Travelling north exciting Mongolia we descended deep into the wooded valleys of the Russian Altai mountains, a verdant and refreshing environment after the windswept Mongolian steppe. Our primary objective was a planned maintenance stop as we pass through Barnaul. The team at Land Rover Albion Motors in Barnaul did an amazing job servicing Disco and securing a replacement tyre for us; in a hard-to-find size for this part of the world. All three of us left refreshed and recharged for Central Asia.