Tunkinskaya Valley is one of the most beautiful places in Buryatia. Silk, bronze, tea and gold paths passed here. Also along the valley is a road leading from Russia to Mongolia.
Location of the Tunka Valley
The Tunkinsky valley is geographically a continuation of the Baikal depression. It is a hollow of almost round shape. The name of the valley comes from the Buryat word "tunehe", which translates as "wander". The Tunkinskaya Valley owes its name to the winding Tunkka River flowing through it.
From all sides the valley is surrounded by mountains: from the north - the Tunkinsky Alps, from the west - the Elot spur, from the east - the Elov spur, from the south - the Khamar-Daban ridge. At its widest point, the Tunkinsky Valley has a distance between the ridges of about 35 kilometers. The surrounding mountains are largely covered by coniferous forests.
The Tunkinsky Alps are inaccessible and steep, cliffs are sharp. The height of some mountains exceeds 3 km. Due to the considerable height of the peaks, even in the second half of summer they often remain snowy. The peaks of the Khamar-Daban ridge have a flatter rounded shape.
From a geological point of view, the Tunka Valley is the bottom of an ancient lake. As a result of the tectonic catastrophe, a powerful bridge was destroyed, and the water of the ancient reservoir left for Lake Baikal.
Coimora
The northwestern part of the valley is called Coimora. This is a terrain with many lakes, some areas are swampy. Favorable natural conditions, including plenty of moisture, made this area ideal for livestock.
Locals have long been raising cattle on the floodplains of Koymory. Previously, the collective farm was engaged in this, now it is small livestock farms.
The Tunka River, 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 tip of the valley. The river got its name from the Buryat word "irkha", which means "capricious." And indeed, the course of the river is extremely variable. In places constrained by cliffs, Irkut is seething with a mighty stream, and when it goes out into the open, it is replaced by meanders.
This river begins on the highest glacier in the eastern part of the Sayan Mountains and flows into the Angara, being its left tributary.
There is a legend among the Buryats, which says that Irkut wanted to marry Angara, but the bride fled to the Yenisei. Since then, Irkut has been forced to endlessly catch the water of his beloved in her eternal pursuit.
Mounds
The northeastern part of the valley is replete with traces of former volcanic activity. Numerous mounds, many of which are covered with coniferous forests, are cooling volcanoes. These elevations are collectively called Bugra, and some of them, the most prominent, have their own names. Such, for example, Hara-Boldok, Tal peak, Shandagatay.
In the immediate vicinity of the Tal peak there are scattered a lot of nosy basalt blocks of volcanic origin. At the foot of this hill, as well as in almost all the Bugrov, nonfreezing springs beat from under the ground. Interesting in this regard is Kuntensky Arshan - a natural water deposit near one of the extinct volcanoes. There are natural mineral springs with a high content of hydrogen sulfide, considered medicinal.
National park
Tunkinsky National Park covers an area of 1.2 million hectares. It includes the entire Tunkinsky valley. The Siberian Cross Observatory studies the activity of the sun and owns one of the largest solar telescopes. This place was chosen for observing the luminary, because here it is the cleanest and most transparent air. There are also three museums in the park - the Museum of Local Lore (village Kyren), the ethnographic museum (village Khoytogol) and the history of Buddhism (village Zhemchug).
The Tunka Valley is very beautiful and visited by tourists. The recreation facilities presented here are of great interest. There are resorts with hot and cold mineral water, such as Arshan, Nilova Pustyn, Vyshka (the village of Zhemchug), as well as Honsor-Uula. Here you can also admire the landscapes that abound in the Tunkinsky Valley. Nilova Desert - a spa with a radon source that has healing properties. It treats joints and skin diseases.
In the valley there is an ancient cult place - Buka Noyon (can be translated as "leader, master, bull"). It is a huge white marble rock at an altitude of 1050 m, which resembles a bull in shape. In addition to being a totem of local nationalities, Buha Noyon also has a Buddhist idol on top of this rock (in Buddhism it is revered as Rinchen Khan, the patron of wealth). According to traditional views, it is forbidden for young girls to visit this shrine (who, according to popular belief, is in this case infertile). Before visiting, a Buddhist monk conducts a preparatory cleansing ritual.
Tunkinsky Valley is one of those places where there are a lot of beautiful views and interesting sights.