Zabaikalsky Krai is a territory of contrasts and incredible diversity. Local nature seems to show an attentive guest a kaleidoscope of its pristine beauty, and various milestones in the country’s history are visible here, as if on a neat slice. Travelers can only choose the most unusual and interesting. Although it is very difficult to do this in the Zabaikalsky Krai.

Arriving in Zabaikalsky Krai, tourists get to the ancient and sacred land. Reminders of this are ubiquitous. The region has carefully preserved the legacy of the Huns, Turks and Mongols to this day. Shamans still speak to spirits here, and Buddhists perform their ancient rites. On the site of an extinct volcano millions of years ago is the abode of the gods – mount Alkhanay. Buddhist shrines, which are recognized even by followers of shamanism, are generously scattered over it. Here man-made temples merge with nature into a single whole. Rock Eternal Lamp (Zula Sume) is like a giant stone lamp that the sun itself lights twice a day – at dawn and at sunset. My head is spinning from the mountain air and the smell of herbs, and the names of places-the Diamond Princess, the rock of the Heavenly Musician, the Womb of the Mother, the Intermediate World-remind me of children’s fairy tales and ancient mystical cults. Each of the sacred places is shrouded in secrets and legends. For example, local Buddhists believe that through the rock temple Gate-the main Shrine of Alkhanay-you can get to the world of the deity Dimchig (or Demchog), one of the main defenders of the Buddhist faith.

All these open-air temples, which people from all over the world go to worship, were created by the force of earthquakes and tectonic shifts, and were polished by the wind, rain and sun for centuries.

Zabaikalsky Krai will be a real find for history lovers. These places are remembered by ancient human collectives – their rock art still adorns the rocky river banks. Centuries later, thousands of troops of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol state and the great conqueror, passed through the vast steppes of the region. The development of Siberia and the path to the Pacific ocean were associated with the heroic fate of the Cossacks-pioneers, and later – merchants and traders who paved the way for caravans from China to Europe. Zabaikalsky Krai remembers also sad pages of history: hard labor and exile, bloody events of the Civil war. The region was also affected by large construction projects of the Soviet period – BAM, the development of mining deposits. In all this variety of events and times, there are still many white spots and questions. Historians have yet to answer them, but even now any traveler will be struck by the abundance of facts and monuments from different eras.