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Trans Siberian Route Description. The town of the Trans-Mongolian Route: Moscow - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing. Stop along the way. Trip to Transiberian raiload. Tour to Transsib. Trans Sib.

TRANS SIBERIAN RAILROAD

Trans Mongolian Route Description
stops along the way

The Trans-Mongolian Route: Moscow - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing. You will see Siberian plains and forests, Mongolian steppe and even a part of Gobi desert along this route that goes through Mongolia to China.

The Trans Mongolian Line was built from 1940 to 1956 between Ulan-Ude at Lake Baikal's eastern shore and the Chinese capital Beijing. From Ulan-Ude the tracks go south, towards Mongolia, crossing the large Gobi dessert and finally ending up in Beijing, China. This route has a length of 7867 km (Moscow - Beijing). One speciality you should see is the changing of the chassis at the Chinese border because of different width of the tracks in China and Russia.

Moscow	0 km	0h 0m The capital of Russia. A vibrant historical center.
Vladimir	209 km	2h 30m A small ancient city along the Golden Ring.
Nizhny Novgorod	461 km	6h 30m A big vibrant industrial center of Volga region (Povolzhie).
	790 km	The end of Nizhegorodskaya region, start of Kirov region.
Kotelnich	830 km	11h 20m Here Trans-Siberian meets with the old track that was going through Yaroslavl.
	831 km	Crossing Vyatka river
Kirov	917 km	12h 50m A small industrial northern city. Center of Kirov region.
	1041 km	Crossing Kosa river
	1062 km	The end of Kirov region, start of Udmurtiya republic
Glazov	1125 km	15h 50m
Belezino	1154 km	16h 20m
	1185 km	Crossing Cheptsa river
	1230 km	The end of Udmurtiya republic, start of Perm region. Start of Urals region.
	1396 km	Crossing Kama river
Perm	1397 km	20h 10m A big industrial town in the beginning of Ural mountains. The main attractions are a few museums in the city, and old prehistorical caves.
	1570 km	The end of Perm region, start of Sverdlovsk region
	1730 km	Crossing Chusovaya river
Ekaterinburg	1778 km	1d 2h 20m Ekaterinburg was founded in 1797, and now it is the unofficial capital of Ural region — the most industrial (and polluted) region of Russia. However, Urals are most known as the mountains that divide Europe and Asia. Ekaterinburg itself is a nice and real (unvarnished) industrial city of modern Russia with many interesting buildings and sights.
		The end of Sverdlovsk region, start of Tyumen region (2070 km). The end of Ural, start of Western Siberia.
Tyumen	2104 km	1d 6h 30m The center of Tyumen region — the oil & gas center of Russia.
Ishim	2393 km	1d 10h 10m
	2395 km	Crossing Ishim river
	2485 km	The end of Tyumen region, start of Omsk region.
Nazyvaemskaya	2520 km	1d 12h 30m The closest place to Kazakhstan of the route: about 100 km.
	2674 km	Crossing Irtysh river
Omsk	2676 km	1d 13h 50m
	2800 km	The end of Omsk region, start of Novosibirsk region.
Barabinsk	3000 km	1d 17h 38m
	3168 km	Crossing Chulym river
	3300 km	Crossing Ob river
Novosibirsk	3303 km	1d 21h 30m The biggest city in Siberia region with 1442000 inhabitants, it was founded in 1893. Novosibirsk is the third main cultural and scientific center in Russia (after Moscow and St. Petersburg), the university of Novosibirsk is quite famous too. The city is developing quite rapidly, and is considered to be the capital of Siberia. The area around Novosibirsk is very good for camping and trekking. Besides, Novosibirsk is a great place to start discovering Altai mountains, which are not far.
	3440 km	The end of Novosibirsk region, start of Kemerovo region
Taiga	3532 km	2d 1h 0m
Mariinsk	3680 km	2d 3h 0m
	3745 km	The end of Kemerovo region, start of Krasnoyarsk region.
Bogotol	3813 km	2d 5h 20m
		Crossing Chulym river (on 3880 km)
Achinsk	3881 km	2d 6h 20m
Krasnoyarsk	4065 km	2d 9h 20m If you have a goal to stop at all the main Trans-Siberian stations, then you should stop in Krasnoyarsk, which is an important Siberian industrial center. But frankly, we personally find there's nothing interesting, except for Stolby National Park, which is outside of the city.
	4067 km	Crossing Enisey river
Ilanskaya	4344 km	2d 14h 0m There's a nice market at the station - eggs, potatoes, fish, sausages, tomatoes, ice cream, salted cucumbers, fresh stuff. Train stays 20 mins usually.
	4430 km	The end of Krasnoyarsk region, start of Irkutsk region.
Taishet	4483 km	2d 16h 30m Here you can change to BAM train line. Check beforehand if there's a train.
Nizhneudinsk	4647 km	2d 19h 20m Shops with beer, babushkas sell food in big bags - they walk with their bags and they open the bags to show you what is inside (there it looks like they're hiding). The air is warm and there are many mosquitoes.
	4650 km	Crossing Uda river
Zima	4902 km	2d 23h 10m A weird place with very hot climate in summer.
	4904 km	Crossing Oka river
Angarsk	5113 km	3d 2h 20m All the chemical and machinery productions are concentrated in this city. It was built by prisoners, so the landscapes are not very welcoming. Also, it is considered to be quite dangerous.
Irkutsk	5153 km	3d 3h 20m Irkutsk is a nice city with unusual atmosphere and interesting architecture. Baikal lake is just 60 kilometers away, and there are also Sayan mountain range quite close. Irkutsk is a good starting point for various outdoor activities and for exploring the western side of the lake Baikal.
Baikal Lake	from 5266 km	Here you start seeing Baikal lake A truly amazing and beautiful lake. There are a lot of places to enjoy pristine nature, and swim in the lake. It is worth making the Trans-Siberian just because of this lake only. Spend a few days there and you'll feel as if you were born again. You can either go there by yourself, or join in various outdoor activities offered by tour operators.
Slyudyanka	5279 km	3d 5h 50m A village on the shore of Baikal. It's more like a port, so it's not interesting to stay in there. It is a good starting point for exploration of Circum Baikal railway (which starts there), or going south to Arshan (3 hours), which is just next to Sayan mountains — a great place for camping, walks, and various activities. By the way, you can buy great smoked fish from Baikal lake - Omul - there. Highly recommended.
	5345 km	The end of Irkutsk region, start of Buryatia republic.
Ulan-Ude	5609 km	3d 12h 20m Ulan-Ude, founded in 1666, is the capital of the Buryat Autonomous Republic, which in the 13th - 17th centuries was part of the vast Mongolian Empire. Overlooked by many travelers, this is a great place to stop for a few days (or even weeks - for Baikal). Ulan-Ude is the first place along the Trans-Siberian, where you feel like you're in Asia finally (after more than 2 days travel in the Asian part of Russia!). It has a feel of a calm, friendly Asian town (quite close to Mongolia, in fact), and there are a lot of interesting things to discover. Start with a local History Museum, visit a Buddhist Datsan, go to the open-air Ethnographic museum, and then go on to explore the Eastern shore of Baikal lake, which is much less tourist than the opposite Irkutsk side. In Ulan-Ude the Trans-Siberian splits into two directions: to the south through Gusinoye Ozero, Djida, Naushki (Russia) to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) to Beijing (China) - Trans-Mongolian, and to the east through Chita to Vladivostok (Trans-Siberian) and Chita to Manchuria (Trans-Manchurian).
Gusinoe ozero (Goose lake)		5738 - 5766 km. The train goes along the western shore of Gusinoe Ozero (lots of geese used to live here). The town has a Buddhist temple (datsan) built in 1741 which is one of the main datsan in northern Mongolia (although the town is officially part of Russia).
Slyudyanka	5747 km	Gusinoe ozero town: 138 km This is a picturesque area with valleys surrounded by mountains. The train travels along the Selenga River and makes a short stop in Selendum village.
Naushki	5862 km	This is a Russian border post where the train stops for 2 or more hours. The stop is from 1-3 hours depending on which train.
	5730 km	Russia - Mongolia border
Sukhbaatar	5751 km	The town was built in 1940 on the banks of the Selenga and Orkhnon rivers. The town was named after the Mongolian military leader Suhbaatar. Nowadays it is the capital of the Selenge Province (aimak) with a total population of 20 thousand. This is the Mongolian side of the border; it can be a tough and rude procedure when crossing. All luggage is always carefully inspected solders. Please do not take any photos at this stop, if you are caught, your film and possibly camera will be confiscated. The stop is approximately 1,5 - 3 hours depending on the train.
Darkhan	5874 km	It takes about 8 hours to travel from Sukhbaatar to Darkhan (380 km). This is the second largest city in Mongolia with a population of 95,5 thousand. Darkhan is an urban city. The south part of Darkhan is quite picturesque. The stop is 30-50 minutes.
Ulaanbaatar		4d 04h 55m. This is the capital of Mongolia which was founded in 1639 and was often moved along the Selenga river through Orhon and Tuul until it gained its present location. The city is strategically located on the great tea route between China, Russia and Europe. The train will stop for half an hour in Ulan-Bataar. The train station has many traders that can change money for you but using a bad exchange rate so watch out!
Chojr		The Chojr station looks like a cake and has a statue of VVT Ertvuntz, the first Mongolian cosmonaut. The town was an airbase during the Soviet period. Chojr is right in the middle of the Gobi Desert and has a population of approximately13 thousand. The train stop is 15 minutes.
Dzamin Ude	6864 km	This is the Mongolian border with China and is decorated with lights. Here you will have to show your customs declaration and immigration forms. The luggage of Chinese and Mongolia traders and foreign travelers is checked more carefully than others. The whole procedure takes 1-1,5 hours.
	7045 km	Mongolia - China border
Erlyan’	from Beijing 842 km	It appears that Mongolia and China are in competition to see who will win a prize for the most annoying border service. At the station, the wheels of the train are changed to fit the Chinese tracks. If you will leave the train, please take warm clothes. The stop is approximately 4 hours.
	415 km	At this point, the train crosses the Great Wall of China for the first time.
Daton	371 km	This is a large industrial city with a population of over 2 million. The city is known as an industrial center and is home to numerous coal mines. One of the main attractions is a group of Buddhist cave temples – Yungang Grottoes. However, the stop is short - 8 minutes.
	295-272 km	At this point, the train travels along the Great Wall. The best view is around the 284 km mark.
Beijing	0 km	Beijing is the capital of China, one of the earliest centers of human civilization. This is the end of your journey or perhaps, just the beginning!

If you travel on Trans Siberian from the east to the west (Vladivostok -Moscow or Beijing - Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk - Moscow) you also can make stops on these cities. You also can look Moscow, Saint Petersburg and then to go home.