The Daursky Nature Reserve lies in the south of Zabaykalsky Krai, on the border with Mongolia and China, and it is one of the great wild places of the Eurasian steppe. At its heart are the Torey Lakes, shallow salt lakes whose levels swing dramatically over the decades, filling to the brim in wet years and shrinking to stretches of cracked mud in dry ones. When they are full they draw swans, geese, cranes and countless waterbirds that gather on their way between Siberia and Asia, and the whole system is protected jointly with neighbouring reserves across the border.
The nearest real centre is Borzya, around a hundred kilometres to the northeast, and everything you need must come with you: fuel, water, food, a spare tube and the patience to deal with a puncture on your own. The tracks leading here are unsurfaced, with sandy patches, washboard, and sections that become impassable after heavy rain. Distances look short on a map and turn out to be long on the ground, and mobile coverage is patchy. Treat the trip like an expedition, tell someone where you are going, and do not set out in a bad forecast.
Because it is a protected zone, access is regulated. Permits and local rules may apply, especially close to the border and inside the core areas, so ask in Borzya or at the reserve office before you ride the last stretch. This is not mere bureaucracy; the steppe is fragile, and the wildlife is shy. Mongolian gazelles, known locally as dzeren, move across the plain in great herds, and Pallas's cat, a small, round-faced wild cat, hunts in the rocky outcrops, though you are far more likely to see eagles and hares than anything rare.
The best months are May to September, with early summer offering green grass and birdsong. Midsummer is hot and dry, with dust devils twisting across the flats, and autumn brings the migration. Light here is extraordinary, wide and clean, and the horizon is so low that the sky seems to take up most of the world. Take only photographs, keep to existing tracks, and let the silence do the rest.