Ust-Barguzin sits where the Barguzin River spills into Lake Baikal on its eastern shore, a long way from the crowds on the west side. The valley behind it is wide and flat, with the Barguzin Range rising on one side and the lake on the other, and the Barguzin wind, a strong gale that blows down the valley, is known to sailors and fishermen across the lake. The Barguzin Nature Reserve, founded in 1916 to protect the sable, is the oldest in Russia, and its forests are home to bears, elk and deer.
The town has about seven thousand people and a remote feel, with wooden houses, fishing boats and a harbour. Buryat and Russian culture mix here, and the area is known for smoked omul, the lake's silvery fish. Hot springs bubble up along the shore at places such as Goryachinsk, to the south, and a few of them have simple bathhouses where you can soak after a day on the road. Across Barguzin Bay, the Svyatoy Nos peninsula is a wild, mountainous headland that is part of the Zabaikalsky National Park, with views over the lake.
The riding from Ulan-Ude is long and unhurried. The road runs east, then north along the broad valley, with steppe, forest and lines of mountains in the distance, and the surface is mostly asphalt with patches of rough pavement. Some side tracks are gravel or sand. Weather can change fast on the lake, with cold wind and rain in the summer, and mosquitoes and horseflies in July are fierce. The best months are late June to early September.
Fuel, food and rooms are available in Ust-Barguzin, but supplies can run short in summer, so fill up when you can. Villages along the valley are small and far apart. A walk on the sandy shore at sunset, with the wind dropping and the lake going still, is a fine way to end a day. Foreign riders should check current conditions and rules before planning travel.