Siberia & Baikal
Lake Baikal Through the Seasons
What makes Lake Baikal unique — depth, age, endemic species — and what each season offers, from summer hiking and boating to winter's clear ice, with safety notes for ice travel.
All articles
Practical guides to North Asia's vast landscapes: Mongolia's steppe and Gobi, Naadam and nomadic etiquette, Lake Baikal through the seasons, the Trans-Siberian railway, extreme-cold travel and a wind-chill calculator.
8 articles
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Mongolia
Naadam and Nomadic Etiquette: Visiting Mongolia's Herding Families
What Naadam is and how to experience it, plus the customs that matter when you visit a ger: entering, where to sit, accepting food and drink, and gifts.
Practicalities
Before You Go: Advisories, Payments and Logistics in North Asia
What to check before planning travel in Mongolia and Asian Russia: government travel advice, consular support, visas, payment cards, connectivity and insurance.
Practicalities
What Counts as North Asia, and Why It's Worth Knowing
North Asia usually means Siberia and the Russian Far East, often grouped with Mongolia for travel: a region of enormous distances, remote wilderness and a blend of indigenous, Russian and Mongolian cultures.
Siberia & Baikal
The Trans-Siberian Railway: Routes, Branches and Planning Basics
The three classic routes — Trans-Siberian, Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian — how they differ, whether to ride straight through or stop over, and what to consider about current travel conditions.
Mongolia
Mongolia Beyond Ulaanbaatar: The Steppe and the Gobi
Planning travel into Mongolia's countryside: the central steppe and Orkhon Valley, the Gobi's dunes and canyons, the Altai and Khövsgöl Lake, ger stays, drivers and guides, and when to go.
Practicalities
Surviving Siberian and Mongolian Winters as a Traveller
How to dress and plan for extreme cold: layering systems, protecting hands, feet and face, recognising frostbite and hypothermia, keeping electronics working, and planning around short days.
Siberia & Baikal
Wildlife and Wilderness in North Asia
Where to see North Asia's wildlife — takhi horses and Gobi species in Mongolia, nerpa seals at Baikal, bears and salmon in Kamchatka — and how to watch animals ethically and safely.