Verkhnyaya Beryozovka: Where Ulan-Ude Fades into the Hills
Take the road north from Ulan-Ude, and soon the city thins out. Pine-covered slopes rise on either side, and the air changes—lighter, sharper, carrying the scent of resin and, in autumn, woodsmoke. This is Verkhnyaya Beryozovka, a neighborhood named after the small river that threads through it. For over a century, it’s been where locals come to slow down.
The first dachas appeared here in the late 1800s, when the city leased out meadows to wealthy residents. By 1900, there were more than twenty, and the local government had already passed rules to protect the trees. The Soviet era repurposed many into pioneer camps and sanatoriums, but the area’s history runs deeper. In 1773, a monk named Arseny died here on his way to the Selenginsky Monastery, and a chapel was built to mark the spot. Decades later, merchants set up an experimental farm and a glass factory by the river. By 1863, a chapel dedicated to the Intercession of the Holy Virgin stood on the estate of a retired official.
In 1925, volunteers cleared a hill called Belaya Glinka to build an airfield. A year later, the first international air route in the Soviet Union—Verkhneudinsk to Urga (now Ulaanbaatar)—took off from here. When the airfield moved across the Selenga River in 1931, the site became a racetrack, which still operates today. Later, an experimental station with apple orchards appeared, along with a clinic specializing in Eastern medicine.
The Ethnographic Museum and Beyond
The Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia opened in 1968. It’s one of Russia’s largest open-air museums, spread across the hills. You’ll find traditional wooden houses, Buryat yurts, and a reconstructed Evenki camp. Nearby, the Datsan Hambyn Sume Buddhist temple offers a quiet place to wander.
In winter, the Orlinnaya Gora ski complex and cross-country trails draw visitors. When the snow melts, over 20 kilometers of walking paths wind through the pines. The trails are marked but feel remote—you’ll often have them to yourself.
Food and Staying Over
Small cafes and yurt-shaped eateries serve buuzy, steamed dumplings filled with meat. Eat them fresh from the pot. A few guesthouses offer overnight stays, but most visitors come for the day.
Getting here is simple. Marshrutkas run from the city center along the Barguzin road. The trip takes about fifteen minutes by car. The neighborhood isn’t polished—it doesn’t try to be. Families picnic by the river, hikers set out on the trails, and skiers glide through the woods. The past and present don’t compete here; they just exist side by side.
You might spend the morning in a museum filled with artifacts, then ski down a hill in the afternoon. The light, the air, the way the pines move in the wind—it stays with you.
