Charsky Sands and Kodarsky Ridge | hike

Day-long stay at the lakes

We spend the whole day riding packrafts on the lake and taking photos in the most beautiful locations of the lakes and golden autumn.

Along the Sredniy Sakukan Stream

We continue our hike. Today we have to walk 17 kilometers, first along the road that was once laid here to the GULAG camp and the uranium mine, and then along the trail. The road was laid so solidly that even today, after more than 70 years, wooden bridges and log coverings on swampy areas have been preserved. We will examine the ruins of the former camp, located right on the road, take photos on the destroyed bridge made of huge logs several spans across the Sredniy Sakukan Stream, and for the night we will stop in a modern house built several years ago by the national park on the bank of the stream. The house has a stove, a table and a platform on which several people can spend the night. In the yard of the house there is a table with a canopy and a toilet.

Former weather station

Today, after walking another 11 kilometers, we will reach the building of the former weather station. On the way, we will cross the Sredniy Sakukan stream on a suspension bridge, see stunning landscapes of the steep banks of the stream bed, look at the grave of Nina Azarova - an engineer-geologist of the survey party of the Forest Expedition, a climber, a graduate of the Novocherkassk Institute. She died at the top of the eastern pass Svyazka, 2810 meters high, during exploration of a coal seam for the needs of the village of Mramorny. Next to her grave is the grave of a soldier who died from the "villain's hand" almost at the same time as Nina Azarova.

Unfortunately, the weather station building is in a neglected state, you can only spend the night here if the weather is raging, in other cases it is more pleasant to pitch tents next to the house, fortunately we are not the first here and there are plenty of cleared flat places.

Sleeping Beauty

Today we will go light (we only have packrafts and a lunch snack with us), up the trail to Lake Sleeping Beauty. It is only about 5 km to go, but the views are amazing! Sharp mountain peaks rise all around, including the highest peak of the Trans-Baikal Territory - BAM Peak. As a bonus - sailing on packrafts on this high-mountain lake and, of course, photo sessions in all the beautiful places.

Lake Uglovoye

Another radial light trip, but with packrafts to Lake Uglovoye. We also go about 5 kilometers, but in the other direction from Sleeping Beauty. It is no less beautiful here, but the landscapes are completely different. We swim on packrafts, return to the camp.

Marble Gorge

We pack up our camp at the weather station and head back. However, after walking a little less than 4 km and crossing a stream on a suspension bridge, we put up tents and, leaving our things in them, go to the radial exit to the Marble Gorge. A path leads from our camp to it, we climb up the slope for about 3 km and find ourselves in a closed mountain cirque with stunning views. Here in the 40-50s of the last century there was a uranium mine, where prisoners of Borlag worked. To this day, barracks, a guard house and towers, tables with barbed wire have been preserved here. The entrance to the adit is blocked up, but around you can find many artifacts of those times - wheelbarrows, shovels, hand winches and other mechanisms. Let's take a look at all of this, fortunately it's safe here today - the radiation level doesn't exceed the norm, but the spectacle is worth spending our half day on - it's like an open-air museum, but everything is real.

The way back

We return along the road we already know back to the village of Chara. We have to walk 38 kilometers in two days, but most of the way is on the road and already in a lighter form (most of the food has been eaten), so we will cope without any problems.

Immediately upon arrival in the village, we call a taxi and go to the Novaya Chara station, where we go home on an overnight trip. If there is enough time left before the trip, at the station, for little money, you can take a shower in the rest room or even rent a hotel room and relax.

This is a medium-difficulty hike. It is unlikely to be suitable as a first hike in life, but if you have already been on hikes (even easy ones or weekend hikes), lived in tents, this hike will be within your capabilities. We will walk from 10 to 19 km per day, the weight of backpacks for men is 20-25 kg, for women - 15-20 kg.

This is an autonomous hike, without the possibility of buying additional food, washing and drying clothes indoors. During the hike, rain is possible, including heavy rain, snowfall, wind, fog, night temperatures dropping to below zero, so you should take the selection of clothes, shoes and equipment seriously.

For this hike, you need to take the following set of clothes with you: membrane jacket + light down jacket or down vest, two waterproof or quick-drying hiking pants, good trekking boots, thermal underwear, as well as a hat, gloves, warm socks, fleece. In addition, you will definitely need a 75-90 liter backpack, a small 20-30 liter backpack for radial exits (you can use the main backpack, taking out all the extra stuff), a camping mat and a warm sleeping bag, a raincoat, a headlamp, trekking poles, sports shorts, or swimming trunks + Crocs or rubber slippers for fording (the water level can be quite high). The full list will be provided to you by the instructor after you submit your application and make an advance payment. The instructor will also advise you on what NOT to take, so as not to carry extra weight.

There is nowhere to leave extra things that you will not need on the hike! More precisely, they can be left in the storage room at the station, but this is expensive (800 rubles per day), so do not take anything extra.

The Novaya Chara station can only be reached by train along the BAM (the routes along the Trans-Siberian Railway are not suitable!). You can board this train in Novosibirsk or Krasnoyarsk, having flown to these cities by plane or travel non-stop from Moscow for 5 days. There is an option to travel from Irkutsk to Severobaykalsk, where you can also take a train to Novaya Chara. Residents of the Far East can come to Novaya Chara from the opposite side - from Tynda.

Tickets are purchased by participants independently. Before purchasing, agree on dates, times and train numbers with the tour organizer.

1. If you are interested in this trip, leave a request using the form below or call the numbers listed, we will contact you and answer all your questions.
2. To reserve a place, you must make an advance payment of 30% of the cost of the trip. The advance payment is refundable 30 days or more before the start of the tour and non-refundable, unfortunately, less than 30 days before the start of the tour, if the refund is due to your refusal to participate (for any reason). If the tour does not take place due to our fault, due to the group not being formed, or due to force majeure, the advance payment will be guaranteed to be returned to you in any case.
3. The final payment is made seven to three working days before the start of the trip or in cash on site on the first day of the trip.