Severobaikalsk, Republic of Buryatia (Russia)
According to mcat-test-centers, Severobaikalsk is located on the northwestern coast of Lake Baikal. From the north it is surrounded by spurs of the Baikal Range. The city was founded in 1974 as a base camp for the builders of the Buryat section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Gradually, the village grew and became an important transport hub. In 1980, he was given the status of a city.
Severobaikalsk is quite “young”, so there are no architectural sights here, but there is a museum of the history of the construction of BAM. It tells about the exploration work that was carried out before the design of this highway, about the natural and geographical conditions of the region and the deposits explored during the construction. The museum presents such archaeological finds as the bones of a mammoth and a woolly rhinoceros, petroglyphs, ancient tools, here you can see exhibits that tell about the way of life of the indigenous population – the Evenks. There are several thermal springs
in the vicinity of Severobaikalsk. The most popular is located 25 km west of the city – Goudzhekit thermal spring. It was opened at the end of the 20th century during construction work. The water of the source is fluorine-hydrocarbonate with a temperature of +50 degrees. There is a bathhouse and a hotel where you can have a great rest at any time of the year. In winter (from December to the end of April), not far from here, near the village of Solnechny, you can go skiing. A ski slope and a training slope were equipped on the local slope. The track has a length of 750 m, and the height difference is 200 m. A ski lift delivers skiers to the top of the descent. There are equipment, sled and snowmobile rentals, a small hotel and a cafe. In the vicinity of the descent there are opportunities for free-riding. Fans of extreme skiing have chosen the slopes of the Radioreleika mountains with a height of about 1500 m, the Dome with a height of about 1600 m and Leningradka. All slopes are avalanche-prone and quite difficult to descend.
After skiing, you can go to the hot springs. In addition to Goudzhekit, in the vicinity of Severobaikalsk, there are sources of Jilinda and Khakusy. In the area of Khakusy, a hydropathic facility was opened on the basis of the waters of the spring. Khakusskaya mineral water is sulphate-sodium with a high content of potassium acid and nitrogen. Its outlet temperature is +42..+46 degrees. The Jilinda spring has sulphate-sodium water with a temperature of +45 degrees.
Also from Severobaikalsk you can go to the Slyudyansky lakes. Large and Small Slyudyansky lakes are small basins in the coastal shallow waters of Lake Baikal. They are separated from each other and from Baikal by a pebble spit. In summer, the water in the lakes is much warmer than in Baikal itself, so locals and tourists come here to swim and sunbathe. Not far from here are abandoned mica galleries, where Gulag prisoners worked in the 30s of the 20th century.
Other natural attractions of this region include the mountain river Tyya, where they do rafting, and Onokachan and Senogda lips, where you can swim and sunbathe in the summer.
Seymchan, Magadanskaya oblast’ (Russia)
The village of Seimchan is located in the Magadan region on the banks of the river of the same name, not far from its confluence with the Kolyma River. The village is the center of the Srednekansky district.
On the territory of the Srednekansky district is the Seimchansky district of the Magadan reserve. Here, in sharply continental climatic conditions, many relict plants grow, which are typical of ocean coasts. Also in the Srednekansky district, the natural monument “Island on the Kolyma River” is interesting, from where the first Omolon expedition set off in 1936.
Syzran, Samara region (Russia)
Syzran is located 160 km west of Samara on the right bank of the Volga River at the confluence of the Syzranka, Krymza and Kubra rivers.
The Syzran fortress was founded in 1683 to protect trade routes from Samara to the central part of the state. In 1796 the fortress received the status of a city.
Today the city is stretched along the Volga for 30 km. In Syzran, the remains of the Syzran Kremlin have been preserved, the ensemble of which took shape in the 18th century. The stone Spasskaya Tower, 27 meters high, has survived to this day. It was built in 1683. Now inside the tower there is a museum of the Syzran Kremlin, and on the tower itself there is a belfry, from which bell concerts are given. Another ancient building of the Kremlin is the Church of the Nativity of Christin 1717. Unfortunately, the rest of the buildings of the ancient fortress have not survived, or are in a ruined state. Sovetskaya Street starts from the Kremlin, on which Art Nouveau buildings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are located, mostly the former mansions of wealthy merchants. On the same street stands the Drama Theater named after Alexei Tolstoy. Across the Syzranka River, the area of Mongora (Monastyrskaya Gora) is interesting, where the Ascension Monastery, which was founded in 1675, once stood. The Church of the Ascension of 1738 has been preserved from the monastery.
From museums Syzran is worth highlighting the exhibition hall in the former merchant’s mansion Chernukhin. The building itself is a monument of wooden architecture. Inside, paintings by Syzran artists and reconstructions of several rooms of the merchant’s mansion are exhibited. The local history museum of Syzran tells about the past and present of the city, it presents everyday, ethnographic and arts and crafts exhibits, as well as paintings and sculptures. In the museum of the Syzran icon-painting school, which is famous for its works, you can buy icons of the best masters.
