In the social media era, a new saying has appeared: "If you don't take a photo it didn't happen." It’s partly humorous, but modern travel can not be truly imagined without photographs. We will tell you where you can take beautiful shots in Ulan-Ude that will remain living reminders of your trip to the capital of Buryatia.
Lenin's Head
All travelers first go to Soviet Square. And for good reason. After all, the largest head of Lenin in the world is located here. Many tourists pose for photos as if they are holding the head on their hand — try it yourself.
Namzhil Nimbuev Lane
A lane dedicated to the famous Buryat poet Namzhil Nimbuev, who lived for a very short time, only 23 years, but became famous after his death, is located really close, between the house at 63 Lenin Street and the People's Khural building. The lane walls are painted with Nimbuev's poems and works by city artists: Zorikto Dorzhiev, Artem Maganov and the U-U Tochka association.
Graffiti on the streets of Ulan-Ude
Street art artists from the U-U Tochka association decorated not only Nimbuev Lane. Their bright works with national flavor can be found in the most unexpected places — under the Udinsky Bridge at the clover junction or at the road junction at Babushkin Street. But this art is short-lived: if you see it, immediately take a selfie. This art may be painted over with something else next time.
Kilometre zero
Many travelers collect photographs depicting a zero kilometer. There is one in Ulan-Ude too! Not far from the Main Post Office building there is a point which is the beginning of all roads in Buryatia. A small cozy park is hidden nearby where you can take a break from walking and make memory photo.
Opera and Ballet Theatre
The majestic Opera Theatre with arches, columns and national decorative elements has become the hero of more than one romantic photo shoot. The inside of the theater is as beautiful as the outside. A monument to the artists who glorified this theater is located near the building — Larisa Sakhyanova and Pyotr Abasheev, and a musical fountain that glows fantastically in the dark is on the theater square.
"Zam" Ethno Market
In the store you will find not only advertising gifts, national clothes, books and treats, but also not the most obvious location for photographs. An elegant turquoise door leads to the market at 16A Sukhbaatar Street, which is hard to look away. And if you are a fan of shots in front of doors, then here are some more tips for you: the Opera and Ballet Theater and the Museum of the History of Buryatia have beautiful entry elements, and stunning carved gates can be found in the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia.
Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia
One of Russia's largest open-air museums has plenty of places for beautiful photographs. Here you can take pictures in houses where merchants and peasants used to live, in one of the many photo zones, in a zoo, or simply with picturesque nature as backdrop.
Rinpoche Bagsha Datsan on Bald Mountain
The viewing deck of the datsan offers stunning views of Ulan-Ude and the Selenga River, while you can see a monument to buuz in front of the temple — a national Buryat dish of meat wrapped in dough and steamed. A walking trail runs around the complex — the road of long life, decorated with figures of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac calendar and teachings of Buddhism. All these places look great in pictures at any time of the year.
Victory Avenue
The Victory Avenue stretches from the Buryat Academic Theater almost to Sovetskaya Street. This street was completely cleared of wooden buildings for implementation of a large-scale project in the 60s. High-ceilinged houses in the Stalinist Empire style are located in its place. Bird cherry and apple trees are planted along the entire avenue, which bloom in May and invite you to take some beautiful pictures against their background.
Place of Verkhneudinsk foundation
There is another important point for travelers at the base of the Victory Avenue on the steep bank of the Uda River. It was in this place that the Uda winter hut was founded in 1666, which became the basis of the city of Verkhneudinsk, and later — Ulan-Ude.
LRP socialist city
The region of Ulan-Ude, where time slowed down or stopped altogether. In Soviet times, a whole "city within a city" was built for the employees of the Locomotive and Car Repair Plant (now LCRP). Now citizens and tourists come here to see residential buildings in the Stalinist style with high arches, quiet squares and small fountains behind shady trees. If you dare to climb the famous 104-step staircase, you will be rewarded with a stunning view from the viewing deck at the Lenin monument.
Urban sculptures
On the streets of Ulan-Ude you can find many monuments and sculptures that you will want to take a photo with. In the LCRP area, for example, a bronze girl sits and teaches a dog to read ("Holidays" on Oktyabrskaya Street) or two chess kings fight each other and invite spectators to a game ("Battle of Kings" on Komsomolskaya Street). On Pushkin Street, near the building of the Buryat State Agricultural Academy, a student dreamily sat down, and his four-legged friend perched next to him.
There are three cute bears at the Ulan-Ude station. They are made of wood and inspired by Shishkin’s painting "Morning in a Pine Forest". Don’t miss the Chekhov sculpture on Arbat and don’t forget to rub the Merchant’s Chest or the Cornucopia for good luck. You will meet a pensioner who has sat down to rest, and a child by the fountain who is holding a bird in his hands in the Trading Rows (the work of the famous sculptor Dashi Namdakov).
Frozen transport
Fans of railway transport will be attracted by the first locomotive built by the Ulan-Ude LWRP. It is now displayed as a monument and is located near the plant entrance. The huge plane that crowns the staircase to the Rassvet House of Culture in the village of Aviazavod looks monumental. It is not quite a monument, but an unusual backdrop for a photo shoot that awaits you in the Park named after S.N. Oreshkov — here you can find a park of old cars.
Old city
The center of Ulan-Ude is an ideal place where you can look at old houses, imagine yourself in the place of merchants and ordinary citizens, and take inspired photographs. On Arbat, pay attention to the house with Atlanteans (30a Lenin Street) or the City History Museum (26a Lenin Street). Go down to the Trading Rows and admire the columns of the former shopping arcades of the merchant Kurbatov (now the Emergency Room at 18 Kuibyshev Street). And then branch out on your own through the old city to Sobornaya Street — almost every house in this area has photogenic platbands and memorial plaques indicating names of their previous owners.
You can find many beautiful places for photographs at any time of the year in Ulan-Ude. Pay more attention to details and everything will turn out!