Ride the Silk Road

💎 Loaded with fiber and silk, glass and bronze, camel caravans followed from the cities of the Upper Volga region to the territory of present-day Stavropol across the territory of modern Kalmykia. Their route ran from north to south and led on to Derbent, where luxurious goods from distant lands were popular.

🐏 It usually took the merchants about 10 days to travel this part of the route: much depended on whether they would find fresh water sources on the way, whether the camels and horses would get tired of the heavy load, whether they would be lucky to meet local nomadic herders, who would guide them on their way and would not let them get lost in the steppe expanses.

Today, you can rush along the Silk Road in a car, on a motorcycle or on a camel. Or you can combine all means of transportation and get the most out of your journey!

How to drive along the Silk Road?

🐫The best time to visit Kalmykia is April: this is the month of the Tulip Festival! The green steppe is covered with numerous bright buds and most tourists come here to capture this short blooming season. We recommend booking accommodation in advance.

🐫 We suggest you start your journey in Elista. There are many Buddhist shrines in this beautiful city, because Kalmykia is the only region in Europe where Buddhism is traditionally practiced. The Golden Abode of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Pagoda of Seven Days, the Stupa of Enlightenment - after visiting these places you will doubt the fact that you are still in the European part of Russia.

🐫 Traveling by car is the most comfortable way: you can rent a car in the republic’s capital. Exotic lovers can ride a camel to the steppe: several breeders provide this service in Elista.

🐫If you want to feel like a real nomad, you can stay for a few days in a real yurt away from civilization and enjoy the wild charm of the steppe - just you, the aroma of steppe grasses, the humming wind and the Milky Way above your head. If you are not afraid of a digital detox and hiking romance, pack a sleeping bag and a headlamp, you will definitely need them.

The Kalmyk lamb is a brand!

🐏 Historically, Kalmyks were nomadic herders, so meat is often served for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

🐏 The main animal in the household is a sheep of a special fat-tailed breed, known for its tender meat and almost complete absence of the distinctive smell of lamb. Local lamb is highly valued, not only in Kalmykia, but also in other regions, so you can find it in Moscow, but, for the full experience, it is better, of course, to come here and get acquainted with the local cuisine. 

🐏 Bouillons and soups are cooked from lamb, beregi, a local equivalent of dumplings, are stuffed with it and they even prepare an exotic dish, by European standards, called ‘kür’, made of intestines stuffed with meat and baked in the ground. Would you dare to try it?

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Model @lavetiss

Thanks to @stepnyak.ru and @verblyuzhiy_ostrov for being with us on this adventure!