Experience Sagaalgan

To experience Sagaalgan for yourself, take a train or fly to Chita. Minibuses depart regularly from the Chita train station and arrive in Aginsk in about two hours. 

The nicest hotel in town that doesn’t require an invitation from the local government, Hotel Sapsan (megalink.ru/sapsan), is used to foreigners and will register your visa for the duration of your stay in the hotel. It hosted the Dalai Lama in 2000, yet it is run down and located outside the town center, in the Zapadny neighborhood. Rooms cost R1,000 and up. 

The Hotel Onon (ul. Komsomolskaya 79; Tel: 34196) is more centrally located than Sapsan. The rooms have been renovated, but they are still drab, especially compared to the Sapsan. The cheapest rooms are said to be cold, particularly in winter. For a good-quality single room, expect to pay R700 and up. 

Other places to check for accommodations, where dorm rooms are often rented out, include the Sports Complex and the Aginsk Gymnasium. It may not be as easy to get a visa registration in these places however, so if you stay here, register at a hotel in Chita and don’t stay more than three days. 

Get your bearings at the Regional Museum (ul. Komsomolskaya, across from the Orthodox church; Tel: 434462), open 10-6 daily. Visit the datsan between 10 and 5 to order prayers, get an astrology reading, or find out when the ceremonies will take place.