Tsagaannuur / Tashanta border crossing

I don't recall any recent reports and I seriously doubt that there is any public transport. Hitching is really the only way across unless you have your own transport but be prepared to pay something for the ride. You can't walk across this border. There is a no man's land.

Ruth

Many thanks, Ruth.

... only one reply. It seems that this border crossing isn't very popular among TT users.

Aww, its kind of late for me to reply but for future reference, if your coming from Mongolia find your ride in Olgii! Dont go to Tsagaannuur because theres a good chance that youll find yourself stuck there for an extended amount of time.

Your best bet is when in Olgii, go to entrance of the bazaar. Off to the side is a big parking lot that by 11-12 in the morning, will be partially filled with jeeps heading to different places in the region. Walk or ask around and you should be able to find a ride across. Also walk around the very center of the city and you should see a big sign saying, "Tourist". Call that number, he speaks English and can help find a ride so you dont get overcharged.

When you do find a ride, please for your sake, agree to only being dropped off in Kosh-Agash. Anything before that and you are screwing yourself over because there is nothing but dirt, and more than likely youll be stuck for an extended amount of time. Good luck!

Thanks., lakers !

One more thing - does speaking Russian help in this region of Mongolia ?

It is a huge help on the Russian side! On the Mongolian side, the older people will speak it but the younger ones might not. I usually found people to be at the beginning or intermediate level when it comes to speaking Russian.

When on the Russian side, I'm assuming you will eventually want to get yourself into Gorno-Altaysk, which when there you can get a bus to Barnaul. From Kosh-Agash, more than likely your going to need to find a taxi or random person to drive you to Gorno-Altaysk, I'm sure theres busses but I have no information on that. This is when Russian will be a HUGE help as when I passed through the area, I only met very few english speakers; and the drivers were never one of them.

Good luck! This is one my most favorite areas of the world =D

Many Thanks !