Colette's Grand Detour

The most exciting part of the long travel distances we are covering in Mongolia is that we get to travel in a convoy of Russian Vans. These are the legendary UAZ-452 vans, colloquially known as ‘Bukhanka’ or ‘loaf of bread’ because of their distinctive boxy shape. These fantastic looking vehicles are a part of everyday Mongolian life.

The basic UAZ-452 entered production in 1965 and is still being built in recognisably the same form today. Modern versions have improved engines, brakes and lighting but if you parked it next to a 1960s model, most people would struggle to tell them apart. The bukhanka has a number of advantages that mean it is commonly used for tourist trips out into the Gobi Desert. It can be repaired almost anywhere and every rural mechanic knows how to fix one. The parts are cheap and plentiful and it keeps going even when something breaks. Apparently Mongolian drivers joke that if it breaks, they’ll fix it beside the road with a hammer, fencing wire and a spanner.

The UAZ is very much a product of the Cold War Soviet Union. It wasn’t designed specifically for Mongolia, but Mongolia turned out to be one of the places where it was almost perfectly suited. It was developed by engineers at the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant (UAZ), a Soviet state-owned vehicle manufactured in the city of Ulyanovsk. The brief was essentially to build something that can carry people and cargo almost anywhere, can be repaired with basic tools and keeps working in temperatures ranging from +40 to -40. By these standards it was an outstanding success.

The first few days visiting the Naadam training camps we were in a mini bus and a bukhanka followed us with all our luggage piled into it. However, on the morning we left our homestay family 3 UAZ-452s appeared on the horizon ready to pick us up for the longer and more bumpy drives we would be doing for the rest of the trip across to Karakorum and then down into the Gobi. These are the ultimate off road vehicles and whilst basic are actually super spacious and comfy. It’s been great fun over the last few days trying to get pictures of the vans as we speed across the Mongolian steppe. It looks like something out of a movie!