Tazherankaya steppe or steppe of the Olkhon area is a unique relic natural place, which comprises the territory from the Anga River to the Olkhon Gates, situated between the Baikal shore in the east and the Primorsky range in the west.

Uplands and rocks, lakes and steppes give to the Tazheranskaya steppe a very scenic and exotic aspect.

The Tazheransky solid mass was formed about 300-400 million years ago, and it’s one of the most interesting geological place in the Baikal.

There were discovered precious and semiprecious metals of blue diopside, sapphire, zircon, ruby and multicolored spinels.

Also steppe is known for its big number of caves: Mechta, Malaya and Bolshaya Baidinskaya, Tontinskaya, Octyabrskaya, cave of Vologodskogo and Sluchaynaya. Some of them have an impressive size (Mechta- 830m length, and 52m depth). Some of them have glaciers within, underground lakes, wandering formations of tiff in different forms of stalactites, stalagmites and traces of the ancient people settlements. Except caves, there were found a lot of places that prove the fact of the ancient cultures presence there in the Stone Era. The interesting feature of the steppes of the Olkhon territory is a big number of mineral lakes which are situated there.

The sacral center of the Tazheranskaya steppe is considered to be Erd Mountain that is situated 2km from the Baikal at the right shore of the Angara river, not far from the village of Elantsy (8km). It lonely rises on the plane dale surface, and due to its right domed form it could be taken for a burial mound.

According to the local legends, a big intertribal cult festival used to hold at the mountain foot in the Kurykans era. This feast named Erdinsky festival took place once a yea, and a great amount of the guests from all the Baikal area were gathering that day there.