The Monastery of Geden Sheddup Choikorling

Elista is the capital of Kalmykia.

Understand

The city was founded in 1865, and has a population of just over 100,000.

Get in

By plane

1 Elista Airport (ESL  ^IATA). Flights from Moscow are a few times a week on Rusline. There are more regular flights to Volgograd and Rostov, with transfer to Elista by bus or train respectively.  

By train

The Moscow-Elista train route goes through Stavropol. However, the most convenient way is travel to Volgograd by train then on to Elista by express minivan, which are relatively cheap.

By bus

Several private companies operate a daily bus service between Moscow and Elista. The pickup point in Moscow is Luzhniki Stadium.

Get around

Mini-buses ply routes around the city.

See

• 1 Golden Temple of Elista (Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume). Modern Buddhist temple opened in 2005.  
• Museum of Kalmyk Buddhist Art. 
• Museum of Local Lore. 
• Museum of Buddhist History. 
• Gallery of Fine Arts. 
• Kazansky Cathedral. 
• 2 Geden Sheddup Choikorling Monastery. (updated Mar 2019)
• 3 The Golden Abode of the Buddha Shakyamuni (Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume). (updated Mar 2019)
• 4 Seven Days Pagoda. (updated Mar 2019)

Do

• Drama Theatre
• Puppet Theatre
• Play chess

Buy

• Kalmyk puzzle närn shanj (нәрн шанҗ)

Eat

• Uralan (Уралан)
• Khan's Hunt (Ханская Охота)
• Restaurant Concord (Конкорд)
• Cafe Kalmyk Cuisine (Калмыцкая Кухня)

Splurge

• Restaurant White Lotus (Белый Лотос). 

Drink

You can drink Kalmyk tea

Sleep

Budget

• Hotel Elista, ☏ +7 84722 62316. 1 Gorodovikova ul. 

Mid-range

• Hotel City Chess, ☏ +7 84722 58405. Uralan district. 
• White Lotus Hotel, Khoninova Str., 7

Learn

• 1 Kalmyk Institute for Humanities Research. (updated Mar 2019)

Go next

• Khurul Monastery - about 6 km from the city.