Olkhovaya

Olkhovaya is a 1,669-metre peak in the Partizansky municipal district of Primorsky Krai, part of the Alekseyevsky ridge within the Sikhote-Alin mountain system. The mountain separates the valleys of the Partizanskaya and Kiyevka rivers and lies roughly a two-hour drive from Nakhodka. It is one of the more notable summits of southern Primorye, and climbing it is a popular one-day route among local hikers.

History

Until 29 December 1972 the mountain was called Kitayskaya ("Chinese"). The name goes back to the time when the lands of present-day Primorye were under Manchu control, before the 1860 Treaty of Peking transferred the territory to the Russian Empire. During the Soviet period, as relations with China cooled, Chinese and Manchu place names across Primorye were widely replaced with Russian ones, and Mount Kitayskaya became Olkhovaya ("alder mountain") — likely after the alder thickets growing at its foot.

Nature

At an altitude of about 1,600 metres, on a plateau right below the summit, lie two high-mountain lakes: the larger Alekseyevskoye and a smaller one, connected to each other by a narrow channel. Lake Alekseyevskoye measures roughly 40 by 20 metres, is up to 3 metres deep, and its water is drinkable. The smaller lake lies to the south and can dry up during droughts. Lakes sitting right on a summit are unusual for the Sikhote-Alin range, and this is one of the main reasons the mountain draws hikers. Siberian salamanders (Salamandrella tridactyla), a rare Far Eastern species, live in the lakes.

The mountain's slopes are covered with taiga that holds Schisandra chinensis, Eleutherococcus, rhododendron and many medicinal herbs. The forest shelters animals listed in the regional Red Book. The summit and its lakes are considered for inclusion in the planned South Primorsky nature park, meant to combine several mountain and forest areas of the district.

Getting there

The foot of the mountain can be reached by a four-wheel-drive vehicle along a dirt road that branches off before the village of Monakino. The drive from Nakhodka takes about two hours, roughly one hour of which is on the dirt road. From there a hike begins: it takes about 4 hours one way, and the full round-trip route to the summit and back is around 6 kilometres.