Shilajit is collected in inaccessible mountain gorges, rock crevices, and caves, which usually coincide with the habitats of bats and rodents.

Harvesters prefer solid raw Shilajit, black conglomerates with a specific smell, where the natural resin is mixed with stones, grass, sand. They are crushed, soaked in water, and defended, waiting for the ballast to settle. Then the dark liquid is thoroughly stirred and filtered through gauze. Excess moisture is removed by evaporation. It turns out a purified Shilajit – a thick viscous mass of dark brown color, completely soluble in water.

Ancient traditions of collecting Shilajit of indigenous Siberian people.

The inhabitants of Siberia have for many centuries preferred to collect during the period from the feast of Ivan Kupala (July 7) to Ilyin's Day (July 20). Historians explain this by the ancient traditions of collecting herbs in this region. According to the beliefs of indigenous tribes of residents, it was from July 7 to July 20 that pagan spirits transmitted their power to herbs, stones, resins, and other natural elements.

Slightly different traditions were in Southern Siberia. So, the indigenous people began collecting Shilajit on the holidays of the heyday of Nature, the Orthodox Trinity, or the Slavic holiday Zelenets (Birch Day), when the onset of summer is celebrated for three days, that is, either in the very last days of May or in the first week of June. This is not surprising, since it is much milder in the south of Siberia than in its other regions.

Siberians believed that resin collected on Trinity Day, or better on its eve, was considered the most healing and was used by healers and shamans to treat the most complex diseases and ailments. They were gathered in clean light clothes by the younger members of the family (clan) – young men and women.

A modern approach to the harvesting of Siberian natural resin.

Folk traditions are a good thing, but today's approach to the collection of Shilajit is more pragmatic. The main factor in determining the days of collection of Shilajit is the climate.

The fact is that the natural resin "hides" on the highest mountain points, and it can be very cold and humid there. The Siberian Shilajit harvest season is the warmest and most comfortable month for this.

Depending on the territorial location and relief features, the climate in Siberian mountains cannot be called homogeneous and the season of collecting Shilajit in different mountain ranges can vary greatly.

Thus, the climate of Central Siberia (for example, on the peaks of the Verkhoyansk mountain range) is sharply continental, that is, very cold in winter and very hot in summer. The ideal period for collecting Shilajit in this region is considered to be the end of June - the beginning of August.

The climate of Eastern Siberia is characterized by its severity, and throughout its territory, from the Yenisei River to the Pacific Ocean, is sharply continental. It is significantly influenced by the remoteness of the Atlantic Ocean and the Asian anticyclone, caused by dry air and low precipitation. However, it is here that the mountains with the purest Shilajit in the world are located. This sacred place for collectors of natural resin is called the Chersky Ridge. The harvest season here is considered to be the middle of July - the end of August.

In the South of Siberia, the natural conditions are no longer so harsh and the season of collecting natural resin is much longer. Locals go to the mountains for valuable resin already at the end of May and sometimes descend only in mid-September.