Trekking from Buguldeyka to Peschanaya Bay

What do I do if I don't have tours? Travel, hike and explore new paths. The shoreline of Lake Baikal stretches over 2000 km, and besides, the lake is surrounded by mountains on all sides. In the south, on the border with Mongolia, are the Sayan Mountains with a height of up to 3000 meters. But I'll write about that another time. The Primorsky (seaside) ridge is not so high, maximum 1200 meters above sea level, but rocky and stretches along the western shore of Lake Baikal for 300 km.

Now I want to tell you about a place that tourists rarely visit. The trail here is along a steep slope and is not equipped, and the locations are wild with a chance of encountering bears. But the route is very picturesque and almost always goes along Lake Baikal.

I was here this summer in July 2022 and we only met three tourists on the trail. The route begins in the village of Buguldeyka - this is one of those places where tourism is still in its infancy, and local people are engaged in rural agriculture, keeping livestock and gardens. In Soviet times there was a timber industry here, but it was closed. There are almost no hotels and cafes here, although the place is very beautiful and picturesque.

We start our journey on a scenic trail along Lake Baikal. And in the evening we set up our camp and could relax by the fire. We spent two nights in a tent on the shore of Lake Baikal and fell asleep to the sound of the waves.

The route is suitable only for trained tourists and you need to go here only with an experienced local guide, otherwise you can easily go to another path and fall off the cliff or get lost. But you can take a break from the city bustle and see the true beauty of Siberian nature.

Closer to Peshanaya (Sandy) Bay, beautiful views open up. This place is one of the most beautiful and picturesque. Around steep cliffs and pine forest.

In the Sandy Bay itself there are many tourists, boats often go here, there is even a hotel where guests arrive by hydrofoil that arrives twice a week.

There are no roads here, in winter this place can only be reached by hovercraft and is in the program of my tour - Winter Baikal. The bay itself is famous for "stilt trees". For many years, the wind has blown away the sand from under the roots of the larch trees, and now they seem to be standing on their feet.

In summer you can climb to the viewpoint that offers a breathtaking view of the bay and its surroundings.

We went back to Irkutsk by hydrofoil Barguzin - the trip takes 4 hours or about 200 km along Baikal and Angara. Barguzin is the name of one of the four main winds on Lake Baikal. In total, four models of Barguzin-type boats were built during Soviet times, two of which were sold to Panama and two remained on Baikal. Hydrofoils are still one of the main means of passenger transport on Lake Baikal.

This trek is suitable for advanced tourists who are not afraid of difficulties, willing to spend the night in a tent and want to experience real adventures. But I also offer a simple option for tours along Lake Baikal. Every day we spend the night in warm comfortable conditions, 10-20km crossings, no need to carry tents, sleeping bags and food, the trail is safer and also beautiful. My tour hike on Lake Baikal is not difficult at all and very interesting! And I, as a tour guide with great experience, will show you the most beautiful places, tell you about Lake Baikal, its inhabitants and prepare your entire trip.