The magnificent lake Baikal, one of the oldest nature phenomena in the world, is one of the marvels never to be forgotten. Become one of the rarer winter visitors to experience the true Siberian winter which turns the lake into a mesmerizing tale of beauty. During this tour includes you will explore the most exciting places of western and southern Lake Baikal. An ice-cold trip that will make your heart warmer than it has ever been and help you learn about the region while plunging into its history and culture. The reassuring quiet of the lake when frozen solid will be combined with the real adventure - snowmobiling, dog sledding, trekking and cycling on ice and in the wild Siberian forest. Breathtaking scenery: blindingly bright ice, endless vastness of the sleeping lake with its grottoes and rocks, capes and woods, views of the legendary Trans-Siberian and the charming local villages. This tour is a wonderful chance to enjoy incomparable nature, emerge into the real life of the local people and try Siberian specialties.
Travel program: Very intensive and varied program. In summer at Baikal you can only do sightseeing, museums and hiking, but in winter there are many activities! Dog sledding, sliding, snowmobiles! The trip with hovercraft to Olkhon Island is the highlight!
Not that cold at all.. It's not as cold on Lake Baikal as it seems! Siberia has a continental climate and therefore the air is dry and the frost is less felt.
Getting to know the locals: We won't see life in Siberia from the window of an Astobus, but we will meet the local people and eat only Russian and Buryat food..
Not difficult: The trip "Winter Adventures on Lake Baikal" does not require any special skill.
Depending on the flight, I will meet you at the airport and accompany you to the hotel. The hotel will be located in a quiet area outside Irkutsk, where you will be able to relax.
Before lunch, we will visit the Open-Air Museum of Taltsy. This is a complex where Siberian architectural monuments were collected from all over the region. Here you will be able get the first real impressions of Siberia and learn how people have lived in such tough conditions. The second part of the day will be free.
Overnight in Listvyanka (private guest house or hotel).
The old Baikal railroad was built at the beginning of the 20th century as part of the Transsiberian railway. After the flooding of part of the railway, this line was terminated and it now represents an architectural monument with 39 tunnels, 200 bridges and viaducts, a protective wall and alike.
We drive snowmobiles on the ice (2 people traveling in one vehicle) along the old Baikal railroad and see some constructions, the most beautiful being the so-called Italian protective wall, which was in fact built by Italians.
Snowmobiling is easy and does not require a driving license or any special experience. It is a secure way of getting around on the ice. Our experienced companions will help us to feel safe in a vehicle like this.
Today you’ll have a ride about 360 km by hovercraft from Listvyanka to Olkhon. We'll have a stop on the way near the sights such as Screeper rock, Pestchanaya, Baklaniy Rock, Sagan Saba Cliffs and other interesting places. Riding over flat ice is quite fast, but at some places we may meet the fields of broken ice, depending on the ice regime which differs every year
Accommodation at hotel/guest house.
Today we go to the excursion to the north of the island in the Russian car UAZ (an iconic vehicle produced at the Ulyanovsky Car Factory). Our path lies on the ice of Lake Baikal. It is enough for the ice to be 35 centimeters thick to drive on it safely, yet in March the ice is twice as thick.
During the trip we will also visit the village of Kharantsy, the picturesque cape called the Three Brothers, cape Khoboi and Usury weather station. We will see ice grottoes, rocks covered with icicles, and a small island resting in the ice.
This ride is not to be forgotten!
Overnight in Khuzhir.
Today we will be back on ice, to get to the Ogoy Island, where the Buddhist Eruption Chapel was built. From the island you will be able to see the coast of the Olkhon island and the frozen Small sea.
Overnight stay in Irkutsk.
take a plane from Irkutsk via Moscow and you are home on the same day.
Price: from 1550 Euros
Price depends on group size and itinerary.
For more information please contact me via e-mail guide.baikal@gmail.com
Please check the required documents to enter Russia:
There are direct flights to Irkutsk from Moscow, Bangkok, Hanoi and Beijing. There are also possible connections via Istanbul, Antalya, Tashkent and Bishkek airports, etc.
This program can be organized and guaranteed in February and early March. There are fewer tourists in November, December and January, but the lake is not completely frozen. In these months it is possible to visit some bays with clear ice, and the program will be made individually depending on the ice condition.
This trip can be customized for you. Other dates are possible on request. The tour price depends on the group size, duration and period of travel.
"The cold, which I was really a bit afraid of (25 degrees was different at home), was no longer an issue on the 2nd day, on the contrary, we enjoyed this wonderfully warming bright sun."
"So all in all an exciting, uncomplicated, very nice trip, very professional, friendly, caring and above all a perfect German-speaking tour guide."