WINTER TALE OF BAIKAL 5 DAYS
Tour Itinerary
Incredible beauty and cleanest air of Lake Baikal, which is simply impossible to breathe. This is the time when the lake is covered with hard ice, transparent like glass, which allows viewing the bottom of the lake at great depths. One gets the impression that you are walking on water or very thin ice, although its thickness may exceed a meter.
Day 1. Irkutsk – Listvyanka – Taltsy (lunch, dinner)
Meeting at the airport, acquaintance with the guide. Citytour of Irkutsk.
Departure to Listvyanka, a tourist village on the shore of Lake Baikal, 70 km from Irkutsk.
Excursion to the Museum of Wooden Architecture «Taltsy» – an old Siberian village of the 17th century, a unique open-air storage of historical and cultural monuments of the peoples of Eastern Siberia, where four historical and cultural zones have been recreated – Russian, Buryat, Evenk and Tofalar.Lunch at a restaurant overlooking the non-freezing source of the Angara, with water birds.
Optionally, dog sledding (additional fee, from 27 USD).
Ascent by cable car to the observation deck on the Chersky Stone.
Accommodation at the hotel, rest. Dinner.
Day 2. Listvyanka – Peschanaya bay (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Travel to Peschanaya Bay on Khivus (hovercraft).
On the way, check in to Bolshoye Goloustnoye, to the famous «bubbles».
Amazing methane bubbles frozen at different levels are like futuristic skyscrapers!
Peschanaya Bay is located in one of the most beautiful bays of Lake Baikal, in a pine forest. This is one of the most beautiful and famous places on the lake. The semi-valleys of the Sandy Bay are framed by the Bolshaya and Malaya Kolokolny rocks. During the excursion – hot lunch.
Return to Listvyanka. Dinner.
Day 3. Olkhon Island – Khuzhir – Cape Burkhan (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Breakfast. Departure to Olkhon island by bus (on the way 4-5 hours).
The island is deservedly considered one of the most beautiful and mysterious places of Lake Baikal. Amazing sacred and cult places of the island made it a cherished gathering place for sorcerers and shamans from all over the world.
Lunch at a cafe of Buryat cuisine. Departure to the ice road, stop, admiring the ice.
Arrival, accommodation at the hotel. Citytour of Khuzhir. Rock Bogatyr, observation deck. Excursion to the sacred "Cape Burkhan" (Shamanka rock), this is one of the nine shrines of Asia. There is a through cave in the rock. According to legend, this cave is inhabited by the spirit of the owner of the island. Having visited this place, you will be charged with the energy of Lake Baikal for a long time.
Ice skating (you can bring your own skates or make an application, we will purchase them for you in advance).
Winter Baikal is the largest and most beautiful skating rink in the world! Ice from the purest Baikal water has a bluish tint, sometimes even blue. But the main delight is its incredible transparency!
Dinner.
Day 4. Olkhon Island – Cape Khoboy (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Breakfast. Travel by car UAZ to the northernmost point of the island – Cape Khoboy.
A place of extraordinary energy and beauty. During the excursion, you will be able to see the stunning natural difference between the rocky eastern coast and the gently sloping western one. In good weather, Cape Khoboy overlooks the widest part of Lake Baikal (80 km). On the capes of Sagan-Khushun and Shunte-Left you will see Baikal from a bird's eye view. An indescribable view of the open, or as the locals call it, Big Baikal will open before you.
Lunch is a picnic.
Upon returning to the recreation center, free time.
Final supper.
Day 5. Olkhon Island – Irkutsk (breakfast)
Meeting the dawn at Lake Baikal.
Departure by bus to Irkutsk. 16.00-20.00 arrival in Irkutsk.
Overview
Itinerary: Irkutsk–Listvyanka–Taltsy–Peschanaya bay–Olkhon Island–Khuzhir–Cape Burkhan–Cape Khoboy–IrkutskDays: 5 days / 4 nights
Group: от. 1 pax, max. 12 pax
Accommodation: 2★, 3★ or 4★
Visa: citizens of 58 states that hold all types of passports are eligible for visa-free entrance to Russia for a period up to 14 days (you can see the list on the official website), citizens of the 52 countries will be able to obtain a single e-visa of up to 16 days (you can see the list on the official website)
Schedule
Available departure dates in 2024: нет
Available departure dates in 2025:
Fees
The price of the tour per pax (without airfare), USD:
| 2★ Hotels | ||
| ½DBL (double) | – | 650 |
| ⅓TRPL (triple) | – | 640 |
| SNGL (single) | – | 760 |
| CHLD (child under 10 years old) | – | 590 |
| 3★ Hotels | ||
| ½DBL (double) | – | 730 |
| ⅓TRPL (triple) | – | 690 |
| SNGL (single) | – | 920 |
| CHLD (child under 10 years old) | – | 660 |
| 4★ Hotels | ||
| ½DBL (double) | – | 890 |
| ⅓TRPL (triple) | – | 820 |
| SNGL (single) | – | 1,090 |
| CHLD (child under 10 years old) | – | 800 |
Payment schedule: 5% – at booking, 95% – 15 or 30 days prior to arrival.
Payment methods:
- bank transfer in USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AED, ILS, DKK etc.
- credit/debit card online on our website
Fees include
- accommodation in a hotel of the selected category in p. Listvyanka , 1 night
- transfers according to the tour program
- tour on Khivus (hovercraft)
- food: according to the program
- necessary permits to visit specially protected natural areas
- the language of excursions is Russian but the guides speak English.
Category of accommodation for unclassified hotels:
2★ – standard, toilet and shower on the floor or for two rooms;
3★ – standard, toilet and shower in the room;
4★ – increased comfort, toilet and shower in the room.
The place of residence is determined by the Travel Company, taking into account the wishes of the tourist, subject to availability of places in the indicated accommodation or in similar ones.
Fees exclude
- airfare to Irkutsk city and return
- meals not specified in the program
- insurance of the risk of cancellation or interruption of the trip (we have approximately 3% of the cost of the contract, if desired)
- personal spending
- early check-in or late check-out in hotels
- personal English/Spanish guide: 100 USD per required day
- accommodation in Irkutsk hotels before and after the end of the program.
Travel tips
The best time to visit Lake Baikal in winter – from February 10 to March 8. In January, the ice finally hardens, gains strength, becomes transparent, and in early February (usually in the 2nd week) the official ice crossing is opened at island Olkhon . Earlier these dates, the ice is not guaranteed strength, and later snowstorms begin, it warms up, and the ice grows dull.
The period of freeze-up is on average from January 9 to May 4. Baikal freezes as a whole, except for a small, 15 – 20 km long, section located at the source of the Angara. The shipping period for passenger and cargo ships is usually June to September; research vessels begin navigation after the opening of the lake from the ice and end it with freezingm of Lake Baikal, that is, from May to January.
By the end of winter, the ice thickness on Lake Baikal reaches 1 m, and in the bays – 1.5 – 2 m.In severe frost, cracks that have the local name " back cracks '' break the ice into separate fields. The length of such cracks – 10 – 30 km, and width – 2 – 3 m. Fractures occur annually in approximately the same areas of the lake. They are accompanied by a loud crackle, reminiscent of thunder or cannon shots. It seems to a person standing on the ice that the ice cover is bursting just under his feet and he will now fall into the abyss. Thanks to cracks in the ice, fish on the lake do not die from lack of oxygen. Baikal ice, in addition, is very transparent, and the sun's rays penetrate through it, therefore planktonic algae, which release oxygen, develop rapidly in the water. On the shores of Lake Baikal you can see ice grottos in winter.
