The Baikal Lake – Soft Period Tours
Tours to the worldโs oldest and deepest lake, the Baikal Lake in Siberia, Russia.
Departures: April – November 2022
Description
Tour along the combined route, including transfers by car from Irkutsk city through the hills and Tayga forest, hiking and walking along the coast of Baikal. Learning locals culture while living in their settlements.
Goal
The main goal of the tour is to visit the largest, deepest, oldest and the biggest container of fresh water in the world – Lake Baikal, which during the winter time gets frozen and makes it possible to even drive trucks on it.
Route
Irkutsk – Bayanday – settlement Buguldeyka – Lake Baikal – Olkhon Island – Sagan Zaba Cliff – Kurtun settlement – Irkutsk
Season
From April to November
TOTAL DISTANCE: 700 KM
Irkutsk – Bayanday – settlement Buguldeyka – Lake Baikal – Olkhon Island – Sagan Zaba Cliff – Kurtun settlement – Irkutsk
CLOTHING
- softshell jacket (softshell)
- thin thermal underwear (for multi-day trips, at least two sets)
- thin socks (for multi-day hikes, at least 3-4 pairs)
- storm trousers with membrane
- raincoat
- thin socks for trekking (for multi-day hikes, at least 3-4 pairs)
- softshell trousers (softshell)
- warm socks for trekking (for multi-day hikes, at least 2-3 pairs)
- sports hat fleece or knitted
- warm thermal underwear (for multi-day trips, at least two sets)
- splashproof suit
- trekking boots
- trekking gloves
- jacketย
- trekking trousers
EQUIPMENT
- suncream
- backpack 70-80 liters
- hygienic lipstick
- charger (Power Bank)
ACCOMMODATION
Guesthouses with toilet outside
Bathroom – sauna / Russian banya
Itinerary
DAY 1
Our guide will meet in Irkutsk city and immediately will take you for a ride direction Baikal Lake.
On the way, you willย enjoy landscapes andย after a couple of hours you will arrive to Buguldeyka, small settlement close to the coast of the Baikal.
You will be accommodated in one of our wooden houses in the “eastories farm”.
In the evening we will take you to the shore to introduce you to the Baikal Lake with a local welcome drink.
Later you will taste our fresh made dinner with the products of the farm.ย Before getting rest, you also can make you clean in the Banya, locals sauna place.
DAY 2
Breakfast with our home products around 9 o’clock.
Then, your guide Volodya will take you for an excursion around all great spots that there are close to the settlement.
At lunch time, you will come back to the “eastories farm”.
After the lunch break we will get you back on track to enjoy the nature. Volodya will bring you with his 4×4 van to the shore of Baikal and teach you some Buryat rituals.
In the evening there will be dinner at home and sauna possibility.
DAY 3
After the early breakfast Volodya will take you for a day trip to the Olkhon Island.
First part of the route you will go direction north through the Tayga forest on the land road. Then the landscape will change to Tundra and hills until we arrive to the harbour of the Baikal in Sakyurta settlement.
We will cross the water on the ship and will get to the Olkhon Island.
On the Island there are literary no roads, but off-roads, so be prepared for a very bumpy travel.
We will drive direction Khuzhir town, where we’ll get lunch in one of the locals bars. Later Volodya will show you some of the most beautiful parts of the southern part of the Island and tell you a bit of the story of the Olkhon Island.
In the evening we will come back to the “eastories farm” where will wait you tasty dinner and warm sauna.
DAY 4
Lazy breakfast around 9 o’clock and get ready for a ride to the settlement Kurtun, which used to be a hidden place of Russian Old believers, who where escaping from persecutions.
During the soviet time, the settlement was completely isolated, but nowadays it is possible again to get there.
The road is very bumpy and sometimes very difficult, but our UAZ van should be able to get through it.
On the way we will enjoy the beauty of the forest, rivers and mountains. We will stop also for a pick-nic. In the settlement we will have a walk around and visit one families property.
In the late afternoon we will come back to the “eastories farm” in Buguldeyka. If there weather will be ok, we will organise BBQ in the farm. Later the last possibility for our sauna.
Day 5
After breakfast Volodya will take you to the shore of the lake for saying goodbye to Baikal. Later we will bring you back to Irkutsk city
Additional Information
Single rooms accommodation and vegetarian or vegan food are possible on request.
Services
- Guide during the whole period (english speaking on request)
- Meals regarding the program
- Entry fee regarding the program
- Accommodations
- All excursions
- All transfers
Price and policies
849 EUR / Person (min. 2 Persons)
Price includes transfers, accommodations, all entry fees, assistance during the whole trip.