Baikal Lake Travel Guide: Best Time to Visit

Lake Baikal is currently the deepest freshwater lake on Earth. It is located in Siberia, Russia. Baikal Lake is very large and has a deep, bottomless fear and sense of distance. You will find your lost soul here. The shores of Lake Baikal have various vacation facilities, which will definitely give you a vibrant vacation and travel experience.

When you anticipate Lake Baikal, you know about the blue ice

You know about the biting cold of Siberia

You also know about the enthusiasm of the Russian people

I did not expect to come here so soon

I spent half a day editing the video, choosing materials was overwhelming

1. First arrival at Olkhon Island, intoxicated by the sunset

One day at 1 am before I resigned, I saw the Baikal Lake itinerary posted by the captain of “Xiao Hei”. I had heard of Baikal Lake being the oldest lake in the world, the blue eye of Siberia. So, I signed up the next day, bought my plane ticket, and waited for this day to come.

After 3 hours of flying, 5 hours by car, and 10 minutes by ferry, I arrived at Olkhon Island, which is known as the heart of Baikal Lake.

We were greeted by a handsome Russian guy Nik (right one). Later, the trip became much more fun because of Nik.

Team Members

It drizzled a little. Apart from being brainwashed by Li Jian’s “Baikal Lake”, I also felt the invasion of the cold Siberian wind. But soon, I was touched by the staggered country cottages outside the window. The strong Russian Buryat style was very unique.

Wooden house architecture

I thought the first day would end just like that. Fortunately, the weather was good, and the rain stopped quickly. The group decided to go out and have some fun.

By the Baikal Lake

There are many dogs on the island. They kept barking at the seagulls. For a moment, I wished I could become a dog on Olkhon Island. My daily life would only be sleeping, running, and chasing seagulls.

One Tree, One Dog

Nik started taking us around and showed us his tattoo.

Car Store

Tattoo

After touring Olkhon Island, we went to a store in town for dinner. Smoked fish, roast chicken, vodka, and local juice. After dinner, it was 8 pm and it was still early. So, we walked through the village back to the lake and enjoyed the stunning sunset along the way.

Sunset by the Lake,

Lonely Bird at Sunset,

Lonely Tree by the Lake

I got drunk in the sunset of Olkhon Island. Later, I lost my lens cap and went to the lake to find it alone. When I returned, I was the only person left on the entire lakeshore. It felt like the whole world was mine to explore.

With such a beautiful view, I felt that all the bumpy roads were worth it.

2. Olkhon Island North Line, Fish Soup I Didn’t Get to Drink and Nik Going All Out

The next day, after breakfast, we started our journey to the northern part of Olkhon Island.

We saw lakes, mountains, forests, snow mountains, and sand. Of course, there was the inevitable cold.

As a fighting nation, although we didn’t have the big beards and beer bellies of Russian uncles, our tour guide Nik showed us his spinning, jumping, and non-stop moves. The tour guide transformed into a model under everyone’s lenses.

Flying Nik

Flying Nik

Let’s have a close-up of the socks. They have the Chinese and Russian flags. What a scheming boy.

Sock Scheme

The captain of “Xiao Hei” also started doing handstands. It added a unique touch to the handstand team.

Nik and Xiao Hei

After playing, Nik took off his clothes and played this… by the cliff.

An indescribable scene captured

After all the commotion, it was finally time for lunch. We were told that our lunch was made by the driver and that there would be hot fish soup. Was this a case of fishing in the lake while facing the cold wind? Are all the people here multi-tasking and skilled?

An hour later, we started eating. We happily ran towards this small pavilion ↓

Lunch Location,

However, there was no fish soup.

We suspected that the driver hadn’t caught any fish, so he didn’t make soup for us. Later, after inquiring, we found out that it was because we hadn’t made a reservation in advance, so the driver didn’t bring any.

Although there was no fish soup, there was hot tea, which was warm in the cold wind. Moreover, the potatoes and sausages were surprisingly delicious!

Mountain Lunch,

On our way back, we passed by a large forest with red flowers blooming on both sides. The ground was covered with pine cones. Nik reminded everyone that there is a kind of small fly in the forest, and once bitten, if you don’t go to the hospital within a few hours, you will die. So, everyone stayed out of the woods and started a game with the big trees and pine cones outside.

Pine Cones

With dynamic music playing, the scenery outside the window continued with grassland-lake-forest-grassland, and then we returned to the wooden cottage we were staying in.

Wooden Cottage Hotel

3. Obsessed with the Wooden Cottage, Unwilling to Leave Olkhon

Ever since I saw those wooden cottages on the road, I wanted to find an opportunity to take a good look at them. So, after dinner, before it got dark, I went out with my camera. And that’s how I got this set of Little House photos (partial, will be updated later).

Little House

Along the way, I also encountered cows returning home and children skipping rope. They greeted me enthusiastically with a “say hello”.

Moo,

Encountering Childhood

The captain of “Xiao Hei” stayed up late to take pictures of the starry sky. After chatting with the Russian aunt downstairs about Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Army and being praised for “speaking really great English”, I went to sleep contentedly.

Starry Sky

Perhaps because I didn’t want to leave, I woke up early the next morning. I walked through a birch forest to the lake and just (zi) stared (pai) quietly, wanting to know what I captured, you can go to the video in the previous article to see.

Selfie, Looks Pretty

There were almost no people by the lake at 9 am.

Only seagulls, flying quietly.

Companionship,

Back at the wooden cottage, everyone started enjoying breakfast.

Sunshine & Breakfast,

After breakfast, we reluctantly left Olkhon and started the next part of our journey.

Commemorating at the Ferry Stop

To be continued.

Mom is urging me to go to sleep. I’ll update again tomorrow~

Finally

Thank you for being so handsome and willing to see me

Follow me

Be proactive, and we’ll have a story

4. Leaving Olkhon, Scenery and Stories Along the Way

The car gradually left Olkhon Island. The beautiful scenery continued. Suddenly, the car stopped at a mountain pass. Nik told us that this was a “sacred place”.

Upon closer inspection, there was a statue. It is said to be a revolutionary hero. I, being unfamiliar with history, simply skipped it. Looking down, I saw a bottle in a pile of stones. Perhaps a story happened here as well.

After another bumpy ride, we finally arrived at a place with a little more people. The blue sky and white clouds were paired with colorful Buryat-style wooden houses along the road. We had lunch here. Before lunch, we still couldn’t help but take pictures with our friends outside. The wide road had few cars, so we could play freely.

There was a little incident here. One of the girls in our group encountered some Russian drunks who had malicious intentions at the restaurant. Fortunately, Xiao Hei and his friends, who are strong men, were there, so the other party didn’t dare do anything. I would like to remind everyone that if you are traveling alone, especially girls, be sure to be safe.

5. Irkutsk, Imprints of the City

After several hours of traveling, we finally arrived at Irkutsk, the closest city to Lake Baikal. We heard that there were over 70 churches here. Before we arrived, I had seen photos taken by other photographers here. The colorful windows were very beautiful, so I was really looking forward to seeing the churches. I took a photo of the door. For lovers of symmetrical composition, this is paradise.

This kind of dome is typical of Orthodox churches. When someone in the family dies, they will light a candle in this church. And if it’s a newly married couple, they will supposedly receive blessings for a whole year. It is important to note that women need to wear the headscarf provided at the entrance when entering.

Not far ahead is the Angara River. There are over 300 rivers flowing into Baikal Lake, but the lake water only flows out through the Angara River. There are many locks on the iron railings by the lake. These are placed there by the people of Irkutsk when they get married. They remain strong after years of erosion. I guess it symbolizes the stability of love.

The streets of Irkutsk are clean and quiet. The buildings exude a historical feel.

Occasionally, you can see airplanes flying overhead (guess if they are fighter jets).

We also passed by a square along the way. The pigeons in the square are like pigeons all over the world, with no resistance to breadcrumbs. Children have no resistance to pigeons.

Here is a road sign. Each place name is paired with a very interesting illustration. The icon at the bottom left is the famous Karl Marx Street. It’s a more prosperous area, roughly equivalent to Nanjing West Road in Shanghai.

6. Circumnavigating the Lake by Train, Lost Half My Glasses, Gained a View Full of Scenery

Taking a train around Baikal Lake is a must-do for many people who visit Baikal Lake. We were no exception. After playing Werewolf along the way, we arrived at the train station. The journey is long, so you need to bring your own food. While our friends went to buy food, we almost missed the train. So, we ran all the way, catching the last train at the last minute.

The train slowly moved forward. The people along the way seemed to have already become accustomed to these trains passing by. However, the dogs still looked around with enthusiasm.

The scenery along the way doesn’t need words, just pictures.

The train would stop occasionally to let people get off and take pictures.

After arriving at the first stop, I got off the train. Nik took me to a small manor on the mountain in front.

Fearing that I would miss the train again, I ran very fast. It wasn’t until I went back that I realized that the glasses I had lost halfway on the way back only had half the lenses left…

On the train, we met a Polish man who didn’t have a boat reservation. He hitched a ride on our boat. So, we chatted with him and learned that he had been to over 60 countries. That’s pretty awesome (the picture shows the Polish man casually photobombing while I was taking pictures of the scenery).

Accompanied by the scenery along the way, the train, along with the shimmering lake surface in the distance under the setting sun, arrived in the Listvyanka town.

At that point, it was the last night of our trip to Lake Baikal. For dinner, we went to the best restaurant in Listvyanka. Even the table was shaped like Lake Baikal.

We ordered beer, various fish and meat. We drank our fill, ate our fill of fish and meat.

Here’s a little anecdote:

The night before, after drinking, we returned to the hotel. The captain of “Xiao Hei” was woken up in the middle of the night by the people from Irkutsk next door and was invited out to drink two glasses of vodka. In his own words from his Moments:

“They spoke Russian, I spoke English + Chinese

Anyway, no one understood what anyone was saying

It was just good good good ….

Then it was drinking, shaking hands, then drinking again

I can only say that Russian people are so generous [face with tears of joy]”

7. A Different Kind of Museum

On the last day, Nik finally switched to tour guide mode and gave us a proper history and geography lesson. At the exit of Lake Baikal flowing into the Angara River, there is a giant stone in the middle of the river. Locals call it the “Holy Stone”. When the water rises, the round stone looks like it’s rolling.

Legend has it that a long time ago, a warrior named Baikal lived by the lake. He had a daughter named Angara, who was beautiful.

Baikal loved his daughter dearly but was very strict with her. He wouldn’t allow her to leave the house even for a step.

One day, a seagull that flew in from afar told Angara that there was a young man named Yenisei who was very hardworking and brave. Angara’s love for him blossomed.

When Baikal found out, he refused immediately. He wanted to marry his daughter off to a young man nearby. Angara pleaded with him, but to no avail. She could only secretly leave home while her father slept.

Baikal woke up from his sleep and realized that his daughter had left. He couldn’t catch her, so he picked up a stone and threw it in the direction his daughter had fled. He thought he could block his daughter’s path, but his daughter was already far away and successfully joined Yenisei’s embrace.

The giant stone stood in the middle of the lake ever since.

I didn’t manage to take a picture of the giant stone. I took a picture of a bus stop as a souvenir instead.

In the Baikal Lake Museum, I saw a kind of crayfish that purifies the lake water of Baikal Lake. This crayfish is not that crayfish. Later, everyone actually observed it in the microscope room upstairs. You can only see it with a microscope. So, foodies can back off.

The Baikal Lake Museum has a cute pet – a seal.

Yes, this one that’s all meat is a seal. I specifically made a GIF of it.

Nik, who had just started being a tour guide, finally returned to his model status at the next place.

This place is suitable for skiing in winter. We can still see some snow that hasn’t melted. When we went downhill, we were sitting on the cable car, and Nik ran down to play in the snow. Looking at the bright sunshine, we could actually wear thin down jackets. Once again, these fighting nation lads are really not afraid of the cold.

The next wooden house museum (maybe that’s the name?) We passed by a prison. We were curious why the prison only had one room. We heard the explanation that it was because it was so cold here that prisoners would basically freeze to death within one or two days. Freeze to death…

In the museum, we met an aunt who was selling some souvenirs. I was attracted by these paintings. The aunt said they were painted by local folk artists. They even had her signature on them. However, the price was a bit high, so I ended up buying postcards of the same design. I also asked Nik to write a postcard in Russian for a friend who commented on my Wechat account~

With that, our Baikal Lake trip basically came to an end.

The Baikal Lake trip organized by “Xiao Hei Outdoor” was fantastic! I hope I can go there again in winter, go skiing, see the blue ice, stay in a wooden house in winter, and see those people I met again.

Tips: The immigration check at Irkutsk Airport is very slow. It takes almost everyone several minutes. Make sure you leave plenty of time.

The first church is a typical Catholic church, not an Orthodox church. These two are different.

Compare it yourself to the Kazan Cathedral. The difference is significant compared to the blogger’s photos.

Catholic churches have spires and the cross looks like a cross. Most Orthodox churches have onion domes and the cross looks like a vertical line with a horizontal line on top and a dot below.