Walking tour on the ice of Lake Baikal.

Day 1. Arrival in Irkutsk.

Meeting at the airport / railway station and departure by minibus to Lake Baikal.

The first 250 kilometers (approximately four hours) of paved road. Lunch at a roadside cafe. Tasting of Buryat cuisine (posy, buchler, zagudai). After lunch, we continue along the dirt road to a small chalet 300 meters from the lake shore. Accommodation in a chalet for the night, upon arrival you will be able to take your first walk on the ice of Lake Baikal. Dinner at the campsite cafe next to the chalet. Banya. Overnight in sleeping bags in the chalet.

Day 2.Small Sea tour.

After breakfast in a cafe at the campsite, we go down to Lake Baikal, take a walk on the ice of the strait that separates the island of Olkhon from the west coast. This strait, which is 18 to 22 kilometers wide, is called the Little Sea, in contrast to the Big Sea, which stretches more than 50 kilometers wide between the east coast of Olkhon and the east coast of Lake Baikal.

We will start our tour with a visit to the Buddhist stupa, located on the island of Ogoy. Easy ascent to the top of the island opens a beautiful panorama of the Small Sea, the western coast of the lake and the island of Olkhon. We continue our journey in a northerly direction. We will be able to enjoy the beautiful transparent Baikal ice, decorated with small cracks. The ice of Lake Baikal is a magical canvas, each meter of which has its own unique pattern.

We will have lunch in the tent (dining room) and a walk on the ice, which will serve as a warm-up before the main hike. Along the way, we will test walking with and without cats. We will get acquainted with the features of the Baikal ice.

Accommodation on the western shore of Lake Baikal, on a farm in a wooden house. Almost opposite the widest part of the lake - 80 kilometers from the east coast.

Day 3. Mysterious Cape Ryty and Sunny weather station. 26 km. 6-7 hours walk + car.

After breakfast, an early departure to the north. The first big day of the hike, most of which will take place on the western shore of the lake, where the Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve is located. Its territory is difficult to access, as it is located in the central part of Lake Baikal, far from settlements and good roads.

We will walk a few tens or hundreds of meters from the shore to get a better view of the mountain landscape and see the animals from afar, and try not to frighten them with the sounds of our voices and footsteps. The Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve is famous for a large number of bears, which can be seen here in late May — mid-June. The coastal territory of the reserve is called the "brown bear coast". In winter, bears spend the winter in dens, deep in the mountains. But on the slopes, illuminated by the sun, it is quite possible to see large Siberian deer. At this time of year, wolves approach the lake shore. They take advantage of the fact that ungulates do not feel confident on the ice. It is difficult for them to cling to the surface of the ice, so the wolves chase them, forcing them to leave the saving taiga and go down to the lake. On smooth ice, the hooves are useless, and the wolf's claws allow him to feel quite confident.

Today we will see: Cape Ryty, perhaps the most mysterious place on the whole of Lake Baikal. Majestic mountain peaks above Cape Anyutka, the height of which exceeds 2000 meters. Picturesque Cape Chartlay and Solnechnaya (the Sunny) weather station.

Lunch-picnic on the ice in the tent (dining room). In the evening, we will receive a warm welcome from the residents of the Solnechnaya weather station.Dinner. Overnight in a wooden house. In the evening- a banya.

Day 4. Zavorotnaya Bay. 32 km. 6-7 hours walk + car.

Another day of our hiking trip on the ice of the lake. The ice of Lake Baikal is rarely flat and smooth. If we walked on such a surface every day, it seems that it would be happiness, but from this monotony we could get bored. Therefore, God made sure that the ice of Lake Baikal was diverse.

We can see small and large cracks, "hummocks" — a pile of ice. Sometimes they form impassable fields that can reach tens of square kilometers.

There are places where, due to the outflow of thermal water or gases from the bottom of the lake, the ice becomes thinner and more brittle. And of course, the ice can be under a layer of snow and then its transparency is not visible.

None of the mentioned obstacles is dangerous for the pedestrian, if you are careful and follow the guide's advice.

In the evening, the day before the start of the hike and every day before the start of the hike, your guide will instruct you on how to behave on the ice, during the hike and how not to put yourself in danger.

By the end of the day, a car will pick you up from the ice and take you to Zavorotnaya Bay. Accommodation in a wooden house with stove heating.

Day 5. Sylvain Tesson's Hut. 18 km. 6-7 hours.

On this day, we will walk to the "hut of Sylvain Tesson", where the famous French travel writer, author of travel notes, essays and several novels, lived as a hermit for six months, from February to July 2010. It was an incomparable experience. The apotheosis of his hermitship was the book "In the Forests of Siberia" (Dans les forets de Siberia) , and then, in agreement with Sylvain, the script for a feature film was written. The film received the same name " Dans les forêts de Sibérie "(Russian version of"In the Forests of Siberia"). Filming took place on Lake Baikal. The film stars French actor Raphael Personnaz and Russian theater and film actor Yevgeny Sidikhin. In France, the feature film was released in June 2016 and made a splash, it was watched by almost 100 thousand people.

In the winter, while the lake was covered with ice, Sylvain walked a lot on the ice. He visited all his neighbors living within a radius of several tens of kilometers, visited the Solnechnaya weather station and the weather stations on the Ushkany Islands, Zavorotnaya Bay and Cape Elokhin. The inhabitants of these places are very fond of Sylvain and remember him with great warmth.

After visiting Tesson's hut, a car will pick us up to take us to Zavorotnaya Bay, where we will spend the night in a wooden house.

Day 6. Snowshoe hike in the mountains. Maximum of 10 km + elevation differences. 4-5 hours.

A day of rest for those who are tired of long walks on the ice. Today we will take a walk on snowshoes in the mountains near Zavorotnaya Bay. Hiking on a well-trodden trail is simple and safe, but requires good physical training. The trail is like an arrow and starts from the lake shore through the pine-larch forest towards the mountain, about two kilometers. After crossing a small stream, the trail zigzags up the mountainside. The serpentine leads us beyond the forest, where you can enjoy a magnificent view of Lake Baikal, the Ushkany Islands archipelago and the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula.

Lunch-picnic near the old hut. In the afternoon, return to Zavorotnaya Bay and transfer by car to the Solnechnaya weather station.

Preparation for crossing the lake.

Overnight in a wooden house. In the evening- a banya.

Day 7. The beginning of the crossing of Lake Baikal. Overnight in a tent in the middle of the lake. Approximately 23-25 km. 8 hours max.

After breakfast, we begin a long trek across one of the widest parts of Lake Baikal — from the Solnechnaya weather station to the northern tip of the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula, beyond which is the Chivyrkuysky Bay. For three days (two nights spent in a tent on the ice of the "Sacred Sea" and one night at the weather station on the Ushkany Islands), we will have to walk almost 60 kilometers, two long days on average of 25-27 kilometers per day. One day we will walk 10 kilometers. This route is quite feasible, as our luggage will be transported by car, and we will have small backpacks with the minimum required for the day. Lunch-picnic on ice in a tent (dining room) and overnight in the middle of the "frozen desert", on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia, in a tent heated with firewood. A night in a tent is the best way to get acquainted with the nighttime crackle of the Baikal ice-a fascinating and mysterious sound that resembles the communication of whales under water. Believe me, you will never forget it.

Day 8. Ushkany Islands Archipelago. 15 km. 5-8 hours.

Continuation of the great crossing of Lake Baikal. The tent was folded and loaded into the car along with the luggage. It is time to continue the journey to the Ushkan Islands, the archipelago of which is located 10-15 kilometers from the western coast of the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula. The transition is about 10-12 kilometers to the island of Bolshoy Ushkaniy. But before we approach the station, we will go around the island on the south side, looking for the hummocks that come there every year. The location of the archipelago, constant winds and high waves of autumn storms, make these islands "pearls" of Lake Baikal, covered with picturesque ice formations. Due to its location, the Archipelago is surrounded by numerous faults and huge hummocks, the height of some of them exceeds several meters.

Lunch at the weather station and a walk around the big island at sunset. Dinner and overnight at the weather station in a wooden house with stove heating. In the evening-a banya.

Day 9. Continue the lake crossing. Overnight in a tent at the foot of the Holy Nose peninsula. Approximately 26-30 km. 8-9 hours max.

After breakfast, we leave the Big Ushkaniy Island and head to the northern tip of the Sacred Nose Peninsula. Along the way, we will see three small islands of the Archipelago. The whole morning will be devoted to visiting these very beautiful islands. Gradually we will approach the Holy Nose Peninsula. Next, we will head to the northern tip of the peninsula, beyond which is the famous Chivyrkuy Bay. The farther east you go, the more snow there is on the ice. This is due to the fact that the north-westerly wind "Sarma", which dominates Lake Baikal in winter, blows most strongly in the central and southern parts of the lake, it clears the ice near the western coast and throws snow on the eastern coast, where it accumulates as it moves. Overnight in a tent on the ice of Lake Baikal.

Day 10. Chivyrkuysky Bay. Hot springs in Zmeinaya Bay. 10-15 km. Approximately 3-6 hours max.

Skirting the northern tip of the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula, we enter the Chivyrkuysky Bay. We will encounter the wreckage of a barge that ran aground near the peninsula. This is one of the barges that transported materials for the construction of BAM. She was shipwrecked during an autumn storm on Lake Baikal. Our accompanying cars will be waiting for us at the head of the bay to take us to the thermal springs in Zmeinaya Bay. Bathing will be your reward for such a long and difficult journey. You will have the opportunity to swim in the spring water, the temperature of which is 38-39 ° C. It has a faint hydrogen sulfide smell that does not remain on the skin after taking a bath. After lunch on the ice, we go to Monakhovo. This is a small village where the post of the Trans-Baikal National Park is located. Here we will spend the night in wooden houses with stove heating.

Day 11. Olkhon Island. Usury weather station. 11 km on foot max. 3-5 hours.

Transfer by car to the island of Olkhon through the widest part of Lake Baikal — almost 80 kilometers between the two shores. After a three-to four-hour drive on the ice of the lake, we will visit the northern tip of Olkhon Island, a state-protected natural monument, the picturesque sacred cape Khoboy. We will have lunch next to the cape, and after lunch we will make the last hike of our trip-11 km from Cape Khoboy to the Usura weather station. In Uzury, we will have a warm welcome with a banya and a delicious dinner.

Day 12. Return to Irkutsk via the village of Khuzhir.

Morning transfer to Khuzhir-the main village of the island. Visit to the" business card " of Baikal, a sacred and picturesque place-Cape Burkhan. Departure to Irkutsk by minibus. Lunch on the way at a roadside cafe. Return to the city in the afternoon. Upon arrival in the city, you will have the opportunity to walk around the center, buy souvenirs, visit the 130 block. Accommodation in a hotel in the city center.

Day 13. Departure.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport / railway station.

Tour price:

The tour price includes:

Transfers by individual car and minibus according to the program.

Meals according to the program: breakfast, lunch and dinner (except for what is indicated " on your own»)

Accommodation in guest rooms/houses, tents and/or camp sites according to the program.

Accompanied by an experienced guide throughout the entire route.

Entrance tickets to museums according to the program.

Banya according to the program.

Additional charge (optional and necessary):

Rental of equipment for winter sports (trekking poles, ice shoes, skates, warm shoes, outerwear for cold weather, etc.)

Additional payment for hotel accommodation on the route where possible.

Additional meals not specified in the program.