Irkutsk / Lake Baikal trip
March 10th - 16th
Moscow - Irkutsk = 5 hrs 55 min /
5 time zones and 4225 km's one way
(excerpts below from https://russia.com/activity/lake-baikal/)
Lake Baikal, known as the Pearl of Siberia, is a unique natural sight protected by UNESCO (since 1996). This huge lake in the shape of a crescent stretches 620 kilometers long (30,000 square kilometers with a water volume of 23,615.39 km³ )!
It’s the deepest lake in the world with a maximum depth of 1642 meters - the average is about 742 meters. The
lake is so deep because it is located in a tectonic fault. The rift beneath the lake continues to expand making the lake larger every year.
The flora and fauna of Lake Baikal are unique: it contains more than
1500 local species of plants and animals that can’t be found anywhere else.
For example, a charming freshwater seal – the Baikal seal - one of the only fresh water seal species on earth.
It also contains about 20% of the world’s fresh water and is considered to be the largest freshwater lake by volume on our planet. The water in Lake Baikal is one of the cleanest, clearest and oxygen-richest in the world. The visibility in the water can reach up to 40 meters. Over 350 rivers flow into Lake Baikal, but only 1 flows out of it (The Angara River).
The winds here are even special and given specific names such as a few below:
barguzin (cross wind from middle part of the lake from the Barguzin Valley towards the Olkhon Island.), sarma (from the Buryat word for "rolling"), verkhovik (North to South wind), kultuk (blowing from the south to the northeast and emerging in the Kultuchnaya Gorge).
There are two big cities situated near Lake Baikal – Irkutsk on the west (where we flew into) and Ulan-Ude on the east. Both of them have airports that accept both domestic and international flights. Also, both of these cities are located on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway and many trains pass them through both from the west and the east.
If it weren't for these "covid
times", we would have taken the train in one direction. The journey would
have taken just over 3 full days from Moscow - Irkutsk. I'm a little sad we couldn't experience that journey. 🚆
To reach Lake Baikal it is about 70 km from Irkutsk and 130km from Ulan-Ude.
The lake is located on the border of Irkutsk Oblast (region) and the Republic of Buryatia.
Olkhon island: The largest (72 km's long / 21 km's wide) and the only inhabited
island 1500 people) on the lake is located in the middle part of Baikal near the
western shore. To visit here is like stepping back in time as there are no paved roads or traffic lights. Although life is simple here, it is also difficult and harsh due to the weather and the trouble trying to earn a living. The inhabitants are not happy that their livelihoods have been threatened by environmental restraints. For example, they can no longer cut down trees for firewood or fish commercially. Abandoned fishing boats are strewn on the shore... a reminder that life on the island has changed significantly for the locals. If the environment is truly being preserved, then, in the long run, this is a very good thing, but it still makes life all the more difficult for those who live here.
Besides being incredibly beautiful – there are relict forests, sand dunes, erosive landscapes, severe rocks and it’s also been known as a cult place for people who believe in shamanism, an ancient religion. Some capes of Olkhon (especially a big cave in the Shaman cliff) are considered sacred. Local people have very beautiful legends about almost every corner of the island. The most beautiful place is Cape Khoboy with a cliff above the lake in the north of the island and Peschannoe area full of trees with fantastically bared roots. Some places of the island still can’t be entered by an uninitiated person: locals are very serious about this taboo.
Our wonderful tour guide (Marina) provided us with a lot of information about the traditions and beliefs of the island people which include Russians and Russian Buryats (formerly Mongolian).
Our incredibly knowledgeable, kind, accomodating and fun guide Marina 😁
We started off in Irkutsk:
Population: 617,473 (2010)
Many distinguished Russians were sent into exile in Irkutsk for their part in the Decembrist revolt of 1825, and the city became an exile-post for the rest of the century.
The largest industry in Irkutsk is aircraft manufacturing (Irkutsk Aviation Industrial Association - best known for the Su-30 family of interceptor/ground-attack aircraft).
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| Our home for 3 nights in Irkutsk - Kypecheski Dvor (Merchant Yard) located in the touristy "130 District" |
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| Krestovozdvigenskaya (that's a mouthful) Russian Orthodox church built in 1758 |
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| "I love Irkutsk" |
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| Funny statues in "Pho Me" restaurant in the mall near our hotel |
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| Lovely architecture of local restaurant |
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| Babr Statue (ancient name for Tiger)... when the sculpture drawing for the coat of arms was designed, the artists in Western Russia mistook the name of the statue as the Russian word for Beaver (bobra), as they were not familiar with the Siberian word Babr - they thought it was a mistake and so they gave this tiger webbed feet and a flatter tail like a beaver. He's holding a sable in his mouth - symbolic of the beginning of the fur trade in the region. |
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| Lovely walk along the Angara River |
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| One of the many old wooden houses of Irkutsk |
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| Pine nut encrusted white fish and grilled vegetables at Mamai Restaurant - Irkutsk 130 District. Although it looks good, I didn't enjoy it all that much (not a lot of flavour) and our service wasn't the greatest (for instance - she brought us a bottle of water and a bottle of coke without giving us glasses or opening up the coke bottle). |
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| The crowning glory of the museum is the Spasskaya Gateway Tower (1667) |
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| Having a little fun along the way, as usual |
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| A traditional set up inside a Buryat yurt with the sacred fire pit in the middle, the "man's side" on the left of the pit and the "woman's side" on the right. Buryats traditionally practised shamanism, with a focus on worship of nature. Prior to the arrival of the Russians, Buryats lived in semi-nomadic groups scattered across the steppes (an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees) |
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| Craig's new girlfriend... she's a little tall, but is able to live in the cold climate of Siberia! 💕 |
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| What an experience picking your fish (famous Lake Baikal Omul fish) at the market in Listvyanka. After sampling (various ways of smoking) we chose hot smoked and then brought it inside the building where we could get drinks and salads and bread and we feasted on this delicious meal. If you have the opportunity to try this, definitely do! |
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| Craig trying various types of smoked omul |
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| I finally tried some and this is how she offered it to me... with a typically Russian way of wearing a mask! |
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| Where's Alain when you need him to try different things? Craig was my guinea pig instead. |
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| We kicked ourselves for not buying the pine nuts here at the Listvyanka fish market because they are considerably cheaper than anywhere else we saw. Sadly we didn't get any. 😞 The brown, coffee-bean-like things on the left are actually pine nuts in their shell. I should have tried them!!! |
Next up... Dog sledding
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| Troika horses at the Baikal Dog Sledding Centre |
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| Young resident blacksmith ... apparently you can take blacksmithing class here |
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| My team ready to go again! |
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| Craig and the team he rode with (they were tied up) |
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| The dogs here are a special kind of husky... I'd say mixed with German Shepherd perhaps? They were very lean dogs and not the fluffy huskies I was expecting. |
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| Craig on his sleigh... first you start out in the seated position on the sleigh and then about half way through our guide lets us both switch and stand at the back. |
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| Only Craig took pictures. I didn't want to drop my phone! lol That team ahead is my ride |
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| Although it was lovely to dogsled in Siberia, I found this experience a little underwhelming. It was my 2nd time on a dog sled and I guess I preferred the one in Canada where we (Stephanie and I) went through the forest and up and down hills and we were entirely in charge of our own team of dogs. Here it was the Russian guide in charge and we were just passengers (understandably since we didn't know the Russian commands or the names of the dogs). It was Craig's 1st experience and he enjoyed the short 1.8 km ride. If I were to recommend the experience to others I'd say do a longer ride or even one on Lake Baikal instead of on their short track within the property. |
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| This lady was sitting outside the nearby church collecting donations. She had such piercing blue eyes. 👀 |
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| There was an ice sculpture festival earlier on in the week, but still out there for us to enjoy. |
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| I borrowed a little plastic seat from a local to go down the bigger slide. That's Marina pushing me down. 😆 |
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| Craig suggested I make a "Y" to spell out my maiden name of "Hay"... good one love! |
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| "I Love Baikal" |
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| Eastland Ski Resort in Listvyanka area. We were able to purchase a ticket to go up on the ski lift along with skiers. |
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| Beautiful view point on the mountain that overlooks Angara River (to the right - the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal) and frozen Lake Baikal on the left. It's a little washed out because the sun was behind me |
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| Marina, our guide, offering us either condensed milk or Armenian cognac to do a Shaman ritual |
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| Buryat Shaman prayer poles on the side of the road... Here I'm offering a coin as an offering and praying for safe passage on our journey. It is customary to drink something white (like condensed milk - as white things are considered sacred to the Buryats) or alcohol (Craig & Marina has Armenian cognac) and then tie a ribbon on the serge (the pole) - different colours mean different things - and make a prayer for peace, compassion and wisdom. With the milk you first dip your ring finger (considered the cleanest) in the liquid, tap the table 3 times with the liquid on your fingertip and then women touch their hearts and men touch their legs. There were a LOT of these serges (prayer poles) all over the region. |
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| Famous Buryat artist - this was in the yurt where we stopped for lunch on our way to Lake Baikal/Olkhon Island |
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| Craig trying the proper technique for eating boozi (Mongolian steamed dumplings filled with meat). It is considered rude to just cut into these. Instead you should bite a small hole on the side and immediately suck the juice out and then finish eating with your hands. Below is his mutton (lamb) soup |
And we've arrived to Lake Baikal!
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| The dirt road leading down to the ice road on Lake Baikal. The ice road is 11 km's long to Olkhon Island and is operational for a very short period of time from about mid-February to the end of March (all depending on the weather, of course). |
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| And here we are, on the official ice road. I say "official" because this is the only part people can legally drive on the lake, but you'll see MANY vehicles driving all around the lake on the ice (mostly trucks taking tourists around). |
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| 1st attempt to create the - what it turns out to be - illusive "reflection picture" like Rufca's |
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| The incredibly beautiful formations / cracks in the ice. The first of MANY more to come. |
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| Hovercrafts are a popular means of transport. We never did go in one, but apparently the experience isn't all that great as they're very loud, but a good means of transportation as you won't fall through the ice... well, unless the bottom rips I guess. 😨 |
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| I kid you not, this is the Olkhon Island road we drove in on to get to the village of Khuzir |
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| Mr. Yak... he makes for very warm mittens. I actually bought a new pair of mittens and a scarf while on the island |
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| Just can't get enough of these pictures of the ice. so mesmorizing! This one shows large methane gas bubbles. |
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| Ahhh, that's so sweet my love 💘 |
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| Our Hotel for 3 nights on Olkhon Island |
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| Our very simple, but clean accomodations |
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| A cute café we stopped at for hot chocolate |
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| Village of Khuzir on Olkhon Island |
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| Shaman Rock |
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| Breakfast and dinner were included and this was our first dinner. We ate like true Russians on this trip! |
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| Alexander - our authentic and unique driver while on Olkhon Island |
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| This vehicle looks a little make-shift and MacGyver-esk, but it was very rugged and got us easily where we needed to go |
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| Such as roads like this... 🤯 |
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| 1st island we visited on Lake Baikal with the incredible ice formations caused by heavy winds |
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| We stopped on our way to the North of the Island to take some shots with these huge ice chunks |
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| The ones without snow were SO clear and a lovely shade of blue |
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| Hanging on for dear life to get the picture! 😄 |
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| The beauty of nature! |
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| And then it got ugly and the winds were 100 kms/hr! We were headed to the Northern most point of the island, but with these winds, everyone had to turn back. |
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| We stopped to reassess if we'd continue on or not... we didn't |
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| Even this beast turned back |
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| Then we followed them back to where visibility was much better. On this day, people were unable to leave the lake area as roads were closed. |
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| I found some shelter from the wind! 🌬 |
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| This cave was absolutely amazing! It was our first cave... and I'd say the best! |
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| I mean, look at these incredible crystals! |
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| The crystals up close |
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| Not going to lie... I was a little concerned that this ice would break and kill me |
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| Just love the incredible ice formations! |
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| These rounded formations are "ice skirts" |
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| The king of the ice mountain! 👑 |
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| This is a cool "dragon" shape on the rock face 🐉 |
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| Our fish lunch provided by Alexander. Normally we'd have a picnic on the ice, but the weather was not enjoyable, so we went back to the hotel to eat it |
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| Craig's kitty cat friend Boushka. This one's for you AJ! |
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| Down by the shore they have this artsy area where they made all these interesting pieces... this one, in case you can't tell, is a fish with Craig on its back and the hovercrafts in the background. More of this to come as we have photos on regular camera and my phone. |
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| Some of the cool graffiti that now adorns these abandoned commercial fishing boats |
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| Anyone want to go for a dip?? 🧊 |
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| More cool graffiti |
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| Marina is a happy camper playing Jenga with us in Bistro Francais within Nikita's Homestead |
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| We survived day on on Lake Baikal and ended with this cool sunset |
Day 2 on the lake
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| So awesome! That's my reflection in the ice from taking the picture |
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| Canada's figure skating champion! |
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| Interesting ice tunnel |
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| Love the super clear ice. In the background you can see the Mom with her child standing in front of her |
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| My lovable goofball! |
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| The Buddhist stupa of The Great Awakening on Ogoi Island - Lake Baikal. By prostrating before a stupa, we turn our face away from our egos and toward our enlightenment. Walking around the stupa at least 3 times (which we did), while reciting a mantra or making heartfelt prayers for the benefit of others is a blessing. |
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| Follow the rules people! |
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| This reflection picture was pretty good... we poured water on the ice to make it more reflective |
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| Where'd he go? |
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| Strange swing on the side of the "road" |
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| You can buy any of these taxidermy animals. 😢 |
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| I made it to the top of this crazy piece of "art" that we originally thought was for a bonfire! |
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| Right after this picture they took the ladder down because it wasn't safe! |
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| Another art project |
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| I don't know if I was supposed to be climbing up on there, but let me tell ya, it wasn't easy at that angle! |
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| I'll save you Marina! 💪 |
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| Our last sunset from Cape Burkhan (meaning "god" or "Buddha" / Shamanka Rock where in ancient times religious sacrifices were made. |
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| Sacred serge poles at Cape Burkhan. It is said to be bad luck to go past these poles toward Shaman Rock in the lake below, but, of course, most tourists do (we didn't). |
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| We stopped to take a picture of the view as we were leaving Olkhon Island |
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| Sad to be leaving... last pictures on the ice |
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| Now I get the reflection as I'm leaving! lol Both mine and Craig's |
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| The Baikal Wanderer monument (escaped prisoner) - 4 meter high bronze statue installed in 2014. Next to the monument are the words to the "On wild steppes of Transbaikalia" song composed by the Siberian prisoners. Hopefully this link below works. |
Baikal Wanderer Monument - Info and song lyrics (vsuete.com)
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| Farewell Lake Baikal! We've had a wonderful time. 💗 |
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| Cows on the road are a very normal occurance here and horses too! |
Charoite
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| My parting gifts from Siberia... Charoite stone ring and earrings (stone found only in Siberia) and bracelet made of Aventurine (I believe). |
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