- For history buffs
- Holidays with children on Baikal
- Trip to Olkhon
Baikal is the Siberian "sea", suitable for swimming in summer, freezing in winter, a place of power, the birthplace of shamans, a paradise for wildlife lovers. Romantics come here, dreaming of sunrises and sunsets alone with the lake, spending the night in tents and singing with a guitar around bonfires, and pragmatists who are still planning at home how they will buy omul and pine nuts in reserve, family tourists who are afraid to move away from civilization with its shops, pharmacies and comfortable hotels, and extreme people looking forward to diving, hunting, kayaking and another thousand and one active entertainment. What to see at Baikal, where to go first?
For history buffs
Most tours to Baikal begin in Irkutsk, the main tourist center of the Trans-Urals. True, it is separated from Baikal by about 70 km, but this does not prevent numerous tourists from stopping here for a day or more before the last dash to the cherished lake.
Irkutsk is built on the Angara - the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal. The best view of the Angara opens from the embankment, from the monument to Alexander III. Another nice panorama is available from the dam of the hydroelectric power station. Behind it, on the berth, there is the Angara icebreaker, which was celebrated during the Russian Civil War and has now been turned into a museum.
In general, there are a lot of museums in Irkutsk. Be sure to visit the local art gallery with a rich collection of paintings (there is even a selection of small Dutchmen), visit the houses of Volkonsky and Trubetskoy, where the personal belongings of these Decembrists are kept, and the historical section of the Irkutsk United Museum on Karl Marx Street.
More about the sights of Irkutsk
In addition to Irkutsk, tourists keen on history and architecture can be recommended to visit:
- Ulan-Ude. The capital of Buryatia is built on the banks of the Selenga, the largest river flowing into Lake Baikal. Ulan-Ude also has an airport, so you can start exploring Baikal from this city, not from Irkutsk. Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk are connected by rail. Almost all the sights of Ulan-Ude are concentrated along Lenin Street. Start your walk around the city from the Cathedral of the Icon of the Mother of God "Odigitria", dated 1741, look at the Museum of the History of the City and the Museum of Nature of Buryatia;
- datsans. If fate throws you into Ulan-Ude, then do not miss the opportunity to visit one or several (as lucky) datsans. This is the name of Buddhist monasteries. One of them, the Khambyn-Khure datsan, is located within the city. There is a minibus from Ulan-Ude to the most famous datsan, Ivolginsky;
- petroglyphs. The most famous are called Shishkinsky Pisanitsy. They are located near the village of Kachug.
Holidays with children on Lake Baikal
If you have taken children on a trip to Lake Baikal, then in Irkutsk we recommend that you look into the sealarium - an aquarium where Baikal seals live. There are also similar establishments in Listvyanka and on Olkhon Island.
The way to Listvyanka, which is located on the shore of Lake Baikal, from Irkutsk will run through the Taltsy Ethnographic Complex. A visit to this museum, where old Evenki chums, Russian estates and churches, and Buryat yurts are collected, will certainly interest even kids.
Listvyanka itself is a village built up with hotels and guest houses of different levels of comfort. Of the sights, there is a Shaman-stone - a rock located right in the center of the Angara source, a couple of museums and a wooden church.
Listvyanka is usually used as a staging post for further trips along the "glorious sea". Take the children in an armful and take a ferry to the port of Baikal. A great adventure awaits you there - a trip in old wagons along the Circum-Baikal Railway to Slyudyanka - another popular tourist town where there are real quarries open to the public.
Trip to Olkhon
During your vacation on Lake Baikal, you should definitely set aside a few days for a trip to Olkhon Island. The road to the island runs along the picturesque shore of the lake. Stop at Peschanaya Bay to see the famous stilt trees, named for their exposed roots clinging to rocks and resembling stilts.
Closer to Olkhon there is another interesting bay called Aya. There are several caves and petroglyphs, made 2,500 years ago.
Behind Olkhon Island on the western shore of Lake Baikal, you can find the so-called Small Sea - a favorite place for beach lovers.
Olkhon Island is a place of power, the land of Buryat shamans. And nowadays it is really possible to meet a real shaman here, especially if you come in August, when they have an official meeting here.
There are many hiking trails on the island. Most of them start in the village of Khuzhir. Next to it there is an excellent beach with clean sand. On Olkhon it is worth seeing the Shamanka rock, where not a single local resident will set foot due to the prohibitions of ancestors, the dunes in Peschanka, the three Sagan-Khushun rocks, the Zhima mountain 1274 meters high.
