Destinations
Destinations
How to get there from Irkutsk, what to see, and what to know before you set off — guides to the key places around Lake Baikal.
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Irkutsk
A merchant city on the Angara, and the gateway to Baikal
Irkutsk grew from a stockade built on the Angara in 1661 and, over three and a half centuries, became the capital of Eastern Siberia — a city of merchants, exiles, scientists and master woodcarvers. Almost every road to Lake Baikal starts here, but the city…
Read the guide: Irkutsk -
Listvyanka
The nearest shore of Baikal to Irkutsk
The village of Listvyanka stretches for several kilometres along Lake Baikal, right beside the source of the Angara. For most travellers this is where they first see the lake: the drive from Irkutsk takes about an hour and a half.
Read the guide: Listvyanka -
Olkhon Island
Baikal’s largest island: steppe, cliffs and the Maloye More
Olkhon is the largest island in Lake Baikal, about seventy kilometres long. Its western shore faces the warm, shallow Maloye More (“Little Sea”) strait; its eastern side drops into the depths of the open lake. Steppe meets taiga here, and cliffs alternate…
Read the guide: Olkhon Island -
Khuzhir
Olkhon’s main village and your base for exploring
Khuzhir is the largest village on Olkhon, on the shore of the Maloye More: sandy streets, wooden houses, an old pier, and Shaman Rock a fifteen-minute walk away. Note that reaching Khuzhir and exploring Olkhon are two different things — the village only gives…
Read the guide: Khuzhir -
The Western Shore of Baikal
The Maloye More, the Tazheran steppe and the coast facing Olkhon
The mainland shore opposite Olkhon — from Sakhyurta to the bays of the Maloye More — is a quieter alternative to the island. Steppe runs right down to the water here, and the bays warm up in summer far more than the open lake.
Read the guide: The Western Shore of Baikal -
Bolshoye Goloustnoye
An old village in the Goloustnaya delta
Bolshoye Goloustnoye is a village on the western shore of Baikal in the broad valley of the Goloustnaya River. It is further than Listvyanka and much quieter: wooden houses, a church, meadows around the delta and an open view of the lake.
Read the guide: Bolshoye Goloustnoye -
Port Baikal and the Circum-Baikal Railway
Tunnels, galleries and bridges right above the water
The Circum-Baikal Railway is a stretch of the old Trans-Siberian along the south-western shore of Baikal between Slyudyanka and Port Baikal, about 89 km long. It was built in the early twentieth century, with tunnels cut through the cliffs right above the…
Read the guide: Port Baikal and the Circum-Baikal Railway -
Slyudyanka and the Southern Shore
A marble station, the Khamar-Daban range and Baikal’s southern tip
Slyudyanka is a railway town at the southern tip of Baikal, where the Trans-Siberian reaches the lake. The Circum-Baikal Railway starts here, trails climb into the Khamar-Daban range, and roads lead on to Kultuk and Baikalsk.
Read the guide: Slyudyanka and the Southern Shore
