The city and the lake in writing
History, architecture, Baikal, food and the seasons — writing that helps you see more than meets the eye.
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Lake Baikal 2 min read
Baikal is described in superlatives: the deepest lake on Earth, one of the oldest, holding about a fifth of the planet’s unfrozen surface fresh water. Here is what lies behind those numbers — and how they shape what you will see from the shore.
Long Reads 2 min read
Lake Baikal was the greatest obstacle on the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway. First, trains were ferried across on an icebreaker; once, rails were laid across the…
Seasonal Travel 1 min read
Winter Baikal means clear ice laced with cracks, pressure ridges, ice grottoes and sunshine almost every day. When to go, where to see the ice and which safety rules you…
Food & Local Cuisine 1 min read
Baikal cuisine means fish from the lake, Buryat pozy, pine nuts and taiga berries. Here is what to try, how it is eaten — and why, since 2017, it pays to be careful…
Travel Tips 2 min read
Getting to Olkhon is straightforward once you understand how the crossing works in each season. Here is the road from Irkutsk, the ferry, the ice road, the hovercraft…
Nature & Wildlife 1 min read
The nerpa is the only seal in the world that lives exclusively in fresh water. How it reached Baikal is still debated by scientists. Here is what is known about it, how…
Culture & Traditions 2 min read
Eleven women followed the condemned Decembrists to Siberia, giving up the lives they knew. Two of them — Ekaterina Trubetskaya and Maria Volkonskaya — spent years in…
Architecture & Heritage 2 min read
The wooden houses of Irkutsk are not decoration but a language in which owners told passers-by about themselves. This short glossary will help you tell relief carving…
History of Irkutsk 2 min read
Irkutsk was founded in 1661 as a stockade on the Angara. In three and a half centuries it has been a trading gateway to China, the capital of a vast governorship, a…
Nature & Wildlife 1 min read
The route in the south of Olkhon will bypass vulnerable areas, and the endemic Olkhon vole will serve as an indicator of tourists’ impact.
