Baikal and the surrounding area or Where to relax in the Baikal region

Tourist flow to Baikal and the Baikal region has already grown 25 percent from last year, and in summer it is expected to grow even more. The article explains why this region attracts travelers, from Irkutsk with its historic center, museums and sealarium to Listvyanka, the Circum Baikal Railway, Olkhon, Maloye More and Arshan. Baikal offers rest for every taste, from camping and family trips to extreme adventures, with helicopter tours, hikes and rafting on mountain rivers.

According to travel agencies organizing vacations in the Baikal region, tourist traffic to Baikal and its surroundings has already increased by 25 percent compared with last year (by the number of tours sold). And with the height of summer, it will only keep growing.
At the same time, tours in a wide range of price categories remain steadily popular - from a very economical vacation in a tent, where the main expense is the journey itself, to an exclusive dive into Baikal’s depths in the Mir deep-sea submersible - available only to VIP clients.
Of course, the main reason people come to vacation in the Baikal region is the unique Lake Baikal. To see the surrounding one-of-a-kind nature and taste the purest water in the world - that alone is worth a journey to Siberia. For some, this trip may seem better than a vacation in Sochi. Especially since today a holiday on Baikal and in its surroundings is a blend of the necessary comfort and pristine nature. Moreover, Siberian tourism offers a level of extreme adventure that everyone chooses for themselves, based on their own physical abilities. For example, you can fly to Shumak by helicopter, you can cross the pass on horseback, or you can do it on foot, with a backpack on your shoulders.
In any case, a journey through the Baikal region will be memorable. Whether you go on a kayaking trip around Olkhon; or lie on the golden sands of Peschanaya Bay; or, having climbed the highest mountain of the Eastern Sayan, Munku-Sardyk, gaze spellbound from a bird’s-eye view at Mongolia stretching out at your feet... The possibilities open to you are endless. Let us focus on the main ones.
Irkutsk is not called the "middle of the earth" for nothing. The capital of Eastern Siberia really is located in the very center of Asia, which does not prevent it from being "completely European" - this is exactly how Anton Pavlovich Chekhov described Irkutsk, when he stopped in the city during his journey to Sakhalin. It is the only Siberian city that has managed to preserve in its historic center a unique 19th-century wooden streetscape - both in the form of authentic houses with stunningly beautiful carved window frames, which can be found not only in the center but also on the left bank of the Angara in the so-called Glazkovsky suburb; and in the form of restored monuments - the Shastin House (also known as the Lace House) or the Sukachev estate.
Yet the main Irkutsk brand to this day remains the Decembrists. Their importance for Siberia and Siberians cannot be overstated: if not for their arrival beyond the Urals and, as a result, the enormous educational work they carried out, Irkutsk might have remained a small backwater provincial town. A large memorial complex in Irkutsk is dedicated to the Decembrists, and there is also a museum in the vicinity - in the village of Urik, along the Kachug Tract.
Among the other museums, the Regional Art Museum stands out in particular; it bears the name of the city mayor V. P. Sukachev and was formed from his collection. The pride of the collection is the famous Repin painting "The Beggar," as well as canvases by Aivazovsky, Surikov, Shishkin, Bryullov, and many other classics of Russian art.
The city museum displays a model of the Irkutsk fortress, from which Irkutsk began almost 350 years ago. Now, on that very spot - opposite the confluence of the Angara and the Irkut - stands the Eternal Flame, beside which are three most beautiful churches - the Savior Church (which houses a large collection of bells), the Catholic church, (where the Organ Hall - one of the divisions of the Irkutsk Regional Philharmonic - has been located for many years); and the Epiphany Cathedral (which was recently restored and returned the status of cathedral).
Another "feature" of Irkutsk is the Seal Aquarium, where every 45 minutes the world’s only show featuring Baikal seals is performed. These freshwater seals are endemic to Baikal and are also very timid. Nevertheless, they have turned out to be brilliant performers, are trainable, and in the five years of the seal aquarium’s existence in Irkutsk, they have managed to master the most difficult tricks.
For visitors to the city, Baikal begins in Listvyanka. This is the easiest way to visit Baikal without much hassle or time - the settlement is located just 70 kilometers from Irkutsk, right at the source of the Angara (the only river that flows out of the lake; the other three hundred-odd rivers and streams flow into it). In recent years, Listvyanka has become a civilized "window onto Baikal": there is plenty here in which and how to relax. The opportunity to take a helicopter ride and a boat trip with a transparent bottom; Baikal omul and grayling in every form; the Limnological Institute, entirely devoted to studying the lake; diving (including winter diving). Straight from Listvyanka, you can take a ferry to the other shore - to Port Baikal, where the Circum-Baikal Railway begins.
Once, this railway was called the "golden buckle in the steel belt of Russia," because it was the most difficult section of the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is a "miracle of engineering" - there are more than 800 technical structures alone, some already over a hundred years old, along the entire route! And all of them have been preserved in excellent condition. Today, the Circum-Baikal Railway is one of the most beloved tourist routes along the southern shore of the lake, suitable for hiking. Extreme enthusiasts can also try riding these almost hundred kilometers by bicycle. However, you can also use the railway itself. A small train called "Motanya" runs daily along the Circum-Baikal Railway (which in the local old dialect means "transfer"), as well as the steam locomotive "Baikal Express," restored especially for tourists - with real smoke from the chimney and a piercing steam whistle.
If, however, you travel north from Listvyanka, after about three hours of water travel you can reach Peschanaya Bay. There are no roads to this popular tourist base. Baikal warms up well, and by early August the velvet season begins here: you can lie on the sand, admire the unique stilted trees that have become Peschanaya’s calling card; take short hikes along the coast. For example, to Cormorant Rock, where the black cormorant still nests - another endangered species of Baikal fauna (by the way, about 70 percent of which are endemic). You can come to Peschanaya with your own tent, or stay at the tourist base - that is a matter of personal preference. In any case, according to many, the most picturesque Baikal is found right here.
Peschanaya Bay is located roughly halfway between Listvyanka and Olkhon - the largest and most mysterious island of Baikal. According to one legend, Genghis Khan’s grave is supposed to be on Olkhon. Olkhon is a place with special natural energy. Every year, enthusiasts and followers of a wide variety of practices come here: from psychological trainings to role-playing game fans. There are many sacred places here, the main one being Burkhan Cape. And also the northernmost tip of the island - Khoboy Cape. This year, a long-awaited event took place - a second ferry was launched on the ferry crossing connecting the island with the mainland! This means that the hours-long queues that were an invariable companion of tourists who preferred to travel around the island in their own cars will disappear. You can travel around Olkhon in all available ways, but the most memorable will, of course, be a kayaking trip around the island. Part of it will take place in the Small Sea strait, which separates Olkhon from the mainland.
It is almost always sunny on the Small Sea: according to meteorologists, there are more than two hundred sunny days a year here. Baikal warms up well and in summer becomes a favorite vacation spot for Irkutsk residents. Three hundred kilometers from Irkutsk can be covered by car on a good, recently built road. There are many cozy bays here, sandy and pebbly beaches, as well as unique natural landmarks, including one of the largest caves in Eastern Siberia - the Dream Cave, and the Sarma Gorge, where the strongest of the five main Baikal winds is born. In the Tazheran steppes adjacent to the strait there are unique salt lakes. People come to the Small Sea to fish and go on horseback treks.
It is necessary to remember that Baikal is a protected area, and part of its territory belongs to the Barguzin Nature Reserve. One of the most beautiful protected places is Chivyrkuisky Bay, as well as the Ushkan Islands - the famous Baikal archipelago favored by the seal. Resting on Chivyrkuy means getting your dose of adrenaline: bears may come out to the water. There is excellent fishing here and completely wild taiga, reaching right to the shore.
A curious feature of the Ushkan Islands: they are a kingdom of anthills - up to twenty per hectare! Anthills and seals - there is something to photograph.
If you head south from the southern coast of Baikal, after a hundred kilometers the Tunkinskaya Valley begins, where at the foot of the Eastern Sayan there is a small settlement called Arshan. In general, any thermal spring is called an arshan, and there are a great many of them there. Here you can take all kinds of baths: mud, mineral, for any purpose: from rejuvenating the body to treating the musculoskeletal system. Arshan is also the name of the famous mineral water, very popular among Siberians. Here you can also visit a real datsan, see the most beautiful mountain waterfalls, and take a helicopter excursion into the mountains of the Eastern Sayan.
There is also one of the most famous Sayan passes there - the Shumak Pass. Its height is almost three thousand meters. It is a good test of endurance. But those who manage to overcome the height receive a worthy reward: immediately beyond the pass begins the land of the Shumak mineral springs. There are more than a hundred of them, and among them are the famous radon springs, to which legends (and modern medicine as well) attribute miraculous properties. For those who do not dare to come to Shumak on foot - and there is simply no other road here - there is the option of flying in by helicopter.
Another peak no less popular with mountain tourists is Chersky Peak. Climbing it is accessible even to beginners. Nevertheless, it is a serious three-day trek, during which on the first day you will have to cross nine river crossings, some of them suspended, over the Slyudyanka River. On the second day comes the actual ascent: you have to climb along a mountain serpentine to an altitude of 2,090 meters. And on the third day - the return to the city, with the feeling that you have become a mountaineer.
After trying yourself on Chersky Peak, you can risk climbing the highest point of the Eastern Sayan - Munku-Sardyk. Almost three and a half kilometers. The border with Mongolia runs through Munku-Sardyk. On the plateau north of the peak, the Irkut (from Lake Ilchir) and the Kitoy, especially popular among water tourists, begin. Rafting on these rivers can become a serious challenge and will require good preparation and physical endurance from you. In any case, an unforgettable adventure is guaranteed.
It remains to add that today, with the development of the tourism industry (from organizing vacations to providing the necessary equipment), the question "Is it worth vacationing in the Baikal region?" if it arises at all, only in this context: "How much does it cost?" And once you have decided on a price category for yourself, you can get the maximum amount of impressions.
It is never any other way on Baikal.