On the shore of Lake Baikal in Chivyrkuisky Bay, the floating hotel Ecotour, converted from a barge, will open on June 15. Guests will have WiFi, a bar, a small cinema, a sauna, and even a hot shower. The base will operate until September 15, then be towed to the docks to keep the protected shore pristine.

A comfortable floating hotel will appear on the protected shore of Lake Baikal in mid-June. It has been converted from a barge that anchored in Chivyrkuisky Bay (the Republic of Buryatia) — on the territory of the Zabaikalsky National Park.
After a major reconstruction, the EcoTour holiday base will open on June 15. The tour operator Baikal Adventures (the Baikal region) has set itself the goal of creating a corner of modern civilization on Lake Baikal, allowing people to relax in maximum comfort with minimal impact on the environment. The base is equipped with a Wi-Fi access point, a small cinema, and a bar with drinks. And at the same time it will not pollute the environment.
“We are interested in preserving this unique corner of wilderness in its pristine state,” says Vladimir Melnikov, director of the Zabaikalsky National Park federal state institution, “so we even limit the tourist influx. That is why we value those companies that, like us, are concerned with the most careful use of natural resources.”
The company Baikal Adventures took over management of EcoTour in early 2009. To meet environmental standards, all operations will be carried out on the barge, where an autonomous TOPAS sewage system will be installed. It purifies water by 96% of any organic waste, after which the water is used for technical needs. The dry residue is briquetted and removed together with other solid household waste. This will allow tourists to use the toilet and hot shower.
“We are proving that acceptable service can be organized on Lake Baikal,” says Anatoly Kazakevich, director of Baikal Adventures. “This year we invested about 1.2 million rubles in converting the base. There will be a real bar with a bartender and a cook, a bathhouse, healing baths with herbal infusions, and communication with the ‘mainland’ is provided by a satellite dish.
According to Anatoly Kazakevich, a stay at the EcoTour base falls into the mid-price category — a week’s accommodation with breakfast will cost from 12,500 to 37,000 rubles with transfer from Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude. Today, 45% of the vouchers have already been sold. Special offers are available for June and September.
The holiday base will operate until September 15; in autumn, the floating hotel will be towed to the docks, and the temporary structures will be dismantled and removed.