Baikal in March is an icy fairy tale. Baikal in March Holidays on Baikal in March excursions

But flying to Irkutsk does not mean that travel expenses will end there. It will be the easiest and cheapest thing, but here you won’t see even a tenth of Baikal.

2. The most interesting places on Baikal are located quite far from Irkutsk and they cost either several hours of shaking on very, very bad roads, where in a few hours it can shake out your whole soul, and then also many hours of standing in car queues at the crossing to Olkhon Island (and in the heat or wind, with the absence of any service and the presence of boorish drivers trying to get on the ferry without waiting in line - this is another pleasure)
That is why Andrei Bednyakov, in the program “Heads and Tails” dedicated to Lake Baikal, went to Olkhon by helicopter. He could afford it, he has an unlimited budget and a gold card. For everyone else, this type of transport is not available due to its extreme cost.
Another alternative is on old Soviet ships (which is very romantic and I really like, but the ships are so old that, judging by last year’s incident on the Baikal cruise ship Barguzin-2, it is not at all as safe as it seems).

3. Hotels (camp sites) on Lake Baikal absolutely and completely do not correspond with their service to the prices asked for them.
Tourist service on Lake Baikal is very poor quality and too expensive. I call it “pioneer camp with legal alcohol” with all that it entails.
This is one of the reasons why I rarely allow myself to go anywhere here. A weekend in a normal hotel on Lake Baikal can cost comparable to a last-minute 10-day trip to Thailand.

Seriously, it’s psychologically very difficult for me to come to terms with paying THAT kind of money for a poor environment with Soviet hotel service.
In 90% of cases, the camp site on Lake Baikal is hastily put together houses with thin partitions, with rooms of 10 square meters each and furniture made by prisoners of local prisons; it all looks cheap and extremely miserable. And the staff, who are not overly polite, much less desire to turn your vacation into a holiday, adds the necessary touches to this whole bleak picture.
You can watch the same program “Heads and Tails” about Baikal, where even one of the most expensive hotels on Olkhon looks exactly as I describe.

The logic of the owners of tourist centers is ironclad, they come to Baikal for Baikal and a priori these are “people with money” who have already spent a hundred for the flight and who will calmly shell out 10 thousand per night, and will not count every penny like some beggars. Unfortunately, the owners of tourist centers have no motivation to change anything, because, indeed, “everyone goes anyway.” And this is very sad.
The “convenience in the yard” option, which is quite common for Baikal tourist centers, can become a rather unpleasant surprise if you look only at the price of the tourist center and reviews on the booking website and do not pay attention to the note about these same amenities. This, in my opinion, is a service for people who are not too pretentious and squeamish. Which, personally, I am not one of.

And the food at these camp sites is, at best, “hello, school canteen,” with rancid cutlets and sticky pasta. It’s definitely hard to call all this tasty, much less healthy.
In general, I would prefer to bring everything with me than to eat this way, or perhaps out of despair. I don’t know where they recruit cooks, and staff in general, but it’s clear that the owners of tourist centers save on everything they can and cannot do.
Actually, this year several tourist centers on the Small Sea were evacuated and closed in the middle of the summer season due to mass poisoning of guests, among whom were my friends.

4. Literally Forest fires can poison your stay on Lake Baikal in the summer season, not so much fires as the smoke from them, which not only interferes with enjoying the scenery, because because of it you often simply cannot see anything for a couple of tens of meters. But breathing it is very harmful to health.

For several years in a row, forests in Siberia have been burning with terrible force; the size of the fires and their duration depend solely on weather conditions. But they happen with enviable regularity. Why they weren’t there 10-15 years ago, one can only guess.

This year, for example, we had a lot of rain, however, almost until the end of July we had the “fortune” to enjoy this unpleasant phenomenon, which is solely the fault of man.
Last year, the forest burned out even in such popular tourist places as Peschanaya Bay, the sight is still very sad and it is unknown how long it will take for the forest to regenerate itself.

5. Baikal is a wild place, where nature and people are not used to joking. Therefore, you shouldn’t relax here at all; Baikal is not a resort for you.
I’ll tell you about the three most dangerous inhabitants of these places, meeting with whom can have tragic consequences:
The Bears Perhaps they don’t walk around Red Square, but in Siberia you can easily meet him. It is enough to move a little away from the established tourist paths and the bear himself will have such a desire. In addition to bears, there are chances of meeting wolves. Nowadays, animals often come out to people in the most unexpected places, the reason for this is the very forest fires that drive animals from their usual habitats.

But much more often you can meet an equally dangerous beast on Lake Baikal - forest tick. A small bite can cause very unpleasant diseases - encephalitis, Lyme disease or boreliosis, the carriers of which are these vile creatures. And there are a lot of infected ticks on Lake Baikal, so you don’t have to worry about them while just walking through the forest.
If you are planning a trip to Baikal from the end of April to the end of September, I highly recommend getting vaccinated against encephalitis just in case; this is a very unpleasant disease that is easier to prevent than to treat later. Vaccinations, by the way, are given in two doses, several months before the start of the season.
Well, be sure to examine yourself and each other in order to remove the tick from yourself in time. Even if you are vaccinated against encephalitis, there are no vaccinations against Lyme disease, for example, and its treatment is not at all as simple as a common cold. So it’s better to play it safe once again.

Well the most dangerous inhabitant on Lake Baikal is man. Unfortunately, local residents often live in difficult conditions and poverty, where alcohol is one of their main and favorite pastimes.
Again, here in Siberia, in general, a lot of all sorts of rabble live, because historically this is a place of exile, here and now there are several large prisons, after leaving which not everyone immediately goes home.
It’s definitely not worth relaxing around such people. At best, they will sell you something at exorbitant prices, but they may also rob you.
The Irkutsk region is one of the most crime-prone regions of Russia, do not forget about it.

Well, I hope I didn't scare you too much? I just wanted to warn you about various troubles that could greatly spoil your vacation and impressions of your vacation on Lake Baikal if they suddenly turn out to be unexpected.
If you have anything to add to this list, welcome. After all, “forewarned is forearmed.” I think this information will be useful to many tourists traveling around Russia.

COMMENTS

25 comments on ““5 reasons NOT to go on vacation to Baikal””

Elena, thank you for a very informative post! As you correctly noted, many simply cannot afford such an expensive vacation with a C-minus level of service. A round-trip ticket from Moscow to Tokyo without transfers costs 50 thousand, and Japan is much further. I would be very happy to go to your Small Sea, but what you described is very confusing. It’s sad that people can’t travel normally around their country, because it’s so complicated and expensive! Indeed, it’s easier to go to Tai, as many Irkutsk residents, for example my friends, do.

For me, Baikal is a tent. If it were up to me, I would completely demolish all these dull camp sites. I left only a few normal ones for service lovers. The road to Maloye More is now beautiful. There's just a little bit of gravel left, and they'll finish it this year. My parents brought me to Lake Baikal for the first time when I was 2 or 3 years old. That's when there was a challenge. The gravel road started from Bayandai, we drove 20-40 kilometers per hour, and not in a modern car, but in a Muscovite. With stops at rivers for lunch. But there was romance beyond words. Tea on the fire, eggs, chicken, the river is running and there are still three hours ahead along the gravel road to Lake Baikal. And as a child, it was wonderful in Arshan. No shit stalls with Mongolian rags, no cafes (from memory there was only a cheburek shop in a green house dating back to Soviet times), shops and garbage. Just you and the mountains.

But I’m not at all a fan of tents and hiking, which is why I started going to Baikal only recently, when civilization appeared there. (My parents have never been here anywhere, although they have lived all their lives 8) And how to drive? Basically, to get back and forth faster, camp sites are almost the same test for me as tents
I need hot water to wash myself every day and have somewhere to take the lenses out of my eyes so that no one bites, and in general I have a hard time withstanding any uncomfortable conditions. A night in a bungalow on Koh Chang is one of the biggest stresses in my life, when I found myself in the jungle almost alone and almost in a tent and from all sides someone was croaking, rustling and crawling))) So, I’m for letting They are at least somehow developing civilized tourism on Lake Baikal, but they are not charging money for it comparable to suites in the center of European capitals. Well, I would also like to see less Chinese garbage in the form of souvenirs
In the spring we went to the Small Sea, then my back hurt for two days, but it also depends on the car, of course. Or maybe the road there was repaired for the season, so it’s better? I didn’t go in the summer because of the smoke. Now if I go there, it will only be to look at winter Baikal, I’ll check my sensations from the road again)))
And I have ambivalent impressions of Arshan: on the one hand, everything seems to be good and interesting, on the other hand, almost the same thing only without the mineral water, waterfall, heaps of stray dogs and crowds of tourists that we can see in Belsk. Nature is very similar.

Of course, the article does not shine with competence, but this is due to a crisis of values and the incorrect positioning of Baikal.
But while some suffer and for some reason, for the sake of masochism, buy a ticket for 50 thousand, when it costs 30 thousand round trip, we have been creating infrastructure in unique places for more than 15 years

- This means it’s all for the sake of money, not people. It's clear. It is even forbidden to look at information about tickets on other sources under threat of a ban :) Then this is all frivolous - block it.
  - Maybe I’m in vain talking to you as an adequate person? I already thought something like this here.
    I’ve already found you tickets for 20 thousand, and not 30 as you’re used to, but you’re still not happy with something.
    Well, the fact that I don’t want to turn my site into a free message board or a training ground for novice trolls - let’s remain my right? Fine?

Yeah...Well, I cruised along the Lena River on a motor ship, and I was pleased with everything, and the service was at the highest level! Apparently, I guessed right with the choice of a Siberian holiday, judging by what you write about a holiday on Lake Baikal.) Lena is no less is beautiful in terms of tourism, but cruises on it are promoted much less than on Baikal - and apparently, that’s why they are trying to attract a client, which the snickering owners of Baikal tourist centers have no need for - hence the level of service on Lena is higher, and the level of arrogance of the owners and the staff—not even lower, but simply absent!

Yes, there are also many beautiful places on Lena. I was there a long time ago, as a child. I have relatives living in Yakutia. A lot is connected with these places.)))
But Baikal is still different, be sure to come to Baikal, if possible. I really like it in itself; I have greater complaints about business representatives who “take money.” I really want there to be some progress towards improvements. That's why I criticize)))
- And I was traveling along the BAM through Severobakalsk, and from the south I also went around Baikal along the Trans-Siberian. From the train you could see everything!))) Well, but seriously, yes, of course, you need to experience Baikal, but not I still want to pay a lot of money - and get a vacation for it that does not at all correspond to this money (well, just the nature is unique). “Pioneer camps” with the mentality of their owners “give less and rip off more” are somehow not attractive. Maybe Is it better to take a cruise on a motor ship on Lake Baikal? How is it there?) But Baikal is not Lena, only 5 days of cruise - and the whole of Baikal is covered in a circle by a motor ship... And the story with the motor ship "Barguzin" is still fresh...
  - Just yesterday I wrote a new article about budget holiday options on Lake Baikal. Perhaps some of this will be useful)))
    I would also like to go on a cruise on Baikal))), from the water I love Baikal most of all, this way you can get to the most inaccessible places of Lake Baikal, where you can’t go by car or where it’s too difficult and long to get there.
    But the prices for cruises still frighten me a lot, even more than the prices for camp sites, maybe because it doesn’t seem very exotic to me.
    And the boats themselves, yes, do not inspire much confidence because of their antiquity, but statistically it is still quite safe, since that fire was a real emergency, and not from the category of “something happened there again.”

I read it and decided to write. Not answering anyone, and not arguing with anyone. Just on topic. I live in Irkutsk and have been traveling around Lake Baikal for more than 30 years by motor boat. I used to go with my family. Now the daughters are adults. In recent years, I have been gathering friends in small groups of 3-5 people. teams. They also come from far away. But we travel only as savages. In tents. I, like my guests, am healthy and have been accustomed to camping life since childhood. We stop for the night or for rest only in places where for kilometers there is no one but us. And I simply don’t understand any other holiday. Well, think for yourself, because most of the reasons listed in the article can be easily avoided if everything depends only on you. I don’t understand why go to Baikal for service and amenities? Are there really few places where this is excellent and much cheaper? This is where everyone for whom amenities and service are important should relax. Someone will say that everyone wants to see one of the wonders of our time, the great lake-sea - a planetary reservoir of drinking water. Well, it’s a completely understandable desire. But if you just see, that is, see with your eyes, isn’t it easier to see in photos, videos, on TV?
But if you want to see - feel, understand, be imbued with this wonderfulness, this greatness, antiquity and Power, then (again) in your version - you will not succeed. You won’t feel anything, even standing on the highest and most picturesque rock facing Him, if at that time completely strangers are behind you, making noise (sometimes in other languages), laughing, taking pictures, and just drinking beer and being obscene. Moreover, the guide (most often a volunteer who is on Baikal for the first time) will “buzz” the text you have memorized and urge you to hurry up to return early for another group.
In our version, everything is completely different. Hikers are all of the same breed. Everyone has about the same reverence for nature. And those who are beginners in the general company very quickly become imbued with the same “spirit”. We don't have a lot of household worries. And at any time you can simply move away from the camp at least 100-200 meters, find a suitable dry and clean log, of which Father has scattered a lot along the banks. Sit down without clearing the place of the leftovers of the “tourists” and sit alone with Baikal. Listen to Him and say something cherished yourself.
Do you understand the difference?
Well, there are places on earth where hotel tourists simply don’t go: Deserts, the cold Arctic and Antarctic, mountains and volcanoes, finally. So Baikal should be classified as one of the same places and not complain about the service and “Sovietism”.
Let It be a place of Power and it is for people strong in body and spirit.

Ivan, thank you very much for such a detailed comment. I agree, Baikal does not tolerate fuss or neglect. This is a truly harsh and wild place, one of the few on Earth where you can still feel like just a grain of sand, and not the “king” of nature. What upsets me to a greater extent is not even the development of civilization on Lake Baikal, but that for too many people “outdoor recreation” = “alcoholic libations” with all that it entails. I wouldn’t let people like that even within 100 km of places like Baikal. There is no need for them to do this, in my opinion. Let them stay at home...
- Yes, it will be really interesting to hear about Ivan's experience. And on my own behalf, I’ll add that the tourist places on Lake Baikal are not at all wild now, everything is for tourists, almost like in Anapa. 8) Don’t worry, it’s not at all easy for an ordinary tourist to get to the truly wild places on Lake Baikal. Now even foreigners go to Baikal on their own, civilization is everywhere))

I completely agree with Ivan. Baikal must be felt, understood, felt with body, soul, and thought.
Each place is beautiful in its own way and not everyone gets to see it.
There are various unusual places on Baikal, even in forgotten miserable villages like Buguldeika. There is no tourist infrastructure there at all, but a couple of hours along a completely normal gravel road and in front of you is a huge marble quarry behind which lies the boundlessness of Lake Baikal https://pp.userapi.com /c849028/v849028371/34e6e/ZnHZyjw_QsM.jpg

Or in the most visited places like Olkhon https://pp.userapi.com/c837121/v837121782/483c1/06eVphVBcTo.jpg
Or take for example the Barguzin Bay, what hotels? This is a nature reserve, there is clean, surprisingly warm water, waves, a sandy beach and beautiful sunsets https://pp.userapi.com/c639816/v639816833/32452/BmynUBKezas.jpg
And you don’t need to fly to any Tai.
So to each his own.

But the problem of transport and comfort is secondary in such a place.
And if you need service, prestige, places from the picture, convenience, it’s better to go to Thailand, Vietnam, etc.

Thanks for the detailed comment. You have very beautiful photographs of Lake Baikal.))) For the most part, I also agree with everything, but I am still upset by the discrepancy between the local service and its cost. As world practice shows, modern hotels very organically know how to fit into the wild nature, in contrast to these ugly hastily put together houses of Baikal “camp sites” for the price of a 5-star hotel in the center of Paris. It’s a pity that no one monitors the architecture on Lake Baikal. And no one cares what happens on its shores. Well, I don’t quite understand how it’s like on Lake Baikal without transport? You can’t get around it on foot, no matter how much you want and no matter how much you love wild nature. Especially the places you are talking about. Maybe until the first bear)))

Thanks for the warning. I immediately didn’t want to spend a lot of money on the trip. I'd better look at the pictures. The vaccine that “is worth it” smiled))) Is this a local turn of phrase?

Thank you very much for the article! The picture in my head was bright, but not joyful. Now I’ll think a hundred times more about whether it’s worth going to Baikal, especially with two children! Ticks, school cafeteria food, fires, etc. and so on.

I’ll tell you a little secret 8), a similar article can be written ABOUT ANY, the most heavenly tourist place. In this case, I want to warn you about possible troubles that you need to keep in mind when going to Baikal. This isn't Türkiye, anyway. But it is not a fact that you will encounter the listed troubles. For example, I’ve never even seen ticks, although I’ve been to Lake Baikal not once or twice, and there were almost no fires last year...) It’s more difficult with food, but according to the owners of tourist centers, whom I accidentally offended with my posts, they I was the only one who didn’t like the food, everyone else loved it)))

In March people go to Lake Baikal for ice skating, skiing, fishing, snowmobiling, a bathhouse and dogs.

Why March? Because in January-February the ice only strengthens and grows, while snow falls on top of it, making the entire lake look like a huge, flat snow field. At the end of February, the winds begin to blow, blow away all the snow, and the ice is polished and miraculously smoothed. As a result, by March, when the sky becomes clear and the sun is already blazing hot, we have an almost fantastic picture.

1. Baikal ice is the most transparent in the world

Baikal ice is unique and diverse: hummocks as high as a house, and terrible ice cracks, and harmless, but infinitely beautiful ribbon cracks. But the main delight of travelers to Lake Baikal is the supernatural transparency of the ice; You can admire this beauty anywhere, but a very special place is Cape Khoboy on Olkhon Island. The local rocks, in which the wind and waves have left deep cracks and grottoes, are called the home of spirits and a paradise for photographers. In winter, Khoboy takes on a particularly mystical appearance: so-called “sokui” are formed on the stone ledges - icy swells of waves frozen in the frost. The wind spins these giant icicles like a screw, and as a result an absolutely phantasmagoric picture is formed.

2. Baikal is the largest skating rink on the planet

Many of our friends and acquaintances have long dreamed of going to journey to Baikal on your own or an organized tour. Anya and I somehow, without hesitation, got ready and went!)) The lack of big money didn’t hurt, the main thing was time!

I think there is no need to motivate you by what is interesting about this place. The deepest lake in the world, the largest source of fresh water - it's all about him! The length of Lake Baikal is 636 km, and its width ranges from 27 km at its narrowest point to 81 km at its widest. Most of the coastline is nature reserves, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries. It is believed that the lake arose under the influence of tectonic processes; there is even a controversial statement that it is the most ancient lake on the planet! Baikal water is very clean and transparent, especially in the spring, before algae and other microorganisms begin to bloom. You can drink this water without fear (of course, if there is no pulp and paper mill nearby ;-)). The average annual water temperature is +4 degrees, and in summer the water in shallow bays warms up to 20-22 degrees.

Add to this the ethnic flavor, shamanic places and rituals, monuments sacred to many peoples of Asia and you will get a great idea where to spend your next vacation!

How to go to Baikal on your own?

1. When to go?

The climate on Lake Baikal is special, for example, in summer it is colder on the lake than in Irkutsk, and warmer in winter. This place is characterized by harsh, long winters and short summers, as well as strong winds. The driest place on Lake Baikal is Olkhon Island, which is also very sunny and warm in summer. But the southeastern coast is considered the rainiest place, in the area of the Khamar-Daban ridge.

Here, as always, a lot depends on the purpose of the trip. If your goal is to go fishing, swim in the icy water of the lake, or go trekking in the surrounding mountains, then it is best to go to July-August. These are the only two months of the year when Lake Baikal is relatively warm. In June, the water does not warm up enough even in the Small Sea, and in the northern regions of the lake the ice can melt only by the end of May!

In the first half of September It gets a little colder (at night it can be significantly colder), most people go home, and you can enjoy unity with nature, walking along the sandy beach of Olkhon or arriving in Chivyrkuisky Bay.

in winter It’s quite difficult to get to Baikal on your own, since regular transport is mainly reserved for the summer. However, groups are organized for skating on the clear ice of Lake Baikal or ice fishing.

From mid-March to mid-April when the frost subsides, and in September-October when Siberian nature delights with its bright colors - a great time for photographers and true connoisseurs of silence and solitude

2. Where exactly to go to Baikal?

As mentioned above, the lake is 636 km long, so it is physically impossible to visit everything at once.

The easiest way to go to Baikal on your own is here (follow the links for detailed reports):

The village of Big Cats and
- this is the part of the lake that is separated by Olkhon, like a bay.
Peschanaya Bay
Neighborhoods of Severobaykalsk

All these places will be quite crowded in the summer, with all the ensuing consequences. If you want silence and solitude, you need to avoid places that can be reached by car.

In general, the southeast coast is more populated, civilized, and has infrastructure.

On the east coast are located:

Chivyrkuisky Bay
Holy Nose Peninsula

Also visit the Ushkany Islands, look at the Baikal seals in their natural habitat. True, this pleasure is quite expensive!
But everything north of Olkhon is truly wild and harsh places.

Near Baikal there is the beautiful Tunkinskaya Valley (according to scientists, this is one large extinct supervolcano). It contains resorts known throughout Siberia: Nilova Pustyn.

Every year hundreds of tourists come to Lake Baikal on their own to go hiking in these places. But it’s not so easy, you need to be prepared for bad weather, high mountains, impenetrable taiga...

The most popular routes on the western coast of Lake Baikal:

Village Listvyanka - Maloye More
Olkhon Island. The entire island can be walked up and down, only in some places there is no access to the water, there are sharp rocks and ledges.
Cape Kotelnikovsky - Lake Gitara (northern part of Baikal)
The Great Baikal Trail (from Listvyanka to the village of Bolshiye Koty).

Naturally, there are a lot of hiking routes around the lake; look for them on specialized forums and websites, for example “The Magic of Baikal” or “Baikal Fan”.

How to get to Baikal on your own?

The general trend is this: first you need to get to Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude or Severobaikalsk. From Irkutsk 70 km to the coast - this is the closest route to the lake.

To Olkhon You can get there by bus or by boat, read more in the article about But here is a separate post about the schedule.

To Listvyanka There are buses and minibuses from the central bus station and the Irkutsk market, as well as motor ships along the Angara.

To the Circum-Baikal Line: by train from Slyudyanka, on a special tourist train.

To Chivyrkuisky Bay: from Ulan-Ude by bus to the village of Ust-Barguzin or by boat "Barguzin"

To Arshan There are buses and minibuses from Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude.

4. Where to live on Lake Baikal?

It really depends on who likes what kind of comfort and whether they like it at all)) We lived in a tent on the shore of a lake or in the forest. But there is also a large selection of guest houses, hotels, campsites or even yurts to suit every taste and budget!

It is better to look for accommodation through a service that allows you to compare prices across many booking systems, such as booking.com (sometimes the difference in price for the same room can reach 80%).

If you want to stay in an apartment or rent a room from the owners (often this works out cheaper than a hotel) - try it (click here and get $25 as a gift for your first booking).

5. What clothes should I take?

In summer there is a very strong temperature difference on Lake Baikal. During the day you can get quite sunburned - take caps, thin shirts that cover your arms and shoulders, don’t forget sunscreen!)) But warm clothes are also required: a windbreaker, a sweater or anorak, warm socks, a knitted hat. At night, even in summer, the temperature can suddenly drop. We found every single thing we brought with us useful!

If you are going to Baikal on your own, then you probably still have many questions. We will try to answer them in the last part of the article.

On the shore of the lake is 3 nature reserves, 2 national parks and 5 game reserves, and special rules apply on their territory. In some places you may be asked to pay to be on the premises. In national parks they have no right to demand money, but the situation with nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries is unclear. Permits should be obtained in advance to visit these places. Naturally, treat nature carefully and leave behind the place in as pristine a condition as possible. If, of course, you want your descendants to also enjoy the beauty and power of Lake Baikal. Thanks for understanding!

Swim in Baikal You can go anywhere, but the water in the open “sea” is very cold. But in the summer, in the bays of the Small Sea, Chivyrkuisky, Barguzinsky and others, the water warms up to comfortable temperatures.

Mobile communications are available near all more or less large settlements, both on the southern and northern coasts. On Olkhon Island in the Khuzhir region the signal is also received, but it is unstable. But outside the villages there is no connection.

That's all for today! Come to Baikal on your own! You will be satisfied, we promise))

Early spring is the most inappropriate time for a holiday in the Baikal region. But if you suddenly decide to go in March, be prepared for

rainy weather
strong winds
mud on the road

If this doesn’t stop you, Baikal will reward you with pleasant bonuses for this.

Weather

The days lengthen and daytime temperatures in mid-March reach 0 degrees. By this time the ice freezes up to a meter. The air is clean.

Good time for sports lovers

This is the time for lovers of an active lifestyle, for those who do not like to just lie in the sun and swim in the lake. For those who love winter sports. For example, skis. Baikalsk has an excellent ski slope. Not a single trip to Lake Baikal in the spring is complete without visiting it. I also recommend the hot thermal springs. They are located on the territory of Buryatia.

It is in March that skiing and cycling on the ice of the lake become especially popular.

Car rallies

At this time, the famous ice rallies are also held here. Along the shores of Lake Baikal, in its forests, the snow sometimes reaches a height higher than human height. This, by the way, is for lovers of snowmobiling. In my opinion, this is one of the most powerful impressions of winter-spring joys in the Baikal region.

Fishing

At the end of March, active fishing for the legendary Baikal omul also begins. You can not only watch how experienced fishermen do it, but also try it yourself.

Few people

And of course, there are very few tourists at this time. Therefore, you will be greeted with great joy and hospitality. If you are not afraid of the light frost and the bright unrestrained sun over Baikal, this is definitely the time for you.

I wish you unforgettable emotions from visiting Baikal in March.

Now admit it - have any of you wanted to be on Lake Baikal at least once in your life? At least once, at least with one eye - but see the magnificent lake in person! In our company, everyone, without exception, either wants to go to Baikal, or has already realized their dream. But what if you want something exotic too? Well, is it true, what if for you Baikal is simply the deepest lake in the world, with the cleanest water in the world, and nothing more? Oooh, then you definitely need to get here in winter. After all, it is precisely in this cold season that Baikal reveals its unusual face, one that is not subject to bad weather and cold, and which you rarely see. But today we will lift the curtain and show you a truly winter wonder of nature in Russia. Where you can fly right now, while winter is still with us!

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Getting to Baikal is not difficult. Take it and go! You can fly for 16 thousand in both directions and see the lake in a form in which few people have seen it. Fortunately, the Baikal winter is long, frosty and insanely sunny.

Zaberegi, kolobovnik, shah, osenets - yes, Baikal ice has dozens of different forms and names. In winter, here you can see hummocks the height of a real house, and giant ice cracks, and what can we say about multiple cracks on the surface of the lake... But the most insane delight for anyone who came here right now is the supernatural transparency of the ice! Yes, it’s not for nothing that they say that everyone who sees such Baikal ice for the first time in their life immediately lies down on their stomach and, with the unbridled curiosity of a child, tries to look out for at least something in the depths of the lake. It’s all true, judge for yourself:

The lake and its shores are home to approximately 2,600 (!!!) species and subspecies of various aquatic animals; and more than half are found nowhere else in the world. Well, the fact that in the water of Lake Baikal, whether in summer or winter, you can see objects located at a depth of 40 meters is simply amazing.

By the way, in winter Baikal helps all residents and guests of the lake with movement and travel. There are traditionally few roads here, and therefore, if in summer the main means of transportation around Lake Baikal are inexpensive boats, motor ships and yachts, then in winter you can move along the surface in almost any direction. Ice works wonders! Well, for example: in the summer, residents of the glorious city of Severobaikalsk get to Ulan-Ude for at least a day by train, or even fly through Nizhneangarsk. And in winter everything is much simpler - they just take it and cross Baikal diagonally.

By the way, driving on the Baikal ice in a car is quite an experience! After all, you can’t immediately get it out of your head that between you and a depth of one and a half thousand kilometers there is only... a meter-long layer of ice. That’s why everyone, young and old, strives here to experience a feeling of fear along with a feeling of permissiveness. By the way, in winter there is only one federal highway, an ice road to Olkhon Island. It is served by the local department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, clearing snow at crossings, installing road signs and limiting speed limits. All other roads on the ice of Lake Baikal are at the risk of those traveling. But many people come here for this, to be honest. Stave cracks, cracks in the ice, polynyas... Several dozen cars go under water every year (alas, a sad fact, but it’s true). Please be careful in your adventures! Ice is available for traffic until early April.

And Baikal in winter is perhaps the largest skating rink in the world. Moreover, with a charming bluish tint, which clearly distinguishes it from any other place for such fun. Sometimes it’s even difficult to raise your head - you really want to look at your feet and be amazed at the depth, the blueness under your feet and think about life there, at a depth of more than a thousand meters. So if you decide to plan to go to Baikal right now, in winter, take your skates with you. They will definitely come in handy, and more than once!

And where else if not here can you find full-fledged thermal springs! You leave the locker room next to the bathtub with healing mineral water, run through the cold to a source of warmth and bliss and... literally plunge into that heavenly feeling. Sitting in the crackling cold in a hot bath is truly beyond words. Try to find photos or videos of eyewitnesses on the Internet, then you will understand exactly what awaits you. One difficulty is that the sources are not in the Irkutsk region, but on the territory of Buryatia.

The most popular of them, Dzelinda and Goudzhekit, are located in the north of Baikal, where there is a train from Severobaikalsk. There will be no streams that gush out of the rocks, nothing like that... A full-fledged civilization for your money - tiled communal bathrooms, where mineral water from underground sources is supplied through pipes. Well, next to the bathrooms there are heated changing rooms, which is especially pleasing for travelers in winter. If you want to get to the real exotic, the thermal resort of Khakassy, you will need to rent a car to drive here on the ice from Severobaikalsk. Or take a free transfer to the source, but you need to take care of it in advance. But there will be few tourists here and there will be more chances to think about eternity in the middle of Baikal nature :)

The ice fishing season on Lake Baikal usually begins in January, when the bays freeze over. So now is the season. At this time, you can catch perch, sorog, pike or dace here. By the way, in early February, local fishermen traditionally go further from the coast in search of serious catch - after all, the thick ice is doing its job, you need to find an approach to the water a little thinner. But the catch further off the coast allows you to bring home burbot, grayling or the famous Baikal omul. Let's reveal a secret - giant meter-long ice can be drilled relatively easily with a standard... lumberjack. Locals do exactly this, and for some reason visiting guests are always surprised by this.