Baikal in winter

Region info

There are two main cities Irkutsk and Ulan- Ude which operate daily domestic flights from Moscow/St. Peterburg as well as international flights. The most popular and at the same time tourist place on Baikal lake is Litvyanka village. It takes an hour to get there by car. Listvyanka offers a lot of winter activities such as dog-sledding tours and expeditions ( from 1-2 hours up to multiple days), snow-mobile and hovercraft trips to places which can be hardly accessible by other means. From Irkutsk It is also possible to go to Olkhon island, which became quite popular among tourists over the last years.

The tour to the northmost cape of the island with multiple stops is an opportunity to see stunning grottos and caves with various ice formations. The eastern shore of Baikal lake is less explored by tourists but not least beautiful. You can fly to Ulan-Ude and then drive to Ust- Barguzin, the village on the lake. Both Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude are the stops on the legendary Trans-siberian railway, the rail ports from where you can take a side trip to explore the lake. The best time to come to Baikal in winter is February - March when the ice gets solid and thick enough ( 1 meter and thicker) It allows experienced ice-captains ( drivers of cars and hovercrafts ) to drive safely on the ice. In February and March there are also a lot of sunny days and the temperatures are not that low as in December and January. It makes you enjoy winter activities as well as get sun tanned. Mid February -mid March is also the time of the year when it is the safest to do Baikal crossing at its widest part- the Big Sea from Olkhon Island to Ust- Barguzin.

The best time to come to Baikal in winter is February - March when the ice gets solid and thick enough ( 1 meter and thicker) It allows experienced ice-captains ( drivers of cars and hovercrafts ) to drive safely on the ice. In February and March there are also a lot of sunny days and the temperatures are not that low as in December and January. It makes you enjoy winter activities as well as get sun tanned. Mid February -mid March is also the time of the year when it is the safest to do Baikal crossing at its widest part- the Big Sea from Olkhon Island to Ust- Barguzin.