Tran-Siberian 06: Irkutsk - Lake Baikal Tour

"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore..." – Christopher Columbus

(Semi-frozen Lake Baikal in the background)

Day 06: Tuesday, 7 May 2024
Route: Irkutsk - Lake Baikal Tour
Hotel: Central Hotel Irkutsk

Breakfast was Croissants, hard boiled eggs and Vanilla coffee latte at the hotel dining area.

(Central Hotel Irkutsk)

(Ready for a day-trip to Lake Baikal)

By 0900 hrs we started our journey to a resort town of Listvyanka located along Lake Baikal which is 71 km from Irkutsk. It takes about forty minutes to get out of the city.

( Birch tree usually found in Russia montane forests)

(The map of the open Taltsy Museum)

On the way, we stopped to visit Baikal Old Museum, the Taltsy Museum of Architecture & Ethnography. It is located about 47 km from Irkutsk. The open air museum of actual old wooden houses in a preserved community is set on protected land and featured replicate buildings from historical Siberian villages, including houses, farmsteads, churches, and a school building. It is an impressive outdoor museum set in a delightful riverside forest at the confluence of Baikal Lake/Angara River.

(A beautiful open museum of wooden architecture and houses)

(A morning cool weather in the old village)

(The wooden architecture of Russian, Evenk, Buryat and Tofalar peoples)

(A popular stop on the road to Lake Baikal)

(A traditional wooden architecture and a huge Russian Matryoshka doll)

(Many houses have interesting exhibits inside)

(Beautiful wood-lace buildings and arbours)

(A show ger and a rest on a swing by the Angara river)

After visiting the open museum, the van drove us direct to Listvyanka where we rode the chair-lift up to the vantage viewpoint for a nice panoramic view of the Lake Baikal. This is Listvyanka best viewpoint, overlooking the source of the Angara. The viewpoint is named after Jan Czerski, a 19th-century Polish gentleman explorer.

(The chairlift is used in winter for ice skiers)

(Two options to the top: the chairlift ride or a 7 km hike up the hill)

(Tying colourful ribbons for good luck)

(Panoramic view as far as the eyes can see)

(A tiring climb to the vantage view point)

(A long walk downhill to the base station)

We visited Listvyanka Fish Market and later had pilaf with grilled Omul fish for lunch. The omul is a whitefish species of the salmon family endemic to Lake Baikal. It is considered a delicacy and is the object of one of the largest commercial fisheries of Lake Baikal.

(Renowned for its wide variety of fresh and dried fish stalls)

(Local delicacy, omul fish from Lake Baikal, split and grilled)

(Tasty Pilaf rice and pan-grilled omul)

After lunch we had a walkabout at the Listvyanka coastline. The ice was still on the lake but was being washed ashore. Listvyanka aka the ‘Baikal Riviera’ is the closest lakeside village to Irkutsk. It is the touristy spot where most travellers go to dunk their toes in Baikal’s pure waters and admire the hazy views of the Khamar Daban mountains on the opposite shore.

(The world's largest freshwater lake both by volume and depth)

(It's nearly summer but the ice is there to stay)

(Icy cold fresh water of Lake Baikal)

(Crystalised ice along the shore)

(Stranded Lake Baikal Hovercraft)

(A few children attractions in Listvyanka)

The cruise of the lake was cancelled because there was still ice in the lake. Instead, we went for a 30-minutes Seal Show at Listvyanka Nerpinarium. It offers the unique Baikal nerpa show, with nerpa singing, playing water polo and jumping out of water which never happens in their natural state. These clever seals were even taught to paint pictures just before our eyes.

(Listvyanka Nerpinarium)

(A 30-minute seal show)

Back to Irkutsk and had a good rest for the rest of the day.Tonight we skipped dinner as we were still full. The weather tonight was around 4°C.

👈👈Day 05: Ulaanbaatar to Irkutsk, Russia🚂

Day 07: Irkutsk to Yekaterinburg, Russia🚂👉👉