Gone are the days when the inhabitants of our country spent their summer holidays on the seashore. Winter holidays are becoming more and more relevant. It can be very diverse: like all year round, you can see the sights, go to the museum, visit the thermal springs, or you can spend it more actively: go skiing, snowboarding or go ice fishing.
One of the places where you can try almost all types of winter recreation is Lake Baikal. The scenic area around the reservoir takes on a completely different look in winter.
The beauty of a winter holiday on Lake Baikal is that you can visit grottoes with icicles several meters long, ride on thick ice or along the ski slopes. In addition, there are fewer tourists at this time of the year, travel and accommodation will be cheaper.
- New Year at Baikal →
Entertainment on Baikal
Most types of active winter recreation become available after the formation of a solid layer of ice on the lake, the thickness of which reaches 2 meters. Real winter lasts here from November to March.
Skiing and snowboarding
There are several ski resorts on Lake Baikal: Baikalsk, Eastland, Mamai, Gora Bychya and Davan. The first resort is the largest and with the most developed infrastructure, it is located on Sobolinaya Gora and consists of 12 tracks and 8 lifts.
You can ride in this resort until May. The rest of the places are also popular, but before you go to them, it is better to buy skis and other equipment at home.
Ice fishing
As soon as the deepest lake in the world is covered with ice, ice fishing season begins immediately. It is not like summer fishing and gives completely different emotions.
Here you can catch pike, sturgeon, perch and several other fish species. While waiting for the next fish to fall on your hook, you can look at the underwater world through the ice.
Snowmobiling
The thick layer of ice is strong enough to withstand a truck. Not surprisingly, some places actively offer snowmobile and ATV rides. The duration of the trip starts from three hours.
However, in such a short time you will not have time to admire the beauty of the lake and rock paintings. Most of these excursions start from the village of Listvyanka.
Attractions of Baikal
The museums on Lake Baikal are open all year round, but in addition to them there are many interesting picturesque places, near which tourist centers are located or excursions are held. Below is just a small fraction of the places that deserve attention.
Small Sea and Olkhon Island
The Maloye More is a shallow strait, which is separated from the rest of Lake Baikal by the Olkhon Island. Large-scale celebrations are held here on New Year's holidays. On normal days you can go ice skating along the long coastline.
There are about twenty small islands in the "Blue Ocean of Siberia", but Olkhon is one of the largest and most visited. Rings of unknown origin were found on the slopes of its mountains.
The island is inhabited by giant eagles, which the Buryats consider sacred birds. On the one hand, Olkhon is washed by Cape Burkhan, which is one of the 9 sacred places in Asia.
- All the best recreation centers on the Small Sea of Baikal →
Circum-Baikal Railway
A trip on the Circum-Baikal railway will allow you not only to admire the beauty of the "Diamond of the Planet", but also to look at the miracle of engineering. The route of the tourist train is 89 km long and passes through eight tunnels and 248 bridges and viaducts. In terms of the number of engineering structures, the Circum-Baikal Railway ranks first in the whole world.
Caves
Malocheremshanskaya cave is a huge grotto. Its height varies from 10 to 15 m, at the entrance, the width is about 2 meters, and the depth is 15 m. In winter, it is especially beautiful because of the formed icicles, the length of which reaches 8 meters in certain years.
Dream Cave is one of the most famous and beautiful caves.It consists of several rooms in which the frozen ice rings in its own way.
Sacred monastery
Ivolginsky Datsan is the main Buddhist center in Siberia and the Far East. The monastery treats with Tibetan medicine and makes astrological forecasts. The nearby Barkhan-Uula mountain is visited annually by pilgrims who received the permission of the lama in the Kurumkansky datsan.
Other attractions
There are several picturesque mountains on Lake Baikal, from their peaks a beautiful view of the lake opens up. It is interesting to climb the Chersky Peak with a height of a little more than 2 km; during the ascent, no special equipment is required, and at the foot there is one of the Slyudyansky Lakes - Serdtse.
Another type of leisure is to visit the springs. There are about thirty of them on the lake, the most popular are located in the Tunkinskaya valley and in the north of Lake Baikal.
Siberian cuisine
Baikal has its own cuisine, which is dominated by meat and fish dishes. It is recommended to taste hot smoked omul, dried golomyanka, whitefish, grayling. Local fishermen cook fish on a fire and on rods. Other specialties include splitting, sagudai, poses, buhler, and green tea with milk.
You can bring home tea made from wild berries and Baikal herbs, elements of national clothing, fish, pine nuts and souvenirs with the main symbol of Baikal - the seal.
Winter holidays on Lake Baikal will seem interesting and exciting, they go there with the whole family, everyone will find entertainment to their liking. In addition to downhill skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing, it is proposed to taste the sacred sites of Buddhists and get acquainted with the culture and cuisine of the Buryats.
