travel at Lake Baikal area

Hi,

Thanks for sharing useful information -snip- on Baikal lake.

I have heard that baikal lake is home to the world's only fresh water seal. Baikal is one of the most attractive vacation spots in all of Asia; a place where people can reach out and feel the synergy of Mother Nature as well as enjoy the majestic and unearthly beauty.

I like to know which part of the year is best to visit Baikal lake ? Thanks in advance.

[ Edit: Sorry, no promos please. ]

Dear Sherman p

Lake Baikal is beautiful all year round.
The favorite season for visit depends on what you would like to see.

If you wish to see the primeval beauty of Lake Baikal without crowds of tourists on its shores, then it is better to arrive in early summer (May 15th to June 10th). At this time the ice just starts melting, there is no fog, and the air is cool and clear. You will find only rare motorboats on the smooth surface of the lake, and few tourists or fishermen on its shores. Traveling in May lets you feel like a pioneer; not a single person within a radius of hundreds of kilometers. The ice fields on the blue and smooth surface of the lake, in combination with the snow-covered peaks of the adjacent mountain ranges, and the bright pink blossoms of wild rosemary on the shores give an enduring impression of the region’s amazing beauty. On the pebbled beaches of the Barguzinsky and Baikalo-Lensky Nature Reserves, you can observe bears searching the beach for caddis flies, which intensively breed at this time and only live a few weeks at the beginning of summer.

Summer (between June 15th and August 15th) is is the warmest period at the shores of Baikal, with usually nice and sunny weather.

Autumn is a very attractive season for photographers; nature presents itself in bright yellow and red coloring, and the fast changing weather with strong winds and frequent storms accentuates Baikal’s characteristics.

Probably the most exciting experience is to celebrate New Year’s Eve or Christmas in the comfortable traditional wooden house of local family on the snow-covered shore of Lake Baikal. The crunching sound of snow under your feet, and taking a bath in the traditional Russian banya, in powder snow or even in ice-holes will contribute to an unforgettable holiday.

Baikal’s transparent ice and glittering hummocks with bluish coloring are especially impressive in March. The extreme transparency of the ice allows you to see the ground in shoreline zones or to look into the profound darkness of Lake Baikal. The sunny weather creates a moderate climate on the ice so that it is enough to put on only a sweater in the afternoon. At the beginning of April, the clear blue ice gets dim and covered with a white rough crust.

Hi,

Thanks for sharing the useful information on baikal lake.

Hi,

I would be happy to supply you with any further information about my motherland - unique Lake Baikal area.
Have a nice day

Hi Julia,

Thanks so much for your descripion of beautiful Bailkal lake which has been dream to visit one day.

Though i visited Russia during end Aug this year, i didn't have time to visit that far to see Bailkal lake.

Surely next year (as suggested by you) during early summer i intend to visit.

Can you please suggest me, a foreigner, transpostation facilities from say Moscow to Bailkal? Are there any home stays in and around Baikla Lake?
How many min number of days necessary to enjoy Baikal lake and its surroundings?

Thank you for your replies in advance.

Hi Citybell ,

thank you for your message. Russia is a very big country, and of course it is very difficult during one visit to see so many interesting places (for example, my Republic of Buryatia is located along the eastern shore of Baikal, and its area is 351.3 squared km, which is about the territory of Germany).
But should you decide to visit our Sacred Baikal i think you will have no regrets.

Regarding you questions:
You can reach from Moscow the city of Ulan-Ude, an good starting point to explore the Lake Baikal region, either by train along the famous Transsiberian railway or by plane. The duration of the Moscow - Ulan Ude flight is about 6 hours, whereas traveling by train takes you three and a half or four days. There are several daily train connections and regular daily flights from Moscow to Ulan-Ude (such as Irkutsk on the western shore of Baikal).

Accommdation at home stays is very popular for foreigners in the Lake Baikal area, this is the best option if you want to see real Siberian's day-to-day life in different Baikal's settlements (as Listvyanka, Khuzhir, Ust-Barguzin and many others), and it's of course not so expensive as hotels.
The duration of 7-9 days would be the golden mean to enjoy lake Baikal and its surroundings.

Yours faithfully,
Julia

Hi Julia,

Thank you so much for detailed information.

One small question....From Ulan-ude, how far is Baikal lake?Or is it located in Ulan-ude city itself.?

Surely i will plan to visit next summer.

Thanks again.

Hi Citybell,

Ulan-Ude is located 100 km away from Lake Baikal. But I would like advise you to go to Zabaikalsky National Park (that it is one of the most beautiful places on Lake Baikal). This Park is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal (5 hours drive from Ulan-Ude) and includes the western slopes of the southern Barguzin Mountain Range, picturesque Syatoy Nos Peninsula, uniqie Ushkani islands (this islands are a distinctive resort, where on quiet sunny days Baikal seals like to sunbathe on its rocky shores, forming a whole colony which can number up to a few hundred), Chivyrkuisky and Barguzin bays, the Sacred Barguzin Valley.

Have a nice day

Yours faithfully,
Julia

Wowowow...so much of detailed information.. Thanks so much..

Iam sure to make a visit to lake Baikal during next summer.Will contact you if i need any further information.

BTW where do you travel during your holidays? Pls check my pm to you if you are visiting my city.
Thanks again.

Winter is a special season, when everybody wants to go to the Baikal. Winter travel to unforgettable places on the Baikal will not cheat your expectations and will give you real Siberian fairy tale, make you warm in the winter frost by the unprecedented beauty of this place.

To see the lake in winter time can bring event more pleasure then in summer. Dazzling winter sun, wide open spaces of the cleanest Baikal ice, in which you can see the dark deep lake, fantastic ice mounds, magic landscapes of winter Baikal, surrounded by majestic mountain ranges and the snow-covered Taiga remind the decorations of the fairy tale. You will get acquainted with the unique Baikal region, where life and the traditional cultures remain relatively unspoilt, where you will have a chance to be warmly greeted by local famillies.