Big Ice Adventure 2021 Lake Baikal, Hot Springs, Olkhon Island

Itinerary

Day 1: Baikal's west cost (Irkutsk- Buguldeika -Sakhurta village)

Stop At: Irkutsk, Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
Dear travellers! Our exciting journey starts at 11:30 am - we will leave Irkutsk city and go to the Buguldeyka village;
Our pick up service starts at 10:00 and ends at 11:25
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Buguldeyka, Buguldeyka, Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
15:00 reach Buguldeyka village;
Today we will drive through the snow-covered fields and mounts covered with Taiga woods towards to Lake Baikal. On our way to the little village Buguldeika hidden at the picturesque valley of the western shore of the Lake Baikal we will have a stopover at quarry, where the locals cut out cubes of snow-white marble stone. In Buguldeika we will get on the ice shield of frozen Lake Baikal and start our exiting ice driving journey. Today you will see several ice grottos and rocks covered with amazing ice structures and visit the famous ancient rock drawings on high gorgeous rocky cliff of Sagan Zaba bay. Lunch will be served for you as the picnic on ice with a barbecue.
Duration: 4 hours

Stop At: Olkhon Gate, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, 666135
19:00 reach Sakhurta village
This afternoon on our way you will see ancient stone-build walls on the top of gorgeous Shibite Mount. Those walls remaining here from the late iron age and belong to the civilization of enigmatic Kurikan people, nomads who settled around Baikal in a past. Also you will definitely enjoy breathtaking panoramic view to the endless spaces of the frozen Lake Baikal and valley of Anga River opening from this summit. From here we will get in land to see main destinations of this area – sacred Mount Erd – place of the annual Nomadic games and valley of the Stone Spirits – tight group of unusually shaped rocks in the middle of steppe plateau. This evening we will arrive to the settlement Sukhurte located right opposite to the southern extremity of Olkhon Island. We will get accommodated at the hotel with a nice opened view to snow covered mounts and Olkhon’s Gate straight.
Duration: 4 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Eldorado Hotel Sakhurta Baikal (twin room with private bathroom)

Day 2: Sakhurta village – Khuzhir, Olkhon Island

Stop At: Olkhon Island, Olkhon Island, Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
10:00 right after the breakfast at the hotel we will continue our ice driving trip. First we will drive across the Olkhon’s Gate straight and get close to island. First stop would be taken at one of the most spectacular local place – Horse Head Cape. This is long, deeply sticking out cape has overhanging rocky walls with ice grottos. From here we will enter a Small Sea – part of Lake Baikal framed by mountains of Baikal’s western shore and Olkhon Island. This area is famous for its small islands.
Later on will discover fascinating ice caves and other islands of the Small Sea between the island Olkhon and the mainland.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Ogoy Island, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, 666137
12:00 We will take a special stopover at the picturesque island Ogoy, which has a Buddhist monument. We will walk to the top of the island to take close look tell on the monument and colorful pray flags decorating this area. Here your guide will tell you about Buddhism religion and suggest you to do a traditional circle walk around the monument.
Duration: 40 minutes

Stop At: Cape Burkhan/Shamanka Rock, Western bank of Olkhon island, Olkhon Island 666137 Russia
14:00 Upon arriving on Olkhon Island, you will see local port with many frozen ships and rocky Cape Burhan, which is still a sacred spot for all local Shamans. This cape has cave in it, with a help of the guide you could climb from one side of the cape to another.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Khuzhir, Khuzhir, Olkhon Island, Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
16:00 Finally we arrive to the main settlement of the island – Khuzhir and get accommodated at the local hotel. Dinner served at the hotel will complete this day.
Duration: 1 hour

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Baikal Hotel Olkhon (twin room with private bathroom)

Day 3: Khuzhir, Olkhon Island – Cape Khoboy - Ust-Barguzin village

Stop At: Khoboy, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, 666137
9:00 Along your ice drive route today you'll see huge icicles, hanging like sharp teethes from the sailings of the rocky grottos of Harazy Island and several quite deep ice caves located at the bottom of the huge cliffs of Three Brother Cape. We will head to the most northern cape of Olkhon, locally called “Hoboy” (means fang tooth in translation) which is a most spectacular place of the whole Olkhon area. At this spot island ends by a high rocky cliff surrounded by endless ice fields with a plenty of ice cracks focusing to the bottom of the Khoboy cliff. Lunch will be prepared over a campfire, directly on the ice.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Baikal, Baikal, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
12:00 This afternoon we will take a jeep drive across Lake Baikal towards to its eastern coast line. On the way we will take a stop at the deepest spot (1682 m) of Lake Baikal located not far from Olkhon Island. From here you could clearly observe all northern part of the Olkhon Island including its heist summit – holy mount Izjimey. Usually driving across Lake Baikal is quite challenging: we’ve got to face to the opened ice cracks, rough fields of pack ice, deep snow and many other obstacles. Drivers experienced in ice driving taking their own unique line following current ice conditions and intuition fillings. There are no practical ice roads at this remote part of Lake Baikal, so chances to meet someone’s tracks and other cars are minimal.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Ust-Barguzin, Ust-Barguzin, Barguzinsky District, Republic of Buryatia, Siberian District
16:00-17:00 reach Ust-Barguzi village
On the way across white arctic desert you'll observe snow covered mounts of peninsula Holy Nose, southern part of the rocky Barguzin Mountain range and whole Island Olknon. This evening we will reach the settlement of Ust-Barguzin, which in 2016 celebrated its 350th anniversary.

Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Sinbad Hotel Ust-Barguzin (twin room with private bathroom)

Day 4: Ust-Barguzin - Khakusy, north Baikal

Stop At: Chivyrkuiskiy Isthmus, Ust-Barguzin 671624 Russia
9:00 Today we will continue our ice driving and will cover a distance about 240 km on ice!
Our first stop will be Chivyrkui Bay – the largest bay in Baikal after Bargyzin Bay. It is the warmest point on Baikal. The coast of Chivyrskui Bay is very indented and makes up many small inlets. It has its own microclimate caused by the bay being protected from cold winds and the infamous Baikal storms. In this small territory, you can see a wide range of landscapes: golden sand dunes, small lakes, swamps, cedar woods, alpine meadows and snowy mountain tops.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Lake Baikal, Lake Baikal, Siberian District
12:00 We continue driving along the lake shore. That area is already a Barguzeen National Reserve. We will have picnic on ice about 2 pm. By the end of the day we reach settlement Khakusy.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Hot Spring Khakusy, Nizhneangarsk Russia
18:00 We will reach the hot spring spa Khahusy by the end of the day.
Khakusy is a natural spa located along the north-eastern coast of Lake Baikal. It is located far from any inhabited village or city and doesn't have a permanent population. The overnight accommodation is in a hotel, located in a beautiful taiga forest. The Khakusy hot springs are located only 700 meters from the shores of Lake Baikal.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Khakusy Hotel

Day 5: Khakusy - Severobaikalsk, North Baikal

Stop At: Hot Spring Khakusy, Nizhneangarsk Russia
Khakusi is a thermal station known for its hot springs and their waters whose temperatures are reaching 46°C. It is also an opportunity for you to bathe in the medicinal waters and draw strength from the surrounding environment.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Baikal, Baikal, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
12:30 We will go to the northernmost city of the lake Baikal - Severobaykalsk. We will cross the lake once again - from the est to the west in its north part.
Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Severobaykalsk, Severobaykalsk, Republic of Buryatia, Siberian District
16:00 Reach Severobaykalsk city
Severobaikalsk is a young city and this tour gives you an overview about the live a city on the North part of Lake Baikal located on the famous BAM railway.En route we will visit the stele "North Baikal" situated on the lake's coast.

Duration: 2 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Sputnik Hotel Severobaikalsk (twin room with private bathroom)

Day 6: Free day in Severobaikalsk city

Stop At: Severobaykalsk, Buryatia, Russia
Time at leisure in thr city!
The Severobaykalsk city is situated in the valley surrounded by the Baikal Mountains. The city's foundation and the developping of the north baikal territory is related to the construction of the BAM (Baikal–Amur Mainline). As option, we propose the bathing in the hot springs "Goudzhekit". The thermal waters are located in the floodplains of Goudzhekit and come out of the ground at a temperature of 50°C. The waters of the hot springs are well known for their rich composition of silicic acids and alkalis properties.
Also we can offer you to visit the museum of the construction of the BAM.
Lunch and dinner are excluded in this day, but our guide will reccomend you best places to eat and help with translating and ordering!
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Overnight at Sputnik Hotel Severobaikalsk (twin room with private bathroom)

Day 7: Baikal's north cost Severobaikalsk - Solnechnaya Deep

Stop At: Baikal, Baikal, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
10:00 Continuation of the way
This day, our route will follow the northern cost of lake Baikal. We will drive across the ice to the Solnechnaya Deep, where the central estate of the Baikal-Lensky Nature Reserve is located. The nature of the reserve is wild, and you will see a real Siberian taiga. Fantastic silence and snowy distance are waiting for you. Accommodation in a wooden house with a wood-burning stove - an outstanding experience!
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at a wooden house with a wood-burning stove

Day 8: North cost of Baikal - Olkhon Island

Stop At: Baikal, Baikal, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
Seeing the sunrise in an untouched corner of Lake Baikal is unforgettable!
10:00 After breakfast we will return to Olkhon Island.
We will follow the ice road to the island. On the way you will make stops to take photos. We will cross the strait by the ice road (about 100 km) for reaching the Khujir village where we will spend a night.
Duration: 6 hours

Stop At: Khuzhir, Khuzhir, Olkhon Island, Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
18:00 This evening you will have an experience of Russian seam sauna – Banya! Dinner served at the hotel will complete this day.
Duration: 1 hour

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at Baikal Hotel Olkhon (twin room with private bathroom)

Day 9: Olkhon Island - Irkutsk

Stop At: Olkhonsky District, Olkhonsky District, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
10:00 After breakfast, we go back on the road to Irkutsk. A part of the route that will last approximately three hours along the Baikal coasts.

Duration: 3 hours

Stop At: Ust-Ordynsky, Ust-Ordynsky, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
14:30 On the way back we will take a stop in Ust-Orda village - it is an administrative and cultural center. The excursion to Ust Orda let you see a Buryat village, know the way of life of the locals. We will visit the local Datsan where will learn about Buryat people, their culture and religion.
Duration: 40 minutes

Stop At: Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Barrikad St, 34, Irkutsk 664001 Russia
16:00 reach Irkutsk city.
After reaching Irkutsk, we will take a stop in the most beautiful church in the city - the Kazan Church of Irkutsk!
With Byzantine style decorations, the Kazan Church looks like a fairy tower. It is known for the Irkutsk’s largest church bell. The inner spaces are decorated with fresco paintings.
Duration: 30 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
Accommodation included: Overnight at North Sea Hotel Irkutsk 4* stars (twin room with private bathroom)

Day 10: The end of the travel

Pass By: Irkutsk, Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Siberian District
Dear travelers!
We will orginize a transfer to the airport or train station for you in every day after our trip. This service is free

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.