Trans-Siberian Railway (Part 3: Lake Baikal & Olkhon Island)
We were in danger of placing too much emphasis on the escape to rural climes in the form of Lake Baikal, having spent a good deal of time in large Russian cities of late, however for once our anticipation seemed totally warranted. Baikal and Olkhon Island were a real tonic for the soul and one that re-justified our decision to travel to Russia in the first place.
Wondering whether we’d made the right decision to by-pass the supposedly bucolic Irkutsk and head straight up to Olkhon, we navigated our way through a maze of local buses outside the railway station and began to feel happy that we were about to flee the urban madness that surrounded us. We caught the right one, with some amazement, and headed up the road to the promontory that links the lakeside to the ferry bound for the island. At the ferry port we disembarked and contemplated the largely treeless southern reaches of Olkhon, which seemed in stark contrast to the larch and fir-filled vistas we thought we’d see. We’d chosen here specifically as it seemed to offer a good compromise between getting out to the remote & pristine Taiga forest and having some decent guesthouses. Camping and walking out here did not seem to be a popular thing, surprisingly, but we were happy with the idea of relaxing day trips (to be honest, we were happy with the idea of getting here at all!).
Flooded land on approach to Saraiskii beach
Saraiskii beach
Mini ferry trip over, we arrived in the small town of Khuzhir, a strewn-out collection of lovely wooden houses and an incongruously large & dusty main street. Here the trees start and it feels like the Siberia you’ve always imagined. This is the closest Olkhon gets to a tourist town, but in the late September off-season it already felt a little closed down, with only a few cafes and restaurants functioning normally and a mere trickle of domestic tourists in comparison to the hordes that apparently descend on the place in full summer. We saw several Chinese groups here. A ‘China’s Got Talent’ type of show was recently won by a song about Lake Baikal and ever since the Chinese have been keen to get here, to see the place and sing the song. It’s a mere 3 hour flight from Beijing, so why not.
Lake Bailkal view
The beautiful Saraiskii beach on the western side of town served as our ‘lets do seriously sod-all’ venue for the next day and a half. A half mile of sandy, pebble strewn gorgeousness, dotted with pine trees and facing out to the low rounded hills across the lake on the mainland. Further afar were snow-capped mountains. The lake water was so clear and pure it looked potable, and indeed it is – locals happily take a gulp as they walk down the beach. We looked up some facts about it. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and also the largest by volume of water, holding about 20% of all the fresh water on the planet. It freezes for 4 or 5 months of the year with ice reaching 2 meters deep. Transport escapes the land and skids over the frozen expanse, glad to escape the unbelievably rutted dirt tracks that have to be negotiated in the summer. Hotels here are keen to extol the virtues of winter visits to Baikal with most sporting huge tv screens showing how wonderful the ice-scapes are – frosted cliffs, blue caves with dripping icicles, sail-powered boats on bright metallic runners shooting across the lake. It’s all very alluring and we’re already planning a winter trip….
Saraiskii beach
Saraiskii beach
For now though the weather was unbelievably wonderful. We had clear skies and temperatures in the 20s, making our picnics on the beach a joy (though the beer / wine / vodka that found its way into our basket no doubt helped the mood too). We visited the Shaman’s Rock at the edge of town and saw a group of modern day shamans drumming and incanting who knows what to evoke the spirits. The milk they scattered about the rocks was presumably some form of libation to the gods, though I don’t imagine the gods were overly impressed by the horrible stink it made as it baked in the sunshine.
Shaman’s Rock, Olkhon Island
One of our picnics on the shores of Lake Baikal
The area is sacred to the Buryats, a sub-mongolian people that have inhabited the region way before the advent of the Russians and who clearly revel in their ancestry, with a wealth of motifs and images on display in the town. Some of the more striking are the carved images of animals forming a series of boundary markers – eagles, bears, foxes etc – and the row of domineering totem poles guarding the entrance to the Shaman Rock. Faces are different here too. Whilst round Caucasian faces are still plentiful, there’s a good deal of Central Asian or Mongolian features here as well.
We took a tour to the north of the island in a Russian UAZ van, our first time actually inside one of these little beauties. They look cute, but they’re powerful and get over terrain better than most modern 4x4s. Accompanied by two other Russian couples (one pair from Tyumen, the other from Rostov-On-Don. “Cossaks!” the latter exclaimed at us. No need to be rude, we thought…), a girl from St Petersburg and a pair of Chinese women over for a long weekend, we trundled up to Cape Khobuy. Over tracks with ruts 3 feet deep, we slowly progressed north, stopping to see lake views and rocky promontories scenically sticking-out into the waters. Lunch was the highlight. Alexander, the driver cum guide who liked to jabber-on in explanatory Russian for 5 minutes and then give us an English interpretation of ‘rocks’ or another monosyllabic alternative, cooked up a huge vat of Omul fish soup, about as Siberian a dish as you’re ever likely to find. Dill, potatoes, huge chunks of fish-flesh and superbly tasty broth – it was totally heavenly. However, his masterstroke was to supply our group with a half-litre of Russian Night Whisky, not something we’d been acquainted with before, but something we were glad to be introduced to nonetheless. Rounds of shots followed, toasts made (in Russian, English and Chinese), introductions made and attempts at each other’s language stumbled over. Alcohol can be a marvellous ice-breaker…
Approaching Cape Khuboy, Olkhon Island
Cape Khuboy, Olkhon Island
Alexander in the UAZ kitchen
Pre-sloshed and waiting for our fish soup
Clearly the strength affected some more than others. The Russian women began singing loud and occasionally tuneful songs in the UAZ on the way back and we all attempted to hum or sing along where we could. It was all very jolly and we were all best friends by the time we got back to Khuzhir.
Another day out followed, a triangular route in a speedboat from Olkhon to a seal colony, to an island sacred to the Buryats and on which a lovely, sparkling white Buddhist Stupa looks out over the lake, to a sacred mineral spring and back to Khuzhir. All very low key, all very relaxed. I made a mistake at the mineral springs, where two thin wooden troughs allowed water to flow from the spring to a height where you can catch it in your hands to drink. One is exclusively for women and one for men, though without labels or explanations it was impossible to tell which was which. Others knew though, and loud exclamations were made as I inadvertently scooped a handful of ‘woman water’ to my mouth. I quickly compensated for the error by drinking loads of ‘man water’, but who knows what consequences may befall me for this transgression. Maybe I’ll grow breasts. Hmmmm…..
Baikal seals, Zamogoy Island, Lake Baikal
Zamogoy Island, Lake Baikal
Baikal seal, Zamogoy Island, Lake Baikal
Buddhist Stupa, Ogoy Island, Lake Baikal
A final day on the beach and some cheese-based picnic fun to celebrate a full 6 months of travelling. Vodka? Before lunch-time? Yeah… Mad dash to jump into the freezing lake? Most definitely…Stuff ourselves silly with delicious cakes? Rude not to…..
Abandoned fishing boats, Khuzhir port
An amazing time on Olkhon and without doubt the highlight of our Russian trip so far. The place has a relaxed feel that’s largely absent from the other destinations we’ve visited and although it’s far from perfect (most of the food wasn’t up to much and Khuzhir was a social wasteland in the evening with so many places mothballed), the sumptuously fresh air, the clean waters, the completely chilled out vibe here, and of course the fabulous weather easily made up for any shortcomings.
Back in Irkutsk, our foray around town largely justified our decision not to linger here, though it did provide us with probably the best meal of the Russian leg so far and possibly one of the best of the whole trip. A cold dish of raw Omul fish (Sagudai – a Buryat version of shashimi) flavoured with red onions and dill was divine, and followed by an equally amazing chopped beefsteak of Oka Sarlyk (yak) and the tongue of a Siberian Maral deer. We finished with a Taiga desert of lingonberries, buckwheat honey, pine nuts and candied pine cones and felt like we’d eaten our way through Siberia.
Krestovozdvizhenskaya Tserkov, Irkutsk
On to Ulan-Ude next, where we hope to see the world’s largest statue of Lenin’s head, and then a final push to Vladivostok, a train journey of almost exactly 3 days….
Simon (25th September 2025)
Looks lovely, and sounds like it would be beautiful in winter but not sure id be able to cope with those siberian winter temperatures! Glad you’ve had a chance to relax before ploughing on. I don’t think you’d be too disappointed if breasts were a consequence of drinking the woman’s water 😅
Yes indeed… I suspect my drinking of too much beer is more likley to end up with the same consequence, but I might use this as an excuse nevertheless…
Lovely to see you both looking so well x
Hopefully the ‘woman water’ only brings good things for you both, and the food hits new heights as you go
Thanks Clove – I’m still salivating from our last meal. South Korea soon though – the food is supposed to be fabulous there!
Yes it would be lovely in winter, skating along. Now that you’ve taken the women’s water just be careful you don’t get pre menstrual.tension.lol
Xx
Ha ha – could think of loads of things in reponse to that but don’t want to get shot down for being sexist or anything!
I preferred this much better, I feared less for you and your belongings. As for the breasts overrated…..
It was better. Must disagree with your last comment though!!