In the evening you can lie down on the grass and look at the clear night sky full of stars.
Первый Байкальский
Baikal is a wonderful place for the whole family to visit. Breathe in pure mountain air, take a dip in the Small Sea, or if you are traveling in winter, ride a sled down the snowy hills of Russia.
Summer is often said to be the best time to visit the lake, but there is little truth in that, as the reserve offers an incredible choice of activities all year round. It also costs much less in winter, and there will be fewer people around you. Baikal and its vast landscape will become the best playground for your children and you will soon realize that one vacation will not be enough to see all the sights and do all the touristy things.
If your children enjoy walking on foot, be sure to take them on a walk along the shore of the lake, which can be combined with a trip on a boat or ship. It is extremely important that Baikal is seen from all sides, from the shore and the water. This place has many well-established hiking trails which you can travel at your own pace. Tired or caught in bad weather? Just take the high road and wait for a bus or head for the nearest cafe to wait it out. On one of those trips you can have a picnic or play badminton on a sunny lawn.
In the evening you can lie down on the grass and look at the clear night sky full of stars.
Also worth mentioning is that there are almost no mosquitoes on Lake Baikal, so there is no risk of your child getting bit up by them. The lake water is so cold that the larvae of mosquitoes cannot survive this temperature.
In winter, feel free to take a ride on a sled and break your own trail through pristine, unscathed snow. And if you are lucky enough to visit Lake Baikal in autumn, it is time to go mushroom hunting.
If you and your child are not fans of active outdoor activities and prefer riding to walking, Lake Baikal offers a pleasant alternative to modern vehicles - horses.
Whether it is a short 1-hour trip or a few day’s journey, your children will be thrilled by the experience. Almost every tourist center has stables where you can take riding lessons with our professional instructors.
In winter, the most popular activity for children is of course dog sledding. But even adults join in to experience the rush and excitement of a race from one shore of Lake Baikal to another on a sled pulled by a pack of snowy-white huskies.
Your child will never see a Nerpa in any other zoo in the world, because Nerpas are not allowed to be taken far away from the lake.
For children who love nature and would rather see animals in their natural habitat (given the chance), there are several nature reserves on Baikal. The main ones are the Barguzin, the Baikal-Lena, and the Baikal Nature Reserves. A walk through a nature reserve can be combined with a night spent in a tent on the shore of the lake. Your child will remember this trip for many years to come!
If you are a happy parent of a hyper-active child who loves extreme and risky activities, they may enjoy rafting down a mountain river in an inflatable boat. There are many routes on Baikal which are completely safe for children but challenging enough to keep a young adventurer excited. They will definitely have something to tell their classmates when they get back for the new school year!
Those who consider rafting a bit too extreme but wish to do more than just walking and exploring nature reserves will definitely enjoy riding on a jeep or quad. And winter is a good time for a race across the frozen lake on a snowmobile.
The bravest of tourists can take up another activity on Baikal - diving. Due to their purity and transparency, the waters of the tributaries of Lake Baikal will be the best place on Earth for the first dive. We have special schools for children and teenagers where experienced instructors will teach them not to be afraid of being under water and how to breathe correctly.
There is another unique and extreme activity for the whole family which has become increasingly popular in recent years and is way more exciting than any amusement park in the world - ice floe rafting. A journey like this will amaze and make even the most serious of adults feel like a child again! Usually a team of tourists with an experienced guide drift on an ice floe down the Angara river from Lake Baikal in the direction of Irkutsk. To raft on the ice, it is best to come to Lake Baikal in March or until mid-April.
The climatic and technical conditions of the Baikal region there are perfectly suitable for skiing. Skiing season lasts from mid-November to mid-May.
The area of the Baikal Mountains in winter receives around 5-6 meters of snowfall, so winter sports is one of the favorite tourist activities this time of year.
We proceed with introducing the surprising villages of Lake Baikal to you. The subject of this article will be the village of Khor-Tagna that was included into the list of “The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of Russia” in 2019. This place is really amazing. “Key to Baikal” will tell you why you should visit Khor-Tagna and its surroundings.
