Day Schedule

➤Breakfast

➤Transfer to Olkhon by a hover boat boat (13 March departure only) exploring ice grottoes, caves, bays and other natural wonders

➤Arrive Khuzir and check in

➤Evening at Cape Burkhan

Transfer to Olkhon Island by special hovercraft will take 6-7 hours. We will pass famous Peschanaya bay and visit white marble rock Sagan-Zaba, famous for rock painting (2nd millennium BC) . Hovercraft boat is the best way to experience Winter Ice of Lake Baikal. It is safe and secure. Methane bubbles in Lake Baikal are not only a fascinating natural occurrence but also a potential environmental hazard. The methane gas within these bubbles is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, with 25 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. It forms as organic material at the lakebed, such as decaying vegetation, breaks down, especially in areas rich in organic matter, like shallow bays. When methane escapes from the lake into the atmosphere, it significantly contributes to climate change. Furthermore, these bubbles can present risks to safety. Some scientists hypothesize that a sudden, large-scale release of methane from underwater could result in explosive events or even waves resembling tsunamis. This idea likens the phenomenon to the mysterious events attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, adding to the intrigue of Lake Baikal and drawing interest from researchers and visitors alike.

You will see the largest walking trees on Lake Baikal, which seem to have grown legs 2-3 meters long! And, of course, there will also be transparent ice floes and frozen bubbles. Then, roll it over the natural rink hundreds of kilometers in length.

Explore the Khuzir settlement, making photos of ice caves and grottoes.

Ice "toros" can last for a hundred meters.

Check in on our cozy hotel and have free evening to explore Shamanka Rock (Cape Burkhan), where the Baikal ruler lives according to local beliefs. Sarge are ritual wooden pillars of Buryat and Yakut people. They symbolize the "tree of life," the roots in the lower worlds of demons and branches in the heavens where the Noyons live. Sarge are bound with multicolored patches of fabrics.

It is believed that when the wind shakes the ribbon with the prayers written on it, the one who hung it sends his prayers to heaven, even if he is busy with other things at that time. When coming to Olkhon, you must definitely bring offerings to the spirits of the area: sprinkle milk or any white food on the pole of the serge, feed the spirits.

Ancient shamanic traditions tell of 13 northern Noyons - the sons of the divine Tengrii, who descended from heaven to judge people and chose various places of residence. The eldest and strongest of them, Khan Hute-baabai, chose the cave on Cape Burhan of Olkhon Island as its habitat. In honor of 13 brothers, 13 pillars of serge were installed on the island.