A visit to Lake Baikal and Olkhon Island

‘Have intention, sacred will travel.’ – S. Kelley Harrell (from Life Betwixt: Essays on Allies in the Everyday and Shamanism Among).

Mythical Lake Baikal

Situated in southern Siberia, Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest lake in the world. Frozen for half the year and with water so clear you can sometimes see 30-40 metres into the depths, this lake has almost mythical qualities for travellers. Before we visited, I’d never met anyone who’d been. It was a complete unknown. We wanted to see it for ourselves.

While looking into where we should base ourselves to explore the lake, Olkhon Island kept popping up. The largest island on Lake Baikal, it seemed the perfect destination from where we could easily explore further. We built five days into our schedule to visit – we were going to Lake Baikal!

Getting to Olkhon Island

We arrived in Irkutsk with no pre-arranged transport to Olkhon Island. During our exploration of the city that day, we found a central square from where minibuses to Olkhon Island departed on a daily basis. Taking a minibus was a good and relatively cheap option for getting to Olkhon Island from Irkutsk.

The journey took approximately six hours and the ticket price included a stop for lunch (food not included) and the ferry ride (ferry ticket included) from the mainland to the island. Our travel companions comprised a mix of travellers and some locals. I leaned against the window and gazed out at the bleak landscape as it rolled past. Going to Olkhon Island felt like the most adventurous thing I’d done to date. I was so glad to share the experience with P. It felt like we were heading into the middle of nowhere.

We disembarked from the minibus at the ferry terminal. It was early May, but the weather was still bitterly cold. A weak sun shone through scattered clouds, making the chilly blue waters glitter. The terminal was functional, rusty and people milled around waiting for the ferry to return from its latest trip. It trawled into view and we waited while it docked and disgorged its passengers before we could board.

A short ride across the water later and we landed on Olkhon Island. We were finally here, in possibly the most remote location I’d ever visited. Our minibus took us on to Khuzhir, the biggest village on the island and our final destination. We would be staying here for the next three nights and I literally could not wait to explore more.

Khuzhir at First Glance

We opted to book Guest House Svet Lany* for the duration of our stay on Olkhon Island. Our hosts welcomed us warmly and offered hot drinks and a snack upon arrival, before ushering us into our cosy twin cabin. It was built from pine wood and decorated simply but comfortably. We felt settled immediately. Eager to explore this small town more thoroughly, we wandered out before darkness fell.

Khuzhir is entirely functional and generally not very beautiful. We wandered the dusty streets for a couple of hours, getting the lay of the land. The town is centered between a length of Lake Baikal coastline, an unexpected stretch of sand dunes and a forest of conifers. The landscape felt bleak, inhospitable and wild.

As the sun set, we found ourselves on a stretch of sandy beach on the shore of the lake. The mountains in the distance turned black against a backdrop of blood orange, crimson and deep purple. The water, so blue during the day, turned fiery and glowed golden in the changing light. We sat, utterly entranced by the spectacle before us. Slowly, the colours seeped away and we realised how cold we’d grown. We stamped icy feet and wiggled numb fingers and strolled slowly back to our guesthouse, both in awe of the incredible sunset we’d just witnessed.

*Looking through Booking.com now, it would seem this guesthouse has since closed, although there are plenty of other accommodation options available in Khuzhir.

The Culture of Olkhon Island

Our hosts arranged for us to do a tour of the north of Olkhon Island on our second day. We were picked up early, after a generous breakfast of eggs, dark bread, tea and porridge. I was thrilled to get out and explore more of this fascinating island.

Unable to understand Russian, and with our guide speaking no English, we communicated largely through smiles and sign language. Another traveller on the tour occasionally helped interpret and gave us a basic understanding of what the tour guide was saying, but we were largely in the dark. This came with both pros and cons. We didn’t fully understand why we stopped in some locations, but we were able to fully appreciate every destination based on its own merit.

Olkhon Island is considered to be one of the five global poles for shamanic energy by the Buryat people and I would have loved to understand our guide and hear more about this. I later learnt that the island has a population of approximately 1,500, primarily made up of the Buryats, the island’s aboriginal people. They believe the island is a spiritual place. The most sacred place on Olkhon Island is Shaman Rock. The Buryats believe that Burkhan, a modern religious cult figure of the Altai peoples, lives in the cave in this rock.

During our tour, we came across numerous weather-worn prayer flags that fluttered in the chilly breeze. They clung to trees and rocks, ripped and torn by the elements in each place we visited. While the flags no doubt served some spiritual, Shamanic purpose, they also provided a visual reminder that the island is a sacred place for the population living there and added atmosphere to the trip.

Olkhon Island’s Many Landscapes

The Olkhon Island landscape is primarily made up of a combination of taiga and steppe. It also has its own small desert. We were surprised to discover the rolling sand dunes as we drove across the island. The setting seemed such an unlikely place to find a desert! Near Khuzhir, the beaches are soft pale sand leading down to the ice blue waters of Lake Baikal and really look quite beautiful.

Further north, the landscape grows more wild and rugged, with plunging cliffs cascading steeply down to the frigid waters below. There are few beaches and those that we saw were largely rocky. The rest of the island is made up of forestry and grasslands. It’s a curious mix of landscapes for such a small space and something caught our eye at every turn.

Further Exploration of Khuzhir

We spent our second day on the island thoroughly exploring Khuzhir and the local surrounds. After breakfast, we found a small supermarket where we purchased food for a picnic lunch, then wandered aimlessly, going wherever our feet led us. The sky was grey overhead and a chilly breeze nipped at our heels. A group to stray dogs followed at a distance.

When we stopped to eat our picnic in a sheltered, sandy cove by the waters edge, the boldest dog approached and befriended us. We fed her scraps of cheese and clinked our beer bottles together to celebrate our time on Olkhon Island. Both of us truly felt we’d come well off the beaten track and discovered an island that time seemed to have forgotten.

The afternoon saw us wandering through a small disused harbour, with hulking boats rusting quietly in the murky waters. Broken wooden jetties reached out into the lake and large concrete sheds were built close to the water’s edge. We didn’t stay long, heading back into the village as the afternoon wore on. The shuttered wooden houses hid people from sight, giving that strange feeling between the shoulder blades that you’re being watched by unseen eyes.

Why go to Olkhon Island?

Khuzhir itself had little to offer by way of attractions or entertainment when we visited in May. When we flipped through our Lonely Planet Trans-Siberian guide, we found that the authors have some rather unkind comments to make about the town. They do not make it sound overly appealing. I agree that visiting Olkhon Island definitely isn’t a conventional tourist escape. Anyone seeking one of those would be disappointed. However, for the intrepid and those wishing to find out more about Lake Baikal and the local people, Olkhon Island and Khuzhir has plenty to offer just simply by being.

I suspect that swimming in Lake Baikal would be a fantastic experience. To this day I regret that I did not swim, even for a minute or two, in the icy waters. It would’ve been something I wouldn’t forget in a hurry! For people visiting during the summer months, I’ve read that there are opportunities to kayak and take boat trips, which would be fun.

The ever-changing island landscapes offer many opportunities to go out hiking and exploring. I could also imagine really relaxing with a few good books and beers! However, for much of the year, Khuzhir appears to be a sleepy, quiet town where the main industries are fishing or farming.

Practicalities to Consider

While we managed to get transport to Olkhon Island fairly easily, if you’re a more organised individual I would recommend booking ahead.

We booked our accommodation through Booking.com and there are plenty of options on their site for places to stay in Khuzhir. I always recommend using their website as it’s reliable and competitively priced. I’ve never experienced a single issue using them.

Take plenty of cash with you as there at no ATMs on the island. You may need cash to buy food or drinks from the supermarket for picnics etc and to pay for your accommodation. Our guesthouse only took cash payment.

Our hosts organised the tour we did for us upon arrival. I’d highly recommend taking a jeep tour, as it’s a fantastic way to see much more of Olkhon Island.

Breakfast was included in the price for our guesthouse. We paid extra to have our evening meals at the guesthouse as well, since it was the simplest option. There were few, if any, cafes open when we visited! The food was simple but delicious with potatoes and fish featuring heavily on the menu.

Finally, bear in the mind that the seasons are different there. We visited in May and it was still very cold, although the ice on the lake had melted around Olkhon Island. If you want to see the lake frozen, you should visit in the winter or early spring. If you’d prefer to experience warmer temperatures and, potentially a slightly more buzzing atmosphere, then I’d recommend you visit in late summer.

My Final Impressions of Olkhon Island and Lake Baikal

Truthfully, I don’t think I appreciated our time on Olkhon Island as much as I should have at the time. While I recognised that I was somewhere pretty cool, I definitely did not stop to consider how amazing it was to be there. We were on a relatively small island in the middle of the oldest, deepest lake in the world. In retrospect, the very fact we went there seems pretty incredible and I wish I’d taken the time while I was there to appreciate the present more.

This is not a destination for someone looking for big tourist attractions. Olkhon Island is quiet, low-key and the main draws are the rugged landscapes, the Shamanism (if you’re interested in that kind of thing) and, of course, the very fact you’re literally on Lake Baikal. You couldn’t get much closer to the lake if you tried! What I’m trying to say is that you really have to want to get that close to the lake to go here. If you’re anything less than very interested, you’re going to wonder what on earth you went to Olkhon Island for!

Looking back, I feel thrilled that we got to go to Olkhon Island and experience life there for three days. It’s a pretty unique experience to have. I would love to return one day and enjoy it while being present a lot more. I’d also love to do the Circum-Baikal Railway if I’m ever in the region again.

We visited Lake Baikal and Olkhon Island during our Long Journey Home, which we undertook in 2016.