Listvyanka

Красивое озеро Байкал (Beautiful Lake Baikal)

Banya, Fat Seals, and Swimming in the freezing cold Lake Baikal!

06/09/2018: Day One

We are finally off the train! After a bit of drama when we first arrive in Irkurst we have arrived in Listvyanka and got to enjoy some much needed showers. The guide did not show up so eventually our driver phoned the boss of the local agency and he came to collect us and take us to Listvyanka.

We are staying at the Briz Hotel. It is old fashioned but very comfortable. Louise and I have our own room and bathroom for the first time this trip and are enjoying a non-moving bed after 4 nights on the train. The hotel is almost a home stay style Hotel. The staff all live on site and while you can purchase dinner, it is the food they are making for themselves and there is no menu. The food was very good though and there was a lot of it. On our first night they even cooked us Omul which is a fish native to Lake Baikal.

It was raining the day that we arrived at Listvyanka so we headed down to the Lake Baikal Museum. The museum outlines the history of the lake from many aspects, and is almost an aquarium as well as a museum with many of the native species of the lake kept here. Including the only fresh water seal in the world which is native to Lake Baikal. The museum also has an underwater simulation where you are taken “under the lake” and a microbiology lab where you can learn to identify local plankton species under microscope.

Some interesting facts we learnt is that Lake Baikal holds a third of the worlds fresh water supply, in fact if it were to stop raining tomorrow the lake could supply fresh water to the whole world for 40 years. Lake Baikal has over 300 native species, everything from plankton to seals and fish. They also think that Lake Baikal will eventually be the sea that separates Europe and Asia as it is growing in length every year.

After the museum we went back to the Hotel for a Banya (Russian Sauna), if you ever get the chance to have one I highly recommend. After four days on the train and being in the rain today it was like heaven.

07/09/2018: Day Two

Our only full day in Listvyanka has dawned sunny and bright, if a little nippy. We are making the most of the day by walking as much as possible.

First stop was the Large Solar Vacuum Telescope which is a Sun Dial shaped building at the top of the hill at one end of town.
We then walked back into town for lunch at a beach side cafe where we had more Omul and dumplings.
After lunch we decided to go for a swim in Lake Baikal. It was freezing! We think the water temperature was only about 4 degrees and there were people walking around town in puffer jackets and beanies. But they say the waters of Lake Baikal are youth restoring so you’ve got to do it at least once right?

We then headed to the local Retro Park, which was quite a cool place to visit. The owners had made all sorts of art and sculptures out of old junk and cars. We realised that the sculptures we had been seeing all over town were all made by them. After the visit we went and had a very nice cake and iced coffee in the sunshine at a local cafe before Rachael and our guide headed back to the accommodation for the afternoon and Louise and I continued on.

We were heading for the last thing we wanted to see in Listvyanka, the Chersky Stone. This lookout point has amazing views over Lake Baikal, the Angara River and Shaman Rock. By the time we walked to the far end of town our feet were definitely starting to hurt so we were so pleased when we saw that the chair lift that makes up the Lake Baikal Ski Area in winter was operational in summer to take you to the top of the hill. The views were amazing and all that was promised! We had a great time walking around for an hour or so before we went back down the chair lift and started our way back to the hotel.

As we were walking back along the lake front to the hotel the sun started to set and we saw the most amazing sunset over the lake. We got back just in time for another delicious local dinner before having an early night. We were shattered after today; we walked 30kms around Listvyanka today! Tomorrow we head back to Irkurst for the day before getting back on the train to head to Mongolia tomorrow night. I have loved my time in Listvyanka and would love to come back.