The 4 D / 3 N trekking from Listvyanka / Листвянка to Bolshoe Goloustnoye / Большое Голоустное
Distance: 51 + km
Availability: all year round .
Level of difficulties: average.
Nice trek on the ice along the shore. All nights are in the wooden heated houses, so it combines adventure and comfort. The daily milages are reasonable. Recommended to all. Arranged in winter as well as well as in summer. One the lake is frozen, we trek on the ice along the shore.
Day 1
Start trekking on the ice from Listvyanka to Bolshie Koty. Trekking distance 19 km. Lunch , dinner. Overnight in a warm guesthouse.
Bolshie Koty (Russian: Больши́е Ко́ты) is a rural locality (a settlement) in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia situated on the western shore of Lake Baikal, 18 km / 11 miles to the Northeast of Listvyanka. The history of the settlement is closely tied to the beginning of gold mining near Baikal in 1842.
There are several versions of the origin of the name Bolshiye Koty. According to the dictionary by Vladimir Dal, “koty” means a trap for fish installed at the mouth of a river. Alternatively, the name of the settlement comes from the word “Kotky”, or “Koty”, a word used to call wooden shoes worn by “katorzhnik” – a forced labourer at “katorga” hard labour camps.
The settlement belongs to Pribaikalsky National Park. The Bolshiye Koty River runs near the settlement and into Lake Baikal. The settlement is accessible during the summer by ferry from Irkutsk or Listvyanka and in the winter via roads across the ice on the lake. It is also the home of Bio-station #1, the first of ten research centres around the lake. This Bio-station operates in coordination with Irkutsk State University, and in the summer hosts study programs for biology and meteorology students from the university.
Day 2
We continue trekking on the ice along the shore to Bolshoe Kadilnoe. Once there , we do aside trek to see the caves (extra 6 km return).
Trekking distance 13 + 6 km. Overnight in a heated wooden cabin. Full board: breakfast, lunch , dinner.
Cape Bolshoi Kadilny / Мыс Большой Кадильный is located on the South -West coast of lake Baikal. It is somewhere between two villages Listvyanka and Bolshoe Goloustnoye. The Cape has a National Park ranger house as well as few wooden cabins for the tourists. Its name Kadilny is derived from the Russian verb “kadit'” meaning to burn , related the process of producing lime. The remains of abandoned ovens and lime-pit can still be seen there.
Day 3
Trekking another 19 km to Bolshoe Goloustnoye. Overnight in a house. Full board: breakfast, lunch , dinner.
Boshoe Goloustnoye / Большое Голоустное is a village of 600 people officially founded in 1673, but the local tribes claim to believing in this area centuries before the Russians had arrived to Siberia.
Day 4
Breakfast. Returning to Irkutsk in the late afternoon by public shuttle bus.
Price per person in Rubles, a non-refundable deposit paid via PayPal and another part – to be paid in Rub, cash upon arrival:
21000 Rub per person for the group of 1
17500 Rub per person for the group of 2-4
16000 Rub per person for the group of 5 +
Price includes: English speaking guide along the trek, 3 nights accommodation along the way, meals as noted, minibus to Irkutsk, national park fees, shuttle bus ticket to Irkutsk.
To book the tour please contact Jack Sheremetoff Te385 @ yandex.ru
