We had an overnight (nearly, as time shift effectively ate half of it) flight from Moscow to Irkutsk. We landed in the morning knackered, it was raining, but as the cruise runs weekends only and we had
it pre-paid, we decided to carry on. The ship was supposed to have a
roof, so the worst that could happen was to not too see too much through the
windows.
The cruise was along the Circum-Baikal Railway line, one can also ride
a train (regular or special) but that seemed more troublesome. I also hoped for nice views of the line from the lake, but rain
aside, the hills around are hundreds of meters tall, so dwarf all the
engineering constructions of that railway.
Once we sailed off, the guide started talking about the trip and
the lake, that was followed by films on a TV. All in Russian, so we
conveniently used it (sitting in front row) to sleep off the travel :)
There are 3 stops during the trip to see some of the bigger structures,
tour guide describing them. Go opposite direction to take photos without the crowd.
The last stop lasts 2.5 hours which is an overkill. There is
little to see and nothing to do. We've found some 'home cooking and beer' place
in the end, but only beer was offered at that time. I suspect they open only to
serve for the passengers of the special train we met at the station.
During the stop the weather improved, so on the way back there
were some nice views of the coastline. We caught up with the local train, so
that let me to document its operation on the line. I actually wonder why they did not figure out to make following the train part of the attraction.
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| The Circum-Baikal line is famous for engineering work needed to build and maintain it. |
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| Circum-Baikal Express at Poloviny Cape halt. During holiday an electric multiple unit as pulled by a diesel loco, out of season a single diesel motor unit serves the purpose. |
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| Local train approaching |
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| Chasing local train |
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| Baikal station: before the line was built, here trains boarded a ferry across the lake. Now on the other hand the stretch to Irkutsk is submerged as a result of building a dam on Angara river. |
Useful hints:
The Circum-Baikal Railway cruise is organised by the company operating all the connections on the lake Baikal: VSRP. Tickets can be bough online (after registering) and printed. Keep your ticked as it is checked again at the end of the journey! Ticket sale for the new season starts around April, when something finally appears in search results. When planning well in advance it is safe to assume the timetable doesn't change. Choosing a seat on the ship: we had front row on the left - avoid, as it is right in front of a TV and the guide. Take the ones at the back on the right: the toilet is close, but on the other side, it is also near the stairs to the upper deck and the bar.
One can explore this railway line by train: Circum-Baikal Express, Кругобайкальскийэкспресс runs from Irkutsk all year round weekends, during season also Wed, Thi and Fri with several stops on the way. The price (2300RUB) is pretty much identical as the cruise, so it seems to be a good deal.
There is also regular service, train 6201 Слюдянка
1- Байкал (Slyudanka 13:24 - Baikal 18:24 local time), return service runs overnight.
Next: Irkutsk
Next: Irkutsk
