Things to do in Irkutsk

It was a great feeling to reach Irkutsk after a 75-hour train ride from Moscow. Click here to know more about my train journey. Irkutsk railway station is just about 15 minutes from the city center where most of the hotels are located. By taxi, it costs around 170-200 Rubles. Waiting to explore Lake Baikal and see what this Siberian city, Irkutsk has to offer.

Explore the city on foot

Street in Irkutsk

You will find many ancient colourful wooden architectural buildings. It was the beginning of November and was still not very cold. Siberian winters are known to be very harsh. The temperature was around 10 degrees Celcius during the day and some days, it was zero but nothing below that. While walking, I came across some interesting wooden houses painted in a combination of different colours. There are also many cafes where you could just stop by for a drink.

A free walking tour of the city is a great idea and you could just tip the guides. It is a good chance to interact with other travellers. However, I explored the city on my own since I came to know of this tour just a day before leaving Irkutsk. https://irkutskfreetour.ru/ offers a free walking tour( I used this company for my trip to Listvyanka and Lake Baikal).

Shopping at Irkutsk

If you happen to be in Irkutsk, shopping here is more relaxed and less crowded. Only after going there, I came to know about the stone Charoite (the name Charoite comes from the Chara River in Eastern Siberia). This is a beautiful stone found only in Siberia. Charoite is not found in any other part of the world.

I fell in love with its pleasant purple colour. The stones come in various shades of purple. For those who believe in the benefits of gemstones- I was told that Charoite helps in bringing all positive things in life. It has properties to heal your body, heart, mind and soul. This can be the best souvenir from Russia to gift to your family and friends. Despite being a rare stone, it is not very expensive. A small pendant can be bought for 600 rubles or less depending on the quality and finish. A good quality pendant can start from 3000 rubles. Bargaining is possible in most of the shops. They would first start with a 5 percent discount and can give up to 10 percent. I rounded off the number and asked them for a final price for a few items like pendants, bracelets etc.

Charoite Jewellery

Where to buy genuine Charoite stone and jewellery in Irkutsk

There are some 3-4 shops near the Lenin monument. I found this place to be good and as usual, used the google translator to communicate.

Matryoshka dolls or the Russian nesting dolls can be bought from here too. I thought they were popular in Moscow only. Since Irkutsk was the last stop in Russia, I decided to buy gifts and souvenirs from here.

Restaurants/Cafes

Govinda Cafe is a clear winner here since this is the only meat-free restaurant in the entire area. I went there almost every day and liked the ambience. They also have a store having groceries and many other products from India. It was so good to see Indian things in this part of the world :). I bought some instant soup and a couple of fruit bars from there. The food is not authentic Indian but I loved the Russian version of their business lunch. It is reasonably priced. You can get a business lunch for just 190 rubles.

: Store- Govinda cafe

: Business lunch

Love Baikal cafe

It is a great place to enjoy some hot chocolate and salad. They have some vegetarian and vegan options. Portions are large and reasonably priced. The service is excellent. This place is popular for local cuisine.

Cafe Marussia

Delicious Russian Breakfast

This small cafe is part of the Boutique Hotel Marussia on Sedova Street. Their menu has European and traditional Russian food. Unlike their traditional style accommodation, the cafe, in contrast, is quite modern. The moment you enter the cafe, it gives you a fresh feel with all-white design. The music and the overall set up makes you feel like spending time over here. I had my breakfast here every day which was delicious.

The cafe

Accommodation

There are a few options and I found the best ones to be ”The Courtyard Irkutsk” and ”Boutique Hotel Marussia”. I stayed at Marussia since it is centrally located right on the main road surrounded by cafes, bars and a shopping mall. You also get an opportunity to stay in a traditional wooden style house with a rustic look.

Day trip to Listvyanka village

The best way to explore the area is to have a guide. I contacted https://irkutskfreetour.ru/. They arrange tours for solo as well as group travellers. The usual cost for the tour is 5000 rubles but I skipped a few places and they agreed for a price of 4000 rubles for a day trip to Listvyanka and Lake Baikal with an English speaking guide. Dimitriy( my guide) was very knowledgeable. It was surprising to know how much he knew about India and Indian culture. One thing common among all the Russians that I interacted with is, they all know about the caste system in India and are curious to know more about it. Apart from that, they are aware of the Indian movie songs and stars that were popular during the Soviet era.

About 70 km from Irkutsk, we reached Listvyanka in about an hour. The market is good with vendors selling the dried Omul fish ( a specialty of this region, also known as Baikal Omul), souvenirs and snacks. There are stalls selling various gemstones and jewellery too. Also, there are a few shops selling clothes and accessories made of real fur.

If you plan to go there by bus, you have to take a bus from the Square in front of the train station. The cost is about 100 rubles. You can also take Marshrutkas(minibus) from the Central market ( Cost 120 rubles). There are a few options for accommodation if you wish to explore further in the Lake Baikal area.

Listyanka market

Where to eat in Listvyanka

Mayak hotel’s Hinkalnaya restaurant is a great place to have Georgian cuisine. A meal can cost anywhere from 450-500 rubles. Eggplants with Pita bread is highly recommended.

Lake Baikal

Who doesn’t want to see our planet’s largest, oldest and the deepest freshwater lake, I was so excited that I will be visiting this UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can see this humongous lake surrounded by mountains. We walked along the shore of Lake Baikal. I could not believe it to be a lake as it was huge as a sea. It was a sunny day with a temperature of 10 degrees Celcius and still cold. After a while, we went hiking. It was an easy hike with some unique flora on the way. The eastern shore of the lake is home to Buddhists. It was interesting to know that the Buryat tribes who reside here on the eastern side were preachers of Dalai Lama some 100 years ago. The Buryats follow Tibetan Buddhism and the western shore has people following Shamanism.

Angara ice-breaker

The shore of the Angara River is fascinating with the oldest icebreaker built in England. Angara icebreaker was sent in parts from England to Listvyanka where it was assembled. The ship is now being used as a floating museum.

Angara Icebreaker

Beautiful view

Chersky Stone

Cable car ride for a magnificent view of Lake Baikal

Just a few minutes away from Listyanka town is the cable car starting point. Cost for one way cable car is 250 rubles and two way is 400 rubles. The Chersky stone is on top of a mountain at a height of 755 m from where you can see the beautiful view of Lake Baikal with the background of the Khamar -Daban mountain range. It is 2 km uphill and you can either trek or take a cable car. I took a cable car to go up and came back walking. It took around 20 minutes to come back with a few stops for enjoying the sceneries.

The view was as beautiful as it can be.

View of Lake Baikal from Chersky stone

Retro Park

Tucked away in the suburbs of Listvyanka, is the Retro park. It is a local artist’s home and the artist has made many beautiful things out of scrap metals and there is also a display of soviet era cars and bikes that are still in running condition.

It was wonderful meeting the artist’s wife who explained every sculpture in the museum. There are some beautiful paintings on display. It is worth a visit to see the hard work of an artist who is so passionate about his work. It is also a wonderful opportunity to meet the locals and see how the Russian countryside is.