Icy Banya

Duration: 7-9 hours 

Group: 30

Season: February-April

Language: English

Tour type: Nature and Wildlife,

Tour price: from 8000 rub per person

Icy Banya

Ice houses, palaces and even hotels… In Russia you can find a lot of unusual things made of ice. However, we bet that you never hear about a steam sauna (aka Russian banya) made of ice. A Real Icy Banya!
Such an exotic place actually exists and is located on the shore of Lake Baikal.
The creators managed to reconcile the irreconcilable, ice and fire. The two incompatible elements need a special approach so as not to destroy each other. It takes about 150 tons of pure Baikal ice to erect this amazing bathhouse. The temperature inside rises up to 120 degrees!
Of course, with the arrival of spring, it stops. So, once you at lake Baikal, do not miss the chance to take this extraordinary banya.
Adventure lovers could try a favorite Russian winter fun that follows hot banya – plunge either in cold water of the lake or into a pile of snow.
In addition, there is an ice town nearby. It is erected each winter along with the bathhouse. The design and construction of the ice town involve 20 to 30 people including designers, engineers, builders, carpenters, painters, sculptors, and even electricians. The town is decorated with a special LED illumination that creates wonderful festive atmosphere.
After the hot banya there is nothing like freshly prepared ukha (Russian fish soup) made of Baikal omul.
The icy banya is located in Baikalsk town, 162 km away from Irkutsk and 320 km from Ulan-Ude. Baikalsk is famous as a popular Russian ski resort. For skiing and snowboarding, there are 15 km of slopes available. Thousands of fans of skiing come to have a rest on the mount “Sobolinaya” every year.
Being surrounded with mountains, Baikalsk has an important advantage, its microclimate, which is warmer and there are no strong winds in winter.
You will not have to think what to do in Baikalsk. A variety of natural sites and activities could be interesting in winter: ice golf, relaxing walks toward “warm lakes”, snowmobile ride through taiga, skiing Sobolinaya Mountain, or trips to the hot springs of Arshan village, etc.
Those who want to spend a night in this magic place, could book a yurt, a buryat portable tent-like house. This is the real authentic house with a wood stove, which needs to be kept going all night.

Description of the tour to the Ice Banya:

1. Transfer Irkutsk-Baikalsk. The journey normally takes 3 hours. Tour of Baikalsk.
2. Visit to the Ice town. It includes ice sculptures, castles and palaces, big and small slides, mazes, children’s playgrounds, etc.
3. Icy Banya (2 hours). There is an outdoor natural pool, an elegantly decorated big ice-hole in lake Baikal. After a taking a 120-degrees banya, jump into the icy water of the Baikal. This is a real pleasure for Siberians and exotic adventure for foreign travelers!
4. Lunch. There are two option for the dinner: Ukha (Russian fish soup) made of Baikal omul and rich broth of lamb Bukhlyor (Buryat broth).
5. Transfer to Irkutsk

The price of the tour to the Icy Banya: from 8000 per person
1 PAX – 16500 Rub
2 PAX – 10000 Rub per person
3 PAX – 9000 Rub per person
4 PAX – 8000 Rub per person
Discounts for bigger groups!

The price includes:
– Transfer Irkutsk-Baikalsk (round trip)
– Banya (2 hours)
– Lunch
– English-speaking guide
– Tour of Baikalsk

During you stay in the Baikalsk, you can book some of the following activities:

1. Have you ever played golf? So what do you say about Ice Golf? You’ve probably never heard of it. Surface cracks and ice hummocks created by wild Siberian nature form a fancy relief the Golf Course.
Play Golf right on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal!

2. Winter Walk to the “Warm lakes”. Enjoy this enchanting walk on freezing winter day. Be prepared for a very immersive experience and don’t forget your camera.

3. Snowmobil ride is offered for those guests seeking the memorable winter adventure. Rides are suitable for all experience levels from novice to experienced.

4. Thanks to the large amount of snow, which falls each winter on nearby Sobolinaya Mountain Baikalsk boasts the largest ski and snowboarding resort in the region. There are 11 trails with the total length about 15 km on. Trails has of varying complexity from beginners to professionals.

5. Day trip to Arshan or Zhemchug, thermal waters resorts with unique combination of natural favorable factors: mountain climate, carbonic mineral water, silt sulphide mud. Hot spa waters (38C methane rich water and 55C carbon dioxide-rich water) flow naturally from deep-drilled wells into outdoor wooden pools, indoor baths and showers.

Other Baikal tours:

If you’re looking for something unique, book Baikal Ice Yachting, luxury and adrenaline fuelled experience! Sail an ice boat over Siberian lake Baikal.

Whatever rout of the Full-day snowmobile tour you choose, either through taiga or over frozen surface of the lake, make sure you’ve got your camera with you because the views are breathtaking!

When you are at Lake Baikal area you can have the unique opportunity to visit a Shaman in Ust-Orda village or on Olkhon Island. You’ll be able to ask the Shaman all your questions and take part in the rituals of the Shamanism.

Book the Dogsled Tour along the Circum-Baikal Railway and enjoy working with powerful Baikal huskies, the beauty of the Baikal’s winter nature and the architecture monuments of the Circum-Baikal Railway.

Want to see the Circum-Baikal Railway in winter but afraid of riding over the frozen lake? Take a the tour by hovercraft and enjoy winter views of the Circum-Baikal Railway from its warm and comfortable cabin.

One-day Fishing trip on Lake Baikal give you a chance to spend a day enjoing the stunning beauty of the Baikal’s nature and experience the excitement of fishing.

Looking for an itinerary for a One-day tour to Olkhon island? It is impossible to see all of Olkhon in one day, but a daytrip can be fun and rewarding.

Winter tour to Maloye Morye and Olkhon Island. During the trip you will see landmarks which are not available in any seasons except winter.

On the Baikal Helicopter tour, you will see the unforgettable Baikal landscapes and the Circum-Baikal railway from a bird’s-eye view.

Circum-Baikal Railway tour. Spend a day in a comfortable train moving along Lake Baikal shore by the old railroad through tunnels and bridges built during the Tsarist Russia in 1902-1904.

Explore the Circum Baikal Railway more thoroughly with the Baikal Railway Walking Tour. Walk through the old tunnels and visit the most significant structures of the Baikal Railway.

On the Baikal Caves tour you will explore several caves and admire their spacious halls and narrow passages, stalactites and stalagmites, crystals of ice and corallits. Most of Baikal caves are even older than the lake!

“Around the Baikal” tour. During this boat tour you will travel by variety of water vehicles watching slowly changing landscapes or getting adrenaline rafting the fast mountain rivers.

Spend your vacation in the Floating hotel “Ecotur” which is located in Chivyrkuysky Bay, the most magnificent bay of Lake Baikal.

Hot Springs Arshan tour.A real fairy tale awaits you on Arshan tour! Down caps of treetops, blue, green, black, white ice of Lake Baikal, sun, walk along the lake on foot and by car, hot springs with amazing views of the majestic snow peaks bring resemblance to the Swiss Alps and Tibet at the glance of a globe rover.

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