Cape Khoboy

Khoboy is the northernmost point of Olkhon, a marble cape whose profile from the water resembles a canine tooth - khoboy is the Buryat word for fang - and from the top Baikal opens in both directions at once: the Maloye More and the mainland mountains west, and the open lake east running to the far shore some forty kilometres away, which is where the water reaches its greatest depth of over sixteen hundred metres. The standard trip is an off-road transfer up the island track from Khuzhir, taking a couple of hours over sand and rock, stopping at Cape Sagan-Khushun and the Three Brothers rocks on the way, with a fish soup cooked at the cape. In winter the same route runs on the ice, and the shore below Khoboy develops ice caves and grottoes with clear blue transparent ice, which is the main reason for the February and March season.

What you actually see

• The fang profile - a marble cape whose shape gives it the Buryat name.
• The two views - Maloye More one side, open Baikal to the far shore the other.
• The winter ice caves - grottoes and clear blue ice on the shore below.
• The island track - a rough transfer past Sagan-Khushun and the Three Brothers.

When to go

June to September for the cape and steppe; February and March for the ice caves and the frozen crossing. A day from Khuzhir.

Honest expectations

The track is rough and the transfer takes a couple of hours each way in a crowded vehicle. Cliff edges at the cape are unfenced with long drops. Ice caves are reached over lake ice, which needs a guide who reads it. Very busy in the March ice season.

Nearby

Khuzhir and Shamanka are south on the island; the Maloye More is west.