Peschanaya Bay

Bukhta Peschanaya is a crescent of sand on the western Baikal shore between two rock capes, Bolshaya and Malaya Kolokolnya, and it is the only place on the lake with a genuinely mild microclimate - the surrounding cliffs and the water combine to give it the highest number of sunny days and the warmest average temperature of any Baikal shore, which got it the local name of Siberian Riviera. Its distinctive feature is the walking larches: trees on the slope above the beach whose roots have been exposed by wind stripping the sand away, so they stand a metre or more above the ground on bare root legs, still alive and still holding. Access is by boat from Irkutsk or Listvyanka, or on foot along the Great Baikal Trail, which passes through. There is a small tourist base. The water is Baikal water and stays cold whatever the air does.

What you actually see

• The walking larches - trees standing on exposed root legs after wind stripped the sand.
• The bay - a sand crescent between the Bolshaya and Malaya Kolokolnya capes.
• The microclimate - the sunniest and warmest shore on the lake.
• The trail - the Great Baikal Trail passing along the shore.

When to go

June to September for boats; the trail is walkable in the same window. A day or an overnight at the base.

Honest expectations

Boat is the practical access and sailings depend on weather. Baikal water is cold year-round regardless of air temperature. The base is basic and books out in August. The walking larches are fragile and being damaged by people climbing among the roots.

Nearby

Bolshoye Goloustnoye is south along the trail; Listvyanka is further south.