The Magadan – Yakutsk – Lake Baikal road trip: highlights

From the town of Mirny to Irkutsk, it’s a little more than 2000km (1240 miles). How come, you might ask. And I’d understand your confusion, for in the summer this distance increases enormously. The difference is due to the fact that in the cold season, just like on our Magadan–Baikal segment, the seasonal “winter roads” are open.

In summer, these routes turn into impenetrable swamps and impassable streams. But come November they flatten the surface of the “roads”, and convoys of heavy trucks start using them. So why did we go for a winter road? Well, I was just curious to experience one myself. And that’s just what we did.

So how was it? It was a real eye-opener for a hardy traveler. If you like venturing into the unknown, and don’t mind spartan conditions and sleeping in the car, you should definitely give it a try sometime!

The route was as follows: first the Siberian Tas-Yuryakh–Verkhnemarkovo winter road to Ust-Kut, then a short but picturesque stretch to Severobaikalsk, and then an unforgettable journey on the ice along the entire length of Lake Baikal! And the icing on the cake: a train ride along the full length of the Circum-Baikal Railroad. Simply marvelous. Quite simply – must-do!..