Lake Baikal

    Russia

    The world's deepest freshwater lake freezes into a spectacular expanse of cracked ice in the deep winter.

    Warmest month is July at 21°C on average. Coolest is January at -14°C. Driest reading falls in February with 2 rain days.

    Costs and travel essentials

    • CoffeeWorld Bank PPP baseline
      $1.50 (~$1.50)
      Country-level price estimate for Russia, 2026-07-11. Scaled from a US baseline, not a local survey.
    • BeerWorld Bank PPP baseline
      $2.00 (~$2.00)
      Country-level price estimate for Russia, 2026-07-11. Scaled from a US baseline, not a local survey.
    • Flight timeMethodology
      9h from London Heathrow
      Great-circle plus routing overhead.
    • Flight CO2eDEFRA 2024 factors
      2,515 kg return from London Heathrow
      DEFRA 2024 economy factors, includes radiative forcing.
    • FCDO advisorygov.uk, snapshot compiled 2026-07-11
      FCDO advises against all but essential travel.
      Advises against all but essential travel to Russia; against all travel to regions bordering Ukraine and the North Caucasus. Check the latest FCDO advice before booking.
    • Tap waterCDC / WHO guidance
      Do not drink from the tap; use bottled or treated water.
    MonthAvg highDaily spreadRain days
    January-14°14°C4
    February-13°15°C2
    March-3°15°C2
    April5°11°C4
    May11°10°C5
    June16°9°C7
    July21°8°C8
    August20°7°C7
    September15°8°C9
    October6°9°C7
    November-1°12°C11
    December-9°14°C10

    What to do

    • Hike the Great Baikal Trail
    • Ride the Circum-Baikal Railway
    • Take a hovercraft over winter ice
    • Explore Olkhon Island

    How we know this

    Values are the average of the last ten calendar years of daily readings from Visual Crossing, snapped to the destination cluster. Daily spread is the width between the 10th and 90th percentiles of daily highs, not a forecast error margin. Rain days count any day with at least 1 mm of precipitation.