Trans-Siberian Winter Tours

This stopover offers a wide range of winter activities from ice fishing to dog sledging making it an excellent winter stop. Our favourite is the sledging which makes for an unforgettable day with these extraordinarily tough and beautiful dogs. Ekaterinburg itself has a small ice festival and the forests outside are a delight to walk through. There is also the option of skiing in the Ural mountains which is sure to stop anyone waxing lyrical about their trip to the Alps!

By January Lake Baikal has frozen over and venturing out on to the ice is a wonderful experience. The ice is exceptionally clear and don’t worry about its thickness as temporary roads are made across the lake. In fact, the Trans-Siberian originally ran across the lake in winter. It is possible to mountain bike on the frozen lake and there are also opportunities to snow mobile and go dog sledging. Irkutsk and Baikal can be fitted into any Trans-Siberian tour.

Perhaps the most magical winter experience we have had is a night in a Mongolian ger out on the frozen steppe. The traditional accommodation of the nomads are well designed for winter with insulation so good it is not unheard of to have to open the door to cool them down! For the truly fearless of the cold there is also the Lake Khuvsgul Ice festival held in late February. At least 1 night in a ger is an essential Trans-Mongolian experience.

The Chinese in Harbin take the concept of ice festivals to a whole new and vast dimension. The Harbin Snow and Ice Festival runs each year from early January to mid-February and we think this is one of China’s most spectacular yet largely unsung events. Each year has a theme and near life size replicas of Russian cathedrals, Chinese temples and a whole host of iconic world sights are built and lit up. Harbin is conveniently along the Trans-Manchurian line.