Bolshoie Koty

A 19th century mining village with no road access. Slightly run down since the mining has stopped a long ago but has a very distinct authentic character. It is only 20 kilometers away from the nearby Listvianka, which is the touristy center for Baikal access from the nearby (70 km away) Irkutsk, but it feels very remote and isolated.

Getting there was quite an adventure. I decided to set out at about four o'clock from Listvianka asking a Russian local for instructions. He told me off it is a stupid idea and there is no way I can reach it in one day. So I cursed, weighted my options and ended up strolling around Listvianka instead.

Two hours later I came across another Russian local who told me it's an easy trek for about 2.5 hours. Being an adventurous soul and an optimist I said f*** it and went for it. I head all the gear with me so could easily sleep in the forest.. And that I also ended up doing since the path lead along the cliffs and was very narrow with steep drops and slippery dusty surface. It took quite long to cover only a few kilometers and when I finally got down to a valley where there was place to sleep I met a Belgian couple sitting by a fire and being invited to share it I put up my tent and continued the trek the next morning.

I have had the pleasure of arriving there on the day there were no boats to or from Listvianka so I found it tourist deserted. On the other hand I ended up having to walk back the 20 kilometers the same day and parts of it in the heavy rain. (I needed to be in Irkutsk to apply for the Mongolian Visa the next day.)

Walking in the rain through the forest with no one around turned out to be quite fun in the end. And sleeping on the shore with a view like this made up for all the troubles..