The largest freshwater lake in the world, by volume, is the Bailkal lake. Contains more water than the Great Lakes of North America… all put together! Obviously, it is World Heritage and it's far away Siberia, in Russia.
Following the line of slightly atypical destinations, because the lake does not attract masses of tourists, today we are going to talk about this fantastic place, what it is like, what it offers us and how we do to get so far. Let's see then, a trip to Lake Baikal.
Lake Baikal
The lake is in southeastern Russia, in a valley that has a large geological fracture that causes the crust of the Earth to gradually separate. In fact, it is one of the youngest fractures on our planet and is very active, opening at the rate of 2 centimeters per year. If it produces movements? Sure, every so often there are earthquakes and hot springs emerging.
The lake It is 636 km long and 79 km wide, So it is the largest lake in Asia and the deepest in the entire world with 1642 meters deep. Lake Baikal is divided into three basins, the south, the north and the central with different depths. How old is the lake? It is calculated that between 25 and 30 million years so to its list of achievements we also add that of being the oldest lake in geological history.
In fact, geologists have been able to obtain a great deal of information about the climatic changes of our planet in the last six or seven million years from the sediments extracted from its remote depths.
The Baikal it is a lake lake, surrounded by mountains, and it has many islands although the largest and most popular is Olkhon Island. This island is 72 kilometers long and with that size it is the third largest lake island in the world. It's not surprising at this point, is it? The lake also has more than 300 tributaries, although only one river that drains it, the Angara.
Its waters are super clear and in winter it acquires even more transparency. At this time the visibility reaches between 30 and 40 meters, while in summer it is between five and eight meters. Its waters are also very rich in oxygeneven at great depth. They have different temperatures, according to the depth, the location, the time of year.
Thus, in winter and spring the surface is frozen and so it remains for almost half a year. The ice, in certain places, can reach up to two meters thick. Later, when they break, the waters begin to warm little by little and perhaps in August, midsummer, the waters reach in some places a little more than 15, 16 ºC.
The lake has a lot of life, there are more than a thousand species of plants and 2.500 species of animals, with about 80% endemic species. There are foxes, Siberian deer, bears, marmots ... That is why it is a paradisiacal destination for nature lovers.
Tourism in Lake Baikal
Basically there are two tourist stations. The first is the ice season It starts in mid-January and lasts until mid-April. The thickness of the ice supports the coming and going of vehicles, and is a super transparent ice, with bubbles included. That is why it is a great time for walk by the lake, stroll, rollerblade and even ride a bike.
There is a route on the ice that surrounds Olkhon Island, of about 200 kilometers. There are a lot of ice fishermen, something very popular around here, and all of this lasts until the middle, end of April, when the temperature starts to rise and the ice becomes more brittle. There is no shortage of fatalities, so be careful.
La second tourist season on Lake Baikal is in summer. The mountain trails through the mountains around, the Baikal Range and the Barguzin Range, for example. There are many super popular trails, among them the best one starts in Listvyanka, goes along the shore of the lake and ends in Bolshoye GHoloustnoye covering a total of 55 kilometers, although you can do less.
As there is no ice in summer it is the season of sailing and boat trips, the time to see birds and also fish in the traditional way. In general, the center of tourist operations of the lake is in the village Khuzhir and also listvyanka. From this village the city of Irkutsk is two hours away and you can get here by plane. Another lakeside destination is severobaykalsk, on the north coast.
And among the many islands in the lake, as we have already said, the most popular is the olkhon, with several villages. It is green, with rocky cliffs and pine trees everywhere. It is 250 km from Irkutsk y you arrive by ferry from May to December. You take the bus from Irkutsk Central Bus Station, four services a day, or from the Central Market, and then the ferry. It is the cheapest option, about 20 euros.
Another option is to take a fast boat from Irkutsk to Olkhon. The ferry boat is from VSRP (East Siberian River Transport), it departs every Monday at 8:30 am arriving in Khuzhir at 5:15 pm. Then continue to the opposite side of the lake so you can take the opportunity to see the east side. The boat returns to Irkutsk on Tuesdays, finishing the circular route. This service is only enabled from July 7 to August 24, and the last week of July to the first of August add another service on Wednesdays.
Although Olkhon is not as touristy as Listyanka it has good infrastructure: there are bike and motorbike rental agencies, hotels, and a range of water activities... The heart is the village of Khuzhir, in the middle of the island and 20 minutes from the ferry port. The village is small and picturesque, 10 minutes from the coast, with its shops and cafes around the main square. There is no bus station and services depart from the Svetlana tourist rental house. Tickets are sold here.
On the island you can visit Shaman Cave, a sacred site on the shores of the lake, its beaches, the abandoned village of Peschanaya (with his Soviet fish factory), the Cape Khoboy or the rock formation called Tres Hermanos. The beaches are four kilometers from Khuzhir, surrounded by pine forests, public ... Another nearby village is kharantsv, just two kilometers more, to go walking for a walk.
Basically this is what walking around Lake Baikal is all about. I would add that a great and beautiful way to get to the lake is to take the Trans-Siberian It costs the same as the plane but it is a thousand times more picturesque. Yes indeed, the train takes four days so it's a little trip. If this does not close you, the plane to Irkutsk or Olan-Ude, six hours from Moscow. Once in the area, the means of transport are reduced to cruises, fishing boats, motorcycles, rental cars, train, helicopter rides or our feet.
The lake is big so the distances are not short. From Irkutsk to Olkhon Island the journey is six hours and to the wild beaches of the eastern lake, Goryachinsk, it is five hours. Going by boat is undoubtedly much better than taking the route. In terms of ferries there are three speedboats per day from Irkutsk to Listvyanka (8:30 am, 12 and 2 pm), which take one hour and cost around 10 euros.
In the summer months there is also a ferry connection to the east coast. The truth is there is no route around the lake, but you can reach certain points of the southern part by car or drive to Olkhon Island, crossing by ferry. Of course, here it costs to buy gasoline so try to keep it in mind.
Finally, I hope that this information and these wonderful images serve you and encourage you to travel and see Lake Baikal first-hand.