The winter ice
Clear with white cracks.
Sergey Pesterev — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sergey Pesterev — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0
Lake Baikal is a rift lake in southern Siberia and the deepest lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1,642 metres. It covers 31,722 square kilometres and holds 22 to 23% of the world's fresh surface water, more than all the North American Great Lakes combined. It is among the purest and calmest sights in Asia. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1996. It is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many found nowhere else, among them the Baikal seal. Buryat people live on its eastern side and raise goats, camels, cattle, sheep and horses. In Buryatia the mean temperature runs from minus 19 degrees in winter to 14 degrees in summer. The lake changes completely with the seasons. In late winter its surface freezes into clear blue ice with long white cracks and heaps of broken slabs that shine at sunset. In summer you see deep blue water, cliffs, forests and colourful clouds over the Maloye More Strait. Quiet villages and pebble beaches line its shore. Listvyanka village on the southern shore is about 61 km from Irkutsk in a straight line and the easiest point to reach. The water is very cold even in summer. If you visit the ice in February or March, follow a local guide, ask about its thickness and do not walk alone. Bring warm clothes in every season. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia, and non-Russian bank cards may not work, so read the current advice before you plan.
Clear with white cracks.
Coloured summer clouds.
Above deep water.
Irkutsk Oblast and Buryatia, southern Siberia, Russia
February to March for ice, and June to September for boats and walking.
Its thickness and cracks change, so follow a local guide and do not go alone.