Cape Burkhan
A rock over a blue bay.
Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0 · Sergey Pesterev — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vyacheslav Argenberg — CC BY 4.0
Olkhon Island is by far the largest island in Lake Baikal and the fourth largest lake island in the world, covering 730 square kilometres. It measures 71.5 km long and 20.8 km wide. It is the finest place to see Baikal, with rocky cliffs, forests and open grassland, and travellers come here in both summer and winter. The name is thought to come from the language of the Buryats, its indigenous people, either oyhon, meaning woody, or olhan, meaning dry, and both describe it well. Part of it is forested, yet it gets little rain, about 240 mm a year. Mount Zhima, at 1,276 metres above sea level, is its highest point, on the rugged eastern shore. Its best-known sight is Cape Burkhan, a double rock near Khuzhir village known as Shaman Rock, which local people regard as sacred. You see it above a clear blue bay and a strip of sand. Elsewhere yellow and orange cliffs drop into dark water. Inland are tall larch forests and plains, and in winter ice caves shine turquoise. It is about 229 km from Irkutsk in a straight line, reached by car and then ferry in summer or over the ice in winter, with traffic stopping while the ice forms. Khuzhir is the largest village and has most of the places to stay. Island roads are dirt, so hire a car with a driver. Respect the sacred place at the rock, and do not climb it. 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.
A rock over a blue bay.
Over dark water.
Turquoise in winter.
Lake Baikal, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia
By car from Irkutsk, then ferry in summer or over the ice in winter, with a pause between seasons.
Two to three days, as the island is long and its roads slow.