Russia

Lake Baikal

WHS Score 3.59
rate
Votes 32 Average 3.95
Show votes
Votes for Lake Baikal

0.5

  • Geert Luiken

1.0

  • Yevhen Ivanovych

2.5

  • Joyce van Soest
  • xtopher33
  • ZCTLife

3.0

  • Ammon Watkins

3.5

  • eateateat
  • Mahuhe

4.0

  • d.dedisse@vogo.fr
  • Els Slots
  • finsbury_jo
  • krtek
  • Marie
  • Michael anak Kenyalang
  • Mihai Dascalu
  • Solivagant
  • StaziG
  • Vicente B. Avanzado Jr.
  • Wojciech Fedoruk

4.5

  • Hanming
  • Jay T
  • Lesoruble

5.0

  • Alexander Barabanov
  • Alexander Lehmann
  • alexandrcfif
  • AYB
  • George Gdanski
  • Ivan Rucek
  • Kasper
  • Martina Rúčková
  • Panacci
  • Theyeattheworld

Lake Baikal is a freshwater ecosystem comprising the deepest and oldest lake in the world, surrounded by highly valued protected areas.

The lake contains over one-fifth of the world's liquid fresh surface water. Notable fauna in the lake includes the endemic Baikal seal and fish species like the omul and the Baikal oil fish. The lake is completely surrounded by mountains, located in 5 national parks where the Siberian taiga meets the Mongolian steppes.

Community Perspective: This site is huge and there are many ways to get a good visit: Jarek used the Cirkum-Baikal railway, Jay did an excursion from the Transsiberian railway, Martina travelled on the frozen lake in the winter, as did Solivagant, and Els visited Bajkalski Biosphere Reserve (one of the surrounding parks).

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Lake Baikal (ID: 754)
Country
Russia
Status
Inscribed 1996 Site history
History of Lake Baikal
1996: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Natural
Criteria
  • vii
  • viii
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • Oct. 10, 2021 irishtimes.com — Galapagos of Russia threatened by chemical waste
  • April 4, 2021 washingtonpost.com — Along Russia’s majestic Lake Baikal, the quest for tourism cash stalks a pristine landscape
  • Aug. 15, 2019 independent.co.uk — World's deepest lake under threat of ecological disaster from toxic mudflows
  • June 29, 2019 telegraph.co.uk — How a vast Siberian lake became the latest victim of overtourism
  • March 13, 2019 washingtonpost.com — Russia faces protests over factory on shores of lake Baikal
  • Nov. 5, 2017 dailymail.co.uk — 130 dead seals wash up on the shores of the world's deepest lake
  • Aug. 1, 2016 siberiantimes.com — Lake Baikal's 'most beautiful beach' hit by 'foul smelling pollution'
  • May 31, 2015 siberiantimes.com — Putin steps in to voice concern over threat from Mongolian hydro plants
  • April 20, 2015 theecologist.org — Lake Baikal: World Heritage ecosystems at risk from Mongolian dam
  • Jan. 19, 2010 en.rian.ru — Revival of Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill may damage Russia's image
  • July 19, 2008 krqe.com — Russia sending two manned submarines to the bottom of Lake Baikal to conduct geological and biological tests
  • April 16, 2008 russiatoday.ru — Russian environmentalist wins prize for her work in protecting Russia's oldest and biggest lake - Baikal.

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Rivers, Wetlands and Lakes
Recent Connections
View all (37) .
Connections of Lake Baikal
Individual People
Geography
Trivia
History
  • Diplomatic Missions of Joseon Envoy Min Yonghwan
    14 September 1896 (Lunar date 8/8. Russian date 2/9) Morning rain, afternoon clear. "We travelled 120 leagues and at 5:00 A.M. arrived at the great Lake Baikal (160 leagues across and 400 leagues in length)..All day long we travelled along the lake through rocky passes and around mountain peaks. It was difficult to endure the severe rocking of the carriage. At nightfall it rained."
Ecology
Damaged
World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
  • Holiest place
    Shaman Rock at Olkhon is the holiest place for the Buryats, Yakuts and Altais.
  • Legends and Folk Myths
    Natives believe that Burkhan, a modern religious cult figure of the Altai peoples, lives in the cave in the Shaman Rock on Olkhon.
  • Shamanism
    The indigenous Buryats, who practise Shamanism, believe that Olkhon Island in the lake is a spiritual place. On the west coast of the island is the Shamanka or Shaman's Rock.

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Sacred Mountains
    Shaman Rock at Olkhon is the holiest place for the Buryats, Yakuts and Altais.
Human Activity
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
  • Oligocene
    It is also among the clearest of all lakes, and thought to be the world's oldest lake at 25 million years (wiki)
Science and Technology
WHS Names
News
irishtimes.com 10/10/2021
Galapagos of Russia threatened by …
washingtonpost.com 04/04/2021
Along Russia’s majestic Lake Baika…
independent.co.uk 08/15/2019
World's deepest lake under threat …

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 18/09/19.

Els Slots

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal (Inscribed)

Lake Baikal by Els Slots

There are dozens of ways to ‘do’ Lake Baikal. Previous reviewers already have highlighted the views from the Transsiberian Railway, its winter attractions and Olkhon Island. On my first day in the area, I did the touristy thing by taking a ‘Raketa’ ferry from Irkutsk via the Angara River to Listvyanka, walking on the boulevard along the lake, eating fried omul in the recommended Proshly Vek restaurant and visiting the Baikal museum. I actually had wanted to take the ferry all the way to Bolshie Koty (an isolated village only accessible on foot or via the lake), but that would have meant another 5 hours of entertaining myself without access to food or obvious attractions, something I did not look forward to after just finishing a 49-hour train ride with the same characteristics.

For the main part of my visit though, I focused on 1 of the 5 nature reserves that surround the lake and are part of the huge core zone as well. I had booked a tour to the Baikalsky Nature Reserve near Tankhoy, which meant a drive along the south side of the lake for some 250km. The lake is fully surrounded by mountains, so our first look at it was after crossing a mountain pass. From a vantage point near a restaurant, we did not only see the lake but also two railway tracks: one of them was the historic route around the lake and the other (the one higher up) the modern one. The …

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 08/03/19.

Jay T

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal (Inscribed)

Lake Baikal by Jay T


I was told when visiting Lake Baikal that to dip your hand or foot into the lake would add five years to your life, to step in with both feet would add ten years, and to fully swim would add 25 years. I may have been young and callow, but I wasn't rash enough to actually swim in those frigid waters; I limited myself to walking in up to my knees, and even then I thought I might actually have lost years from my life rather than adding them on! Lake Baikal has a great history, from a legend explaining how the lake and the Angara River flowing from it were formed, to more modern tales of the struggles to complete a rail line around the lake. I visited Lake Baikal during a cross-country trip on the Trans-Siberian railroad, and enjoyed both a picnic lunch with Russian shashlik (shish-kebabs) on the southwestern shore of the lake and a boat ride on the lake. The early May weather was warm, and the clear water looked deceptively refreshing; the lake's depth kept it cold, however. In fact, as we noted the next day on the train journey, ice was still present on Baikal's surface further north. The lake was as beautiful as I had imagined, and I highly recommend a visit for anyone who finds themselves traveling across Russia. I also recommend a visit to the town of Listvyanka, which offers a museum explaining the natural history of the lake as well …

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 30/10/17.

Martina Rúčková

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal (Inscribed)

Lake Baikal by Martina Rúčková

Lake Baikal is one of those WHSs you can dedicate more time to and you will not regret it. And while we're at it, let me recommend you to plan your visit for winter, when the lake is under the ice. Not only is your scope of activities wider and modes of transportation more flavourful, but the whole experience would be that much more enjoyable. There is nothing like the majestic lake crusted with a thick layer of ice clear as glass.

Ivan and I went in March 2016 and took two guests with us: Ivan's brother-in-law and his classmate from the university, then created a custom trip for eight days around lake Baikal with a local tour operator Baikalika. They arranged accomodation and transport for us and a guide for a short three-hour-long sightseeing trip around Irkutsk. From there we drove to the Olkhon Island, spent two nights there, having many fun activities on the frozen lake (picnic on the ice, skating, exploring the ice caves, etc.) and enjoying our evenings in banya in our accomodation complex in Khuzhir. Incidentally, Khuzhir is a great place to explore in its own right. People still live there but it has this curious feeling of being forsaken and in abandon, helped by the rusting ships half sinking, frozen, with ice shards all around them. Shrines around Olkhon represent the two aspects of the local spiritual culture: the Buddhist and the Shamanist, each of them fascinating.

From Olkhon we moved on to Buguldeyka …

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 25/09/08.

Anonymous

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal (Inscribed)

Lake Baikal by Els Slots

I was visiting Baikal Lake in late spring (June) 2008, having seen Listwianka, Sludianka towns, Olkhon Island and travelling via so called Cirkum-Baikal railway. The most remarkable sceneries are of course those of Olkhon (the majestic Sayan mountains over the so called "Small Sea" seen from Khuzyr village is something that will be remembered for life). Nerpa seals are on display (alive) in Baikal Museum in Listwianka, the best place to start a trip is undoubtfully Listwianka (available private flats to rent as well as numerous hotels and hostels) and during season there are jet-lake transportation as far as the most northern part of Baikal (Severobaikalsk).

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 01/05/05.

Solivagant

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal (Inscribed)

Lake Baikal by Solivagant

We chose to visit Siberia in winter (as long ago as March 1989 - no doubt it will be a different world now) in order to experience it as it “ought to be” – covered in ice and snow! It was a somewhat rushed trip by Trans Siberian railway with minimal stop-overs. The train journey in from Ulan Ude takes you along the South Eastern shore with nice mountain scenery but our visit to the lake itself took us to the village of Listvyanka on a day trip from Irkutsk. The village receives more tourists than anywhere else around the Lake and has a Limnological Institute where you can learn something of the ecology of the lake. It is situated near the exit point of the Angara river from the Lake as it starts its long journey north through Irkutsk, Bratsk and eventually to the Yenisei and the Arctic Ocean.

For us the most amazing part of the trip was to walk out on the ice covering the lake. Not just that but to have heavy lorries passing by! (photo). In winter the lake serves as a road on ice which is (we were told) 1 metre thick. We were led to question whether this was really enough as the ice-sheet swayed up and down in response to the passage of the lorries! No doubt those who live in Scandinavia or continental N Europe/N America are used to walking on lakes but it was a novel experience for us. The …

Keep reading 0 comments