Russia
Lake Baikal
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
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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
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- baikal-1.ru — Pribaikalsky National Park
- wild-russia.org — Wild Russia on Lake Baikal
- lakebaikal.org — Lake Baikal
- 1baikal.ru — Key to Baikal
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
Travel Information
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
1996 -
Yenisei Basin
"The lake drains into the Angara, a tri… -
Centres of Plant Diversity
CA6 Baikal region - "The lake contains …
Connections of Lake Baikal
- Individual People
- Geography
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Notable lakes
31,500 km?, and deepest lake in the world -
Cape
Cape Khaboy - the northernmost point of Olkhon Island -
River deltas
Selenga River delta -
Siberia
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Yenisei Basin
"The lake drains into the Angara, a tributary of the Yenisey." (wiki) -
Deepest
1642 m (5387ft) -
Lakes located in Rift Valleys
Baikal Rift
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- Trivia
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Google Doodles
January 11, 2017, 100th Anniversary of The Russian Nature Reserves and June 12, 2019, Russia Day 2019See www.google.com
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Dubbed as another WHS
Galapagos of Russia
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- History
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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."
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- Ecology
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Bears
Brown bear -
Taiga
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Seals
Baikal seal -
Otters
Eurasian otter -
Critically endangered fauna species
Siberian Crane -
Ancient lakes
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Bird Migrations
The waterfowl and shorebirds of Baikal Siberia migrate along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (Waterbirds Around the World, 2006)
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- Damaged
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'Threatened' by Dams
three existing, one constructed and two proposed large dams in the Lake Baikal-Angara River threaten the Site's hydrological regime
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- World Heritage Process
- Religion and Belief
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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
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Sacred Mountains
Shaman Rock at Olkhon is the holiest place for the Buryats, Yakuts and Altais.
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- Human Activity
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Natural sites with indigenous human population
The population of the island [Olkhon] is less than 1,500 and consists mostly of Buryats, the island's aboriginal people. (Wiki)
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- WHS on Other Lists
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Located in a TCC Territory
Russia in Asia -
Centres of Plant Diversity
CA6 Baikal region - "The lake contains an outstanding variety of endemic flora" -
World Heritage Forest Programme
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Ramsar Wetlands
Selenga Delta, 1994 -
Sri Chinmoy Peace-Blossoms programme
Lake Baikal (10 Jul 94), the world's deepest freshwater lake: Sri Chinmoy Peace Lakes -
World Biosphere Reserves
Baikalskyi (1986) and Barguzinskyi (1986) -
WWF Global 200
Freshwater, Large Lakes: (184) Lake Baikal - RussiaSee web.archive.org
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- Timeline
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Oligocene
It is also among the clearest of all lakes, and thought to be the world's oldest lake at 25 million years (wiki)
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- Science and Technology
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Scientific Developments
Baikal Deep Underwater Neutrino Telescope
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- WHS Names
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Named after a Lake
Lake Baikal
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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 …
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Lake Baikal
- Adam Hancock
- Alexander Barabanov
- Alexander Lehmann
- alexandrcfif
- alicemears
- Ali Zingstra
- A. Mehmet Haksever
- Ammon Watkins
- Andrew Wembridge
- Ask Gudmundsen
- Atila Ege
- AYB
- BaziFettehenne
- Bram de Bruin
- Brett Baumann
- cflw
- Claire Bradshaw
- Daniela Hohmann
- d.dedisse@vogo.fr
- eateateat
- Els Slots
- Emili Xaus
- Erik Jelinek
- fedemarch92
- Fernweh
- finsbury_jo
- fmannucci
- Geert Luiken
- George Gdanski
- Gernot
- giloudepuertorico
- Haining Guan
- Hanming
- Harry Mitsidis
- Iain Jackson
- Ingrid
- Ivan Rucek
- Izzet Ege
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- Jay T
- Jens
- john booth
- Jonas Kremer
- Joyce van Soest
- KarenBMoore
- Kasia
- Kasper
- Knut
- Lazerway
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- luke725
- Maciej Gowin
- Mahuhe
- Malgorzata Kopczynska
- Marcobrey
- Mariam
- Marie
- Martina Rúčková
- Matthewsharris
- Michael anak Kenyalang
- Michael Novins
- Michal Kozok
- Mihai Dascalu
- Miloš Tašković
- MMM
- NataliaS
- Nihal Ege
- Olli-Pekka Turunen
- Onkrad
- Panacci
- Patrik
- Pink Bunny
- puessergio
- reinhardt
- Reiseblitz
- Reza
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Roman Koeln
- Sascha Grabow
- Sergio Arjona
- SHIHE HUANG
- sibariam
- Sijia
- Socon
- Solivagant
- Squiffy
- Stanislaw Warwas
- StaziG
- Tatiana Nikulnikova
- Tcchang0825
- Theyeattheworld
- Thomas Buechler
- Timothy C Easton
- Vicente B. Avanzado Jr.
- viktor_balandin
- Westwards
- Wojciech Fedoruk
- Xinyue(Alice) Sun
- xtopher33
- Yevhen Ivanovych
- ZCTLife
Community Reviews
Show full reviews
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 …
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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 …

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 …
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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).
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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 …
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