Lake Baikal

Seven Wonders of the Underwater World

Lake Baikal in southern Siberia holds around a fifth of the world’s unfrozen surface fresh water, and it is the deepest lake on Earth, plunging to about 1,640 metres. It is also thought to be the oldest, with an age counted in the tens of millions of years, which has allowed a remarkable evolution of species found nowhere else, including the Baikal seal, or nerpa, and hundreds of species of tiny crustaceans. The water is exceptionally clear and cold. In winter the surface freezes to a thickness of a metre or more, and wind-polished ice reveals bubbles, cracks and turquoise depths, a draw for photographers and skaters. In summer the shores are green, with forests, steppe and small villages. Olkhon Island is the lake’s spiritual and scenic heart, with shamanic sites on Cape Burkhan, while the Circum-Baikal Railway and Listvyanka offer easy access from Irkutsk. UNESCO inscribed the lake in 1996. Diving here is cold and specialised, and most visitors see the underwater world through guides, museums such as the Baikal Museum in Listvyanka, or research vessels and submersibles used by scientists. Current travel conditions in Russia are unusual: several governments advise against all travel, entry rules are strict, international card payments may not work, and flights have been disrupted. Anyone considering Baikal should check their own government’s advice, travel insurance terms and entry rules before making plans. This profile describes the lake, not a recommendation to travel.