Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is the pearl of Eastern Siberia. It is the world’s deepest and oldest lake. Approximately 25% of all fresh water on Earth is in the Lake Baikal.

There are over 1,850 species of animals, fish, and insects and 850 varieties of plant life here, many of which are endemics. The best known Baikal inhabitants are sturgeon, grayling, and whitefish, but the most tasty is omul, a sea fish of the salmon family, which has a unique flavor.

Over 300 rivers flow into Lake Baikal, but the Angara River is the only one that takes its source from the Lake. At the place of Angara’s source, near the village of Listvyanka, a tip of a large rock can be seen rising out of the water.

Baikal is a real magnet for tourists. Summer is the busiest season here, at this time it is quite warm and the water is perfect for swimming.

The climate of Baikal and the Baikal Territory is unique. The lake's huge water mass gives it certain seashore feature and climate. Rather significant are the temperature differences between the Baikal hollow and surrounding territories of Eastern Siberia. In Kachug the average temperature in December is -27 to -39°c, and in Irkutsk -25 to -27°c. On the shores of Baikal temperatures vary between -12 to -27°c and in summer it is +25°c and even higher in Irkutsk. It becomes +15 to +18°C on Baikal. This difference diminishes slightly after the lake freezes, but still remains quite noticeable. Baikal is often called a museum of climates because of the variations that result from differences in distance from the lake, the shape of the coastline, the relief and surface of the shores, the steepness of slopes and its orientations.