Lake Baikal in Siberia is oldest, deepest and most voluminous lake of liquid freshwater on planet Earth. From mid January until the end of March it is completely frozen over.
Tap to explore
Lake Baikal with a Trans Siberian Train Passing
Imagine you are on the longest railway in the world: the Trans Siberian Railway. You are traveling from Moscow to the Russian Far East town of Vladivostok, on the Sea of Japan. That’s a distance of 5,772 miles (9,289 kilometers). It even spans seven time zones—a world record.
Tap to explore
Trans Siberian Route
It took 25 years, from 1891 to 1916, to build the railway. The Trans Siberian route passes through 80 cities and towns and crosses over 16 rivers.
Tap to explore
Lake Baikal Along Trans Siberian Route
128 miles or 207 kilometers of the Trans-Siberian route is along the borders of Lake Baikal. The Trans Siberian trains can go up to 80 mph or 129 kph. That means the train takes over two hours to pass by Lake Baikal. Rest assured, you’ll have plenty of time to see the lake.
Tap to explore
Passenger Experience
Worried about riding the train in Siberian weather? It may be -25°C (-13°F) in January outside, but the train interior is always warm and toasty. Whatever class of service, passengers have their own bunk bed. After all, a full journey on the Trans Siberian Railway can take up to 7 days to complete!
Tap to explore
Making the Journey
Throughout the journey, passengers will make several stops in small towns and cities. Passengers often bring with them tea, hard boiled eggs, bread, and smoked omul fish—a Siberian delicacy.
Tap to explore
Traffic Signs on the Frozen Lake
During wintertime, the surface of Lake Baikal freezes to a point that makes it possible for people to drive across the ice. There is so much frequent travel on Baikal ice that it is necessary to place traffic signs on the frozen water.
Tap to explore
Transport goods
Due to a lack of roads around Lake Baikal, many people choose to transport goods across the Lake when it is frozen solid, during the months from January through March. During this period the ice is about 12-15 inches (30-38cm) thick to support pickup trucks.
Tap to explore
Hovercraft
Siberians usually travel on trucks and SUVs, but the most efficient way of traveling on ice is using hovercrafts.
Tap to explore
Fitness on ice
Sometimes, intrepid bicyclists can even be spotted riding over the ice. Athletes even run ice marathons from Tankhoy to Listvyanka—a distance of roughly 26 miles or 42 kilometers.
Tap to explore
Baikal weddings
Fun Fact: Siberians have hosted elaborate weddings on frozen Lake Baikal, building arches out of ice blocks on the frozen lake.
Tap to explore
Russian Banya on the Ice
The Russian banya is a form of sauna accompanied by bathing. After perspiring from the steam and high heat in a sauna, bathers dip themselves in cool water. During wintertime at Lake Baikal, bathers take dips in the lake where holes have been cut into the ice.
Tap to explore
Mobile Sauna
Traditionally, Russian banya can be public or private, indoors or outdoors and its temperatures can exceed 200°F or 93°C. This mobile wooden sauna has heated wooden benches inside.
Tap to explore
Venik
Bathers strike their bodies with venik or branches and leaves from oak or eucalyptus in order to improve their blood circulation. Russians often go to banya for relaxation and relief from body pain.
Tap to explore
Dipping in Water
Here, two people are dipping into the icy waters for about 30 seconds to cool off. There is a very strong tingling from switching from extreme heat to extreme cold.
Tap to explore
Business Meetings
Fun fact: Many informal business meetings may take place in the relaxed atmosphere of a banya.
Tap to explore
The Interior of a Small Russian Orthodox Church
This is the Saint Nikolas Orthodox Church, in the town of Bolshoye Goloustnoye, beside the southeastern shore of Lake Baikal. The Russian Orthodox Church, a form of Christianity, is the predominant religion in Russia.
Tap to explore
Saint Nikolas
The church is named after Saint Nikolas, the patron saint of sailors. It was opened in 2004 and was built on the foundations of a 19th century church.
Tap to explore
Bolshoye Goloustnoye
The town of Bolshoye Goloustnoye was an important transit point for people crossing Lake Baikal during the winter in the 17th century.
Tap to explore
Priest Sergey
The Priest Sergey, his wife, and their 5 children have lived next to Saint Nikolas since the opening. You can see the Priest and his 3-year-old daughter. In small Russian towns, the priest is often referred to as the “Pope.”
Tap to explore
Altar
The structure of this church is very common for small churches in Siberia. There is an altar and an area for people to pray. Usually up to 15-20 people attend mass at the church on a regular basis and up to 60-70 people attend on holidays.
Tap to explore
Orthodox Christmas
Fun fact: Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th because they follow the Julian calendar.
Tap to explore
Lake Baikal Ice
Lake Baikal is the oldest, deepest, and most voluminous body of freshwater on Earth. From January until March, Lake Baikal is frozen over. Let's go for a walk on the slippery surface of frozen Lake Baikal.
Tap to explore
Formation of Baikal
Just as the crash of tectonic plates created the Himalayas, this ancient and beautiful lake was formed an estimated 25 million years ago by the pulling apart of tectonic plates. Most other lakes on Earth have lasted only 25,000 years!
Tap to explore
Crashing Ice
Like tectonic plates, the ice is moving. It freezes and unfreezes. The ice that is sticking up is a result of bits of ice crashing together. Sometimes, you can hear sounds of the ice groaning as it expands and contracts.
Tap to explore
Depth and Size
Baikal is over a mile deep or about 1.6 kilometers. It is 3 times the depth of the Grand Canyon! Lake Baikal exists on a rift of the Earth’s crust, which means it gets slightly bigger every year.
Tap to explore
Volume
Lake Baikal is equal in volume to all the North American Great Lakes combined. It contains one-fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water today and is fed by more than 330 rivers. Only one river, the Angara River, flows out of Baikal.
Tap to explore
Lake Baikal Omul Fish Sold in Listvyanka Market
This is the Listvyanka Fish Market at the Listvyanka Settlement on Lake Baikal. Humans are at the top of the food chain and the people living around Lake Baikal eat fish caught from the lake. The Lake Baikal omul fish, an endemic species of whitefish, is a Siberian delicacy and probably the most popular fish in the area.
Tap to explore
Omul Fish
The omul looks average, but it is actually special because it is Siberians’ favorite fish. They like to eat omul fried, dried, smoked, grilled, salted, and in many other ways. At one point, omul fishing was met with strict quotas after the omul population had declined drastically due to overfishing.
Tap to explore
Smoked Omul
Here are omul cleaned inside out and smoked. Some people describe the taste of smoked omul to be similar to smoked salmon—maybe because omul belongs to the salmon family.
Tap to explore
Advertisement
The blue advertisement is for bottled water and it says "For the clean future of Lake Baikal."
Tap to explore
Babushka
Most of the stalls are run by “Babushka.” That’s the Russian word for elderly woman.
Tap to explore
Tourism
More and more tourists are visiting Listvyanka every year, especially from other parts of Russia. Tourists can go sightseeing, eat at cafes and restaurants, and even go fishing on Lake Baikal.
Tap to explore
Interior of Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Temple
Buddhism is one of the prominent faiths of the Buryatia Republic in Russia. The Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist monastery, opened in 1945, was the first Buddhist spiritual center and now is the largest in the country. It is located 47 miles (77 km) from Lake Baikal and 15 miles (25 km) southwest of Ulan-Ude (the capital city of Buryatia). Let’s observe the main prayer hall.
Tap to explore
Buddha
The main statue in the center is the Buddha and to its right and left are statues of the Buddha’s disciples: Tapussa and Bhallika. In front of the center statues is the main chair for the Hambo lama, or the head leader.
Tap to explore
Lama
A Lama is like a Buddhist priest or spiritual leader. In this case, the lama are wearing yellow and their students are wearing red. These monks are getting ready for a ceremony.
Tap to explore
Buddhist Canon
Students and teachers are reading the Kangyur, or Tibetan Buddhist canon, which is a series of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. They also read out the names of the people who’ve donated to the monastery. The monks pray for their health, luck, and well-being.
Tap to explore
Gelugpa Buddhism
The local Gelugpa form of Buddhism is different from Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhism. For example, a lama is allowed to marry.
Tap to explore
Symbolic Items
There is a symbolical meaning to the items placed on the desks. The peacock feathers symbolize purity and the cups represent longevity and well-being.
Tap to explore
Ice Fishing Hole
Lake Baikal is home to more than 2,500 animal and plant species including the world's only freshwater seals. Thus, this rich biodiversity has earned it the nickname, "The Galapagos of Russia" and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tap to explore
Ice fishing
Siberians cut holes in the ice for fishing. Fishermen put nets through the hole into the water and haul the net every week or so to check if they’ve caught any fish. The most popular fish caught in Lake Baikal is the omul fish.
Tap to explore
Life in ice
For a long time, it was thought that living organisms could not exist on freshwater ice unless they were in a state of anabiosis or resting. But at Baikal, there is a very developed system of pores and canals filled with melted water that occurs both between ice crystals and thawing ice. This is what makes the development of organisms possible in Lake Baikal.
Tap to explore
Thermal vents
Baikal has hot thermal vents at its base, like in the oceans, so life forms can exist from the surface all the way down to the bottom of the lake. Many types of algae and protozoa have been found in Baikal ice.
Tap to explore
Epischura
The pristine Lake Baikal is kept clean by organisms, called Epischura baicalensis, that suck in pollutants to naturally filtrate the water.
Tap to explore
Sunlight
Wintertime in Siberia sees very little sunlight. There may be up to only 5 hours of sunlight per day in December.
