Let's get one thing straight: the water in Lake Baikal is cold. It's
late afternoon in the middle of July, the sun is beating down and the
thermometer is touching thirty. Perfect for a dip in the water, right?
Wrong. It's freezing. But there is an old saying in these parts that
touching the Baikal waters will add five years to your life, while
swimming in them adds 25. So, inch by inch, I insert my reluctant body
into the icy waters. I just hope the longevity is worth it...
Deep
in the wilds of Siberia near the Mongolian border lies Lake Baikal, one
of the planet's most impressive natural wonders. The deepest lake in
the world, it holds nearly a quarter of all the fresh water on earth.
Surrounded by wild mountains and Siberian taiga forest, Baikal has long
been a national treasure for the Russian people. But recently more and
more foreigners are being drawn to its natural beauty - including me.
Base-camp
for my Baikal trip was Irkutsk, once known as the 'Paris of Siberia'.
Irkutsk is a popular stop on the Trans-Siberian railway and this is how
most foreign visitors find themselves at the lake - typically spending a
day or two at the lakeside town of Listvyanka, an hour or so away by
train. But I didn't fancy fighting over the deckchairs. I wanted to find
the real Baikal. So when I heard of an island in the middle of the lake
with no running water, barely any electricity, and a mere seven hours
away by bus, my bags were packed and I was on my way. Welcome to Olkhon
Island, one of the most unspoilt places on earth.
The island,
roughly 10 miles wide and 25 miles from end to end, can only be reached
by boat. For many islanders a trip to the mainland involves joining the
tailback of vehicles queuing for the tiny car ferry. Fortunately the bus
to and from Irkutsk is allowed to jump the queue and after a long day I
finally reached Khuzir, the largest settlement on the island. There is a
variety of places to stay in Khuzir - homesteads, bed & breakfasts,
beach camps - but I was heading straight to Nikita's Village.
Seventeen
years ago Nikita Bencharov, tired of beating all-comers as Russian
national table tennis champion, came to the island to visit a friend for
a month. He's still here. After noticing the increasing number of
visitors attracted to Olkhon's natural beauty, he hung up his bat for
good and set about building small but functional wooden cabins which he
could offer to tourists short of a place to stay. Today, this eclectic
collection has evolved into a thriving community. For 550 Roubles
(roughly £11), you get a night in comfortable, if basic, accommodation
and three home cooked meals a day.
Your stay on Olkhon can be as
independent or organised as you like. I spent most of my time exploring
the island on foot, admiring the views from its dramatic cliffs and
pristine beaches. But to get the most out of your stay it's worth taking
advantage of the different excursions that Nikita's offer. I signed up
for a one-day jeep tour of the island but there are several different
activities on offer, from fishing trips to tours of the lake by boat.
I
was joined on the tour by four other guests and our guide for the day, a
local named Gregori. Having lived there all his life Gregori knew every
inch of the island, so I sat back in his jeep - an essential vehicle on
an island where roads are scarce - as we headed north, to the tip of
the island. Throughout the day we stopped at various points of interest
and Gregori gave us a feel for the island and its culture and history.
One
strange (and recurring) sight was monuments surrounded by mounds of
broken bottles. Gregori explained that these were shamanistic ceremonial
grounds. The region around Baikal, particularly around the eastern
shore, is home to the shamanism-practising Buryat people. Shamans are
believed to be able to commune with the spiritual worlds, and to aid
their transitions they often imbibe alcohol or hallucinogenic substances
during ceremonies. The drink of choice is usually vodka, and afterwards
the empty bottles are smashed and offered up to the gods.
At the
northern-most tip we disembarked and headed for the cliffs. It was there
I got a real sense of the immensity of the lake - water as far as the
eye could see, in all directions. While we were taking in the views
Gregori prepared lunch - barbecued Omul fish, unique to Baikal. In fact,
Baikal is altogether an ecologist's paradise. Remote and relatively
untouched by modern civilisation, 80% of its marine species are found
nowhere else on the planet.
My seven days on Olkhon flew by.
Whether it's exploring the island, lazing on the beach, braving the
Baikal waters or practising your table tennis, there's never a shortage
of things to do. There are easier ways to see Baikal - hop on any
eastbound train from Irkutsk and you'll get a view from the window - but
to really experience this charming place requires escaping from
distractions and immersing yourself in nature. And there is no better
place for that than Olkhon Island.
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