Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world - how exotic does that sound? On our journey on the Trans-Mongolian railway we stopped in Irkutsk in Siberia, and from here it is not far to Listvyanka and the deepest lake in the world. Of course, we had to go there!
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Trans-Siberian railway
In the summer of 2006 we travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway, or Trans-Mongolian Railway as this route should perhaps be called, from Moscow to Beijing. The first stop we made was in Irkutsk, after more than three days of travelling by train. From here we travelled by car to experience Lake Baikal - the deepest lake in the world.
Lake Baikal - the deepest lake in the world
The world's deepest lake is called Lake Baikal and is located in Russia, not far from the city of Irkutsk. At its deepest point, the lake is 1642 metres deep! It is the second largest lake in the world by volume (after the Caspian Sea) and the sixth largest by surface area. Not a small lake! In fact, the lake has the largest accumulation (about 25 per cent) of all fresh surface water on Earth. The lake also contains 22 large islands.
Wildlife in the world's deepest lake
Lake Baikal is home to over 2600 invertebrate species. Of the known species, 93 per cent are endemic, meaning they are completely unique to this lake. Incredibly fascinating, isn't it? There are even animals in the deepest parts of the lake.
The fish that live deepest are found at depths of around 200 - 500 metres. One of these fish is the omul fish, which we actually tried to eat - really good! The deepest lake in the world also has baikal sealswhich is the smallest known species of seal.
Listvyanka at Lake Baikal
We went to the small town of Listvyanka on Lake Baikal. Here the hotels were lined up next to a small harbour with large and small boats. We checked in at one of the hotels and went for a walk along the lake shore.
Even though the air in Irkutsk was 30 degrees centigrade, the air at the lake was so fresh you needed a thin jacket. Perhaps it's not surprising that the deepest lake in the world feels fresh! In fact, the air and environment reminded us a bit of northern Norway.
Limnological Museum
We also visited the limnological museum, where you could learn about the fish that live in the deepest lake in the world, and the animals in the surrounding area. We walked around among stuffed animals with signs in Russian and Latin. "But why can't it be in English?" said Peter.
I shrugged and thought "it says gulo gulo here, and that means wolverine in Latin". But I had to eat that, for about ten years, haha. Peter still teases me that it is abnormal to know what gulo gulo means in Latin and that I probably "had no childhood", haha ...
Our hotel in Listvyanka
We stayed at the Mayak hotel in Listvyanka. This was a really beautiful hotel overlooking the lake. I remember sitting on our little balcony and enjoying the fresh air.
Boat or car to Irkutsk
After a night in Listvyanka on Lake Baikal, it was time to head back to Irkutsk. We heard that you could go back by boat, and that sounded nice! We sat down at a pub by the water and had a beer while waiting for the boat. But it never came?
We tried to ask this and that, but in Siberia it's quite difficult when you don't speak Russian. Finally we realised that we had missed the boat! It had docked outside another boat, so we never saw it ...
Oh no, how would we now get back to Irkutsk? There was no cosy boat ride, but instead it was a taxi minibus with a big and drunk Russian who kept falling over me (Helena). Not as cosy perhaps, but we got back to Irkutsk. And soon it was time to continue the journey with the transmongolian railway towards ... Mongolia!
See more in Russia
Of course, if you visit Lake Baikal, you will also have to go to Irkutsk, sometimes called the Paris of Siberia. This is a city filled with fine houses, orthodox churches and lots of exciting history. The capital city Moscow is far away, but if you are passing by, it is of course interesting to make a visit there too!
Facts about the world's deepest lake
- Location: Irkutsk Oblast and Buryatia
- Greatest depth: 1642 metres
- Average depth: 730 metres
- Length: 636 kilometres
- The height of the surface above sea level: 455 metres
Travelling to Lake Baikal
- Trains: We travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Irkutsk, a journey that takes just over 3 days. From Irkutsk you can get to the deepest lake in the world by boat or car.
- Flight: It is also possible to fly to Irkutsk, even if you have to make a stopover. For example, you can fly with Aeroflot.
Good to know before travelling
- What country? Russia
- Language? Russian (some also speak English)
- Currency? Russian ruble (RUB)
- Price point? Cheaper than Sweden
- Time difference? +7 hours
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Lena - good for the soul says:
How exciting to read about this trip! Can imagine that it was really cool. Except for that drunk Russian then 🙂
Hug Lena
08 February 2018 - 6:13
Helena says:
Funny that you like to read about our adventure! 🙂 Just that with the Russian was not so fun ... think he fell asleep in the end ...
08 February 2018 - 12:13
Johnny Friskilä says:
I also remember Listvyanka and the women who sold smoked fish. The combination of smoked dried fish and cold beer on a Russian train is unbeatable! 🙂
08 February 2018 - 7:57
Helena says:
Isn't it? 🙂 Funny to remember this trip again, one of our very best trips I think!
08 February 2018 - 12:14
Leif L. says:
Hi, also ate åmål (omul) when I was there in 2012.
I also camped one night on Olkhon Island!
Mayak, the word means lighthouse, same as in Finnish, majakka. Have no memory of it. Need to look at photos.
For "safety" reasons I went there by bike. About 750 miles and 11-12 days one way, 24 days in total if I remember correctly, and a total of about 1450 miles.
For me it went well, although an incident was very close at an intersection in Irkutsk.
For others who were out on the roads, things did not go so well. Saw the aftermath of about 100 accidents, major and minor.
On this trip, I didn't see any dead bodies lying on the road... You have to stay focused even after such experiences. It would be disastrous to go into any kind of shock.
It doesn't say anything about taking a bath in the lake? 😜 If anything, that would be something to tell the grandchildren about, a 200 metre swim...
21 July 2021 - 11:55
Farmers' wives says:
Excited! Imagine how much you want to see, but I was most hungry for sun and heat when I saw these pictures!
08 February 2018 - 8:15
Helena says:
Sun and warmth are not wrong to think about now in the middle of the cold 😉.
08 February 2018 - 12:15
snort says:
What an exciting trip even if the minibus ride was not so fun.
08 February 2018 - 8:25
Helena says:
A very exciting and interesting trip! (And such a trip always includes some less fun moments...)
08 February 2018 - 12:16
Ditte says:
What an experience to visit Lake Baikal and just as well to take the opportunity when you were still fairly close. There in the neighbourhood you are not so often ...
Fun and rewarding reading! And it's nice that you still made it back, albeit in less pleasant ways, to continue with the train.
08 February 2018 - 10:02
Helena says:
No, it's not very often that I'm in the neighbourhood, so to speak 😉.
09 February 2018 - 6:04
Lennart says:
We crossed the lake with the Transibiriska!
08 February 2018 - 11:01
Helena says:
What fun! 🙂
09 February 2018 - 6:05
Mr Steve says:
The other day I watched a TV documentary about Siberia, which included a description of Lake Baikal, and you have given me a further boost of knowledge about this mighty lake.
Gulo gulo, which everyone knows is Latin for wolverine.
The fact that you missed the boat makes me remember.
There were a lot of cool colour experiences you got to enjoy.
08 February 2018 - 12:29
Helena says:
That sounds like a documentary we might find interesting!
09 February 2018 - 6:06
BP says:
Like Steve, I also saw parts of the TV documentary about Siberia. Ocj I appreciate your posts as a complement, especially since you had a few adventures;-) Then I had to google limnological, so now I have raised my general knowledge again. Gulo gulo - hahaha! Did you study Latin or?! I actually did (had to) for three years, but in everything I had to endure that was about Caesar, there was no gulo gulo;-)
And missing the boat, well, I recognise that from Istanbul. In our case, the captain of the ferry was so sweet that he turned around and picked us up when we were screaming and waving like crazy...
08 February 2018 - 16:58
Helena says:
I didn't study Latin, but went to Hum and studied general language skills. Then I think words and languages are fun so things like that can get stuck ... 😉 (But Peter thinks it's incomprehensible that such things can get stuck haha.) Glad you had better luck with the missed boat! 🙂
09 February 2018 - 6:09
Anonymous says:
In Listvyanka, we stayed at the home of a couple, he retired from the air force and she teaches English in Irkutsk, so some interesting conversations took place before and after sauna baths in their garden. It was also from Listvyanka that our liveaboard set out for 5 days of diving. Our company consisted of two limnologists and three other divers from Sweden (who of course also visited the museum :-)). On the boat there was also a tourist Russian + Russian crew. Awesome dives, but difficult to write down in the logbook what we saw, as you wrote, most species were endemic and the books on the boat were in Russian... We were there in August so the water was at its warmest (11 degrees) and the visibility at its worst (lots of plankton), but the feeling of taking the regulator out of your mouth at 30 metres depth and swallowing a sip of water was special. Our dive guide was also special, on the last day he said: Today you don't follow me, and then he dived to 100 metres with air in the gas bottles (at that depth both the nitrogen and oxygen are harmful to breathe). He came up and then recovered on deck for a few hours while his dive computer was next to him and the text SOS was flashing frantically. 5 days at sea and more than 10 dishes with dill crowns are also a lasting memory.
08 February 2018 - 23:51
Helena says:
How nice that you tell us about your trip Johanna! Diving in Lake Baikal seems very special, to say the least. Understand that it was special with poor visibility, different fish species and also descriptions in Russian! But what an experience! Diving down to 100 metres sounds scary to me ....!!! (Your comment was not automatically approved because you happened to write it as anonymous, but they rarely disappear. They are just waiting for me to approve!)
09 February 2018 - 16:23
Johanna in Skåne says:
I just wrote a long comment, hope it gets through (possibly my name didn't make it). Wonderful lake!
08 February 2018 - 23:53
Helena says:
Have approved your comment now 😉
09 February 2018 - 16:24
Laila MA - Around the Equator says:
So incredibly exciting reading 🙂 Hope to travel with the transmongolian railway sometime.
09 February 2018 - 7:08
Helena says:
That trip is highly recommended! 🙂
09 February 2018 - 16:24
Anna, New York - My Bite of the Big Apple says:
Absolutely wonderful to read about your adventures! Yes, those were really fascinating facts about Lake Baikal. Had a good laugh at the effect of your Latin knowledge on Peter. 🙂
Looking forward to the continuation! Have a nice Friday evening.
09 February 2018 - 18:27