Sailing Baikal
Photographing the largest, deepest and oldest freshwater lake in the world
Check out the photos above as I stopped beside Lake Baikal in Siberia at a town called Listvyanka.
The 25 million year old lake in the world covers an area larger than Belgium and is deeper than 5 stacked Eiffel towers. 400 streams and rivers flow in from the nearby mountains, which supports many endemic species of fish and other wildlife in the surrounding national park. Recently Baikal has evolved to become a key vacation destination for Russians. With the gorgeous summer weather, it’s hard to believe that the whole thing freezes over in winter and is used as a highway by the locals.
It’s difficult to describe how clear and still the water is. I’ve never seen anything like it. Even being knee deep in the cold water, I looked down below at my toes as if there was nothing in between. It tastes great too, it’s a little sweeter than regular mineral water (probably due to all the seaweed and caviar) but still wonderfully refreshing.
-S
