The Baikal - Description and Experience
Contents
BAIKAL INDIVIDUAL TOUR - SOUTHWEST BAIKAL
The Baikal - Description and Experience
Summary in seven Words
The Baikal - my dream and my source.
So I could bring the experience to the shortest possible denominator. I would nevertheless like to describe the Baikal on the one hand by much more and, on the other hand, let some experiences flow into it.
My journey to the shaman in the middle of the Baikal lasted 55 years. Even as a child I had dreamed of it.
Many names have given the Sibiriakians to their Lake Baikal, the largest, deepest, most beautiful and mysterious freshwater lake in the world. The RBB and WDR videos → “The Ballad of Lake Baikal - Part 1 - Winter trip” and → “The Ballade of Lake Baikal - Part 2 - Summer trip” was just a first impressive look at what was waiting for us. → Klaus Bednarz„ the former Russia correspondent of the ARD, tells us about Lake Baikal in his films. Locals are also heard - such as during summer holidays, a woman of Silesian origin based on the Baikal island of Olchon.
We experienced a positive development for locals and also the maintenance of the Baikal, almost two decades after the origin of the films. We experienced also grown, extremely attractive tourist possibilities.
Our Travel Group and the Baikal
How did we - 3 married couples in the 6th decade, from the Werra region in the middle of Germany - to Baikal?
We are looking for a special kind of hospitality among perhaps hospitable people - perhaps in a wild-romantic landscape, far from mass tourism and monumental blindness - in order to pursue something special on solitary paths.
In August 2016 we stayed at the Baikal.
Somehow, we’ve always been curious about respectable things in and around. But we are also always looking for simple things that are no longer self-evident today. And what can not be better than the peaceful Far East of Russia stretching infinitely far behind the Urals.
We know this country under the name → Siberia - the country so rich in traditions, flora, fauna and also mineral resources. The future of this vast and very sparsely populated country will depend above all on how the wealth of the country can be measured, even with respect.
We had respect for the subject - also regarding health aspects. Such fears were weakened with every day on the Holy Sea.
Every day, every one of us felt how this world gave us more and more strength.
The source of this was not only the unique flora, fauna and the soul of the Baikal - the source of this was also the people.
Our fellow traveler Erwin told us how to meet strangers. Always consider them as friends you have not yet met. And Erwin wanted to get to know everyone - he simply spoke to the people at every place. And already doors were opened to new worlds.
The curiosity drove us every day on the bead of Siberia - according to the motto:
Curiosity is your guide in the jungle of ignorance.
It was about meeting the unknown. Our motto here - be open minded and watch without premature judgment. And remember - open yourself to the other, because you are strange to him. The way is your destination and not the destination.
Lake Baikal
Beate, a participant, also describes the lake in 7 words:
The Baikal - paradise for the senses.
Lake → Baikal has even more worshipful names such as the “Pearl of Siberia” or the “Fountain of the Planet”. According to the tradition of → shamanism, it is called the “Holy Sea” of the → Buryats.
“Baikal” means translated from the Burjatic as much as “Rich Lake”. In the tradition of the native Buryats, the lake is a god.
With locals we felt their deep veneration against the lake.
Expressions of this worship were many small gestures that we observed. Each of our ever-changing riders and excursion guides looked out for the most embarrassing cleanliness in nature. A topple, thrown away by tourists without care, picked them up to dispose of them.
Along the paths there were inconspicuous, sacred places where vehicle drivers or hikers stopped, bowed to the ghosts (not throwing money) in the form of coins.
In free moments near the lake, they use the favor of the hour to devote themselves high above the Baikal in a holy environment of peace and contemplation. They absorb the energy surrounding the lake and space.
In the National Park
Our travel group could of course in the over 2 weeks stay at the Baikal not all parts of the huge lake. In essence, we visited the Baikal National Park → “Pribaikalskij” (Russian: Прибайкальский национальный парк).
The Pribaikalskij is one of 2 national parks ...
... and another 6 reserves, which were protected as a protected area around the Baikal. In the national park ecological, historical and aesthetic values are strictly protected. Various core zones of the park are accessible without permission and others only with permission.
It opens up from the southwestern tip along the west coast to far north. It stretches over the slopes of the Primorski Mountains, which is opposite the island of Olchon. It also includes the entire island of Olchon and the rocky islands on the Little Sea. Its area covers a massive 4180 square kilometers.
So our excursions took us to the southern Baikal, along the Baikal West Bank, across the Kleine Meer and the largest Baikal island, the island of Olchon.
Irkutsk - Start to Baikal
The starting point of our company in the national park was the capital of the Oblask Irkutsk - the Paris of Siberia. The Oblast has an area of 774,846 square kilometers. For comparison - the area of the new federal states of the FRG is 108,179 square kilometers. With 2,428,750 inhabitants (as of 14.10.2010), the population density is only 3.1 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Irkutsk is a historically grown city, ...
... which reflects the architecture differently. Previously they built mainly wood and decorated the street facades particularly. In the 18th century, massive, sumptuous buildings were built in the classical style and from the beginning of the 19th century they were built in the Jugendstil style.
Many famous buildings, such as the Ochlopkov Theater, the “White House” of Irkutsk (today the University’s scientific library), the Museum of Local History, a building of the district policlinics, were created.
The latter building was the seat of the Russian-Asian Bank until 1917 - one of the largest banks of pre-revolutionary Russia. It financed inter alia. The gold and coal industries, mills, sawmills, leather industry and the exploration of the northeastern passage.
The university town has about 600.000 inhabitants.
The Transsib connects the city and the region like an umbilical cord with East, West and South Asia.
Not far from our hotel on the Angara is a monument of tsar Alexander III - built in 1908. It was erected in honor of the then largely completed Transsib. The street Karl-Marx also starts here.
The Lenin Strait is another main street of the city. Here, as usual in Russian cities, there is a monument of the leader of the October Revolution → Lenin.
Many existing hotels have been built since the 1930s. The Second World War left hardly any material damage. The many soldiers of the Siberian units, the fallen and their families were the victims.
The central bank of Russia, the administration of the city of Irkutsk, the Linguistic University and the administration of the Irkutsk region are located at Kirov Square, the main square of the city. On the 9th of May the square also serves as a parade ground.
The square of the three churches is a striking feature of this tolerant world in Siberia.
The Epiphany Cathedral, the Church of the Redeemer with the oldest stone building of Eastern Siberia and a neo-gothic → Polish Roman Catholic Church are united.
In front of the Church of the Redeemer is the “Eternal Flame”, a memorial for the fallen in the Second World War.
Behind the Polish church begins the Proletarskaya street, which leads to the circus and the place of work. Directly at the stationary circus we are on the last evening for a festive dinner to guest with our guide Lyudmila. It was a wonderful at Russian Pivo, delicious, dried or smoked fish fillets of various kinds, Russian salad with cranberries and of course the best red caviar.
Proletarskaya Street took us back to Karl-Marx-Strasse. The classically built massive houses are usually wonderfully preserved. Many old wooden houses are threatened with decay.
All of this happened parallel to many new buildings and residential settlements built in modern buildings of our time. Modern Irkutsk is now present everywhere. Modern industrial enterprises and new technologies characterize new business areas. Semiconductor technology has also developed its own state-of-the-art standards in Russia, and requires specialists from a wide variety of disciplines.
What is too little - clearly - parking lots. For this, the fuel costs only half a euro.
Reflection
Lake Baikal, the Siberian rivers of strength and bubbling, the unusual traditions and serenity of the natives in the endless Siberian expanses, only natural phenomena that are to be found here - all this and more, Mütterchen gives Russia a very special character and a gentle soul. If one experiences this flair, one will invariably be drawn into this spell for all eternity
It is incredibly emotional when one experiences and feels this - the infinite power of Baikal itself. With every day at the Baikal we felt how we were freed more and more from the ballast of civilization, from the kleingeist of the western present - how we felt more and more comfortable in an energetic, absolutely peaceful environment.
Every reflection on the days at Baikal recalls in us these emotions and strength and frees new creative thoughts.
The lake is located in the south of → Siberia, the north Asian part of Asia and in the southeast of the → Russian Federation. West of Baikal is the huge → Irkutsk Governorate. To the south is the → Burjatic Republic, which also belongs to Russia and borders Mongolia with its Burjatic-Mongolian origins. In the north, the lake affects the → Baikal-Amur-Mistral (BAM) and in the south the → Transsiberian Railway (Transsib).
A part of the → Czar Gold has been lying on the bottom of Lake Baikal for over 100 years - surely buried deep in the thick sludge layers. At that time the Transsib at the Baikal was not yet finished. In winter, the Transsib tracks were laid over the meter-thick ice of the lake. Some of the wagons with the precious treasures of the Tsar were probably too heavy.
Numbers and Geology
The following figures about the lake are only approximate values. To provide absolutely accurate numbers would be to reproduce exactly the number of asteroids in the asteroid belt of our solar system. The lake is too powerful in all its manifestations.
The largest depth of the lake is about 1,637 meters directly east of the island → Olchon. In the depths, the spirits are separated. The figures vary by a few meters back and forth. The water volume is expected to be about 23,500 cubic kilometers. The altitude above sea level is 455 meters and the sea surface around 32,000 square kilometers.
The Baikal has a north-south extension of about 630 kilometers ...
... and a width in east-west extent: between 30 and 80 kilometers. The length of its coastline is around 2,000 kilometers. 174 cascading up into the lake, which is characterized by the many small, calm bays.
26 islands rise from the lake. The largest of them is the island of Olchon. It has a north-south extension of 72 kilometers and a maximum width of almost 14 kilometers.
The Lake Baikal is fed by 336 tributaries - the largest of which is the → Selenga. Yes - and somehow the lake has to “overflow” somewhere. The only, but powerful, outflow is the → Angara. This → “Gate to Baikal” is already about 1.5 kilometers wide at the outflow. It is flanked north through the small village → Listvjanka as well as south through Port Baikal, at the end of the historic Transsib or old Baikal railway → “Krugobaikalka”.
A huge continental trench broke out the lake.
The lake is located in a tectonic cleft, extending from north to south. The Eurasian and Amurian plates drift apart and leave this deep gap. The two plates are pushed apart practically by the southern Indian plate. Sediments from many millions of years fill the actually 6 kilometer deep crack. Therefore, the lake is “only” a little over 1.6 kilometers deep.
Various thermal springs and seismic activities are the expression of the still occurring movements. The tensions are always unloaded only in light form. Every few days, light, harmless earthquakes occur. Several centimeters per year drift further east and west coast.
The Russian Soul
Lake Baikal is the place of the Russian soul.
Thus it is also sung in the → Baikal anthem. But what is characteristic of land and people under this aspect? In the following a brief attempt at an explanation.
“Russian soul” can perhaps be described as a sum of distinctive features of the Russians as a result of a fusion of many peoples, traditions, confessions and influences of Western and Eastern influences in the vast country. Someone who comes from a “small-scale” country, perhaps still harboring greatness or nationalism, will find it hard to understand.
Utterance of the Russian soul, among others. In a high connection to something, a strong destiny, a capacity for patience, an abdication, a suffering ability, but also in a strong home connection and a greater role of feelings than of rationality.
Ultimately, the concept of “Russian soul” also combines a strong sense of solidarity and community. For many Russians, important reference groups are first the family and then the community or the collective.
In the Museum Village Talzy
The small museum village → Talzy provides a fantastic impression of the traditional way of life of the people at the place of the Russian soul at Baikal. The culture and lifestyle of the first Russian settlers is reflected here. The village is an open-air museum and at the same time an architectural monument of an old Russian village type.
It is located about fifty kilometers east of Irkutsk on the banks of the Angara River - just a few kilometers before the “Gate to Baikal”.
In the village you can see all that a traditional Russian village has made over centuries - ancient Siberian courtyards, a small school, a church, interior furnishings, museums, workshops, a mill, smithy and a small jail. Among other things, a wooden church built in 1679 as well as a fortress built around 1630 give the settlement a classical, Russian character.
Visitors also actively see the traditional art of timber, cedar, clay, stone and precious stone. In the church there was a reception for us by a men’s choir with classical Russian folk music.
Also suitable for the village. The houses are crowded in rows. The farmsteads are separated from the outside by auxiliary buildings for cattle or handicraft and strong palisades. Residents are thus protected from the harsh climate in the winter half year, even protection from the bear. Short paths and extended wooden bridges provide rapid assistance.
Old Russian comfort and warmth took us into the village’s lap.
The living areas in the houses are small and effective. The oven for cooking the food is in the middle with the sleeping area above. Of course - a Russian hot water heater - the useful → samovar - also belongs to the lifestyle here.
I really only missed that a small window from one of the wooden houses opens before us, an old Russian Babushka looks out and a folk tale tells us the → witch Bab Jaga. Well, these fairy tales - the most beautiful in the world - we know enough.
Talzy is not only very interesting for Russian tourists from other parts of the country. Thousands frolic in Piedmont in particular, when the → Masleniza - the butter festival - is celebrated every year at the end of the winter.
Orthodox believers are forbidden to eat meat in the week before the start of the Orthodox fasting. However, milk, milk products, eggs and fish are permitted. The old customs and traditions, such as Russian dances, games, the burning of Maslenitsa dolls, solemn → Bliny food, encounters of the loves and the mother-in-law evening, are a huge, enthusiastic experience.
Baikal and Tourism
The Baikal area is characterized by wild, Siberian forests, the → taiga, mountains, wide steppes, protected areas, steep coasts, solitary sand bays.
The position of the Baikal can be described as 2 full day train journey east of the Urals.
The → Ural is the border between Europe and Asia. From Moscow to → Irkutsk - the regional capital on western Baikal - it is about 3 ½ days train journey with the Transsib. In the opposite direction, the Baikal can be reached by train within 1 ½ days from Vladivostock or from Beijing. The flight time from Moscow to Irkutsk is about 5 ½ flight hours.
The region offers fascination and attraction without mass tourism. At the end of August / beginning of September you are almost alone there as a tourist. Western Europeans are hard to meet - rather travelers from Russia, China, Japan and Korea, who usually arrive by train. Germans seem to be a particularly rare “species” at the Baikal, but are all the more welcome.
Germans enjoy high appreciation.
One of the most beautiful areas is the small sea, the sea between the island of Olchon and the Baikal west coast, the “Riviera of Siberia”, the “Sand Bay” and the “Tageran Steppe” on the west coast south-west of Olchon.
Climate, nature and location in the → Little Sea (russian: Maloje Morije, Малое море) ensure that it is rarely raining here and is sunny on almost all days of the year. The rather shallow Little Sea can refer to the highest water temperatures in the Baikal in the summer. Smallers cruising here and connecting the many smaller islands.
At the “Sand Bay” there are some basic camps for extensive excursions into the mountains or along the Baikal. U.a. There is the beautiful base camp → “Da-Shi”, which is located directly on the water, where we stayed. The camp offers everything to make you feel at home during your stay or the excursions.
The camps are usually only accessible with off-road vehicles over very badly fortified, almost adventurous ways. You do not want mass tourism here with calculus - just as little as on the island of Olchon or along both sides of the Baikal.
The environment and the uniqueness of the region have priority for the locals. The same is true for Irkutsk, the regional capital.
World Heritage Site
Most of the waterfront and the lake are part of the world heritage. Since 1996, the region is on the → list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. The Russian Duma decided to implement the “Baikal-Law” in 1999, which seems to secure the continuity of the unique nature successfully.
Our impression was that the law of Baikal is very popular among the local people and the nature reserves fulfill their purpose. No one feels empowered to get wood from a nature reserve for a fire site or to throw a cigarette butt carelessly into nature. Only - some Southeast Asian tourists do not always stick to it.
The lake is the only major lake in the world with water in drinking water quality. It is the deepest and oldest fresh water lake on earth. A quarter (!) of all the liquid amounts of freshwater on the earth houses the lake. Hence the name “Fountain of the Earth”.
Floating in the sea and simply drinking some water in the Holy Sea - no problem. It tastes like the best spring water. It’s like a fueling of pure energy.
Until a few years ago, a paper and cellulose plant located in → Baikalsk on the south bank of the lake made negative headlines. Meanwhile the factory is closed.
That the water of Baikal is of the very best purity is also due to the enormous size of the water reservoir. The lake has a tremendous mechanism for self-cleaning. Small creatures in all depths free the water from impurities and ensure the completely clear water in drinking water quality.
Near Nature Superlative
The middle to north Lake Baikal is surrounded on both sides by high mountain massifs with peaks up to 2600 meters. From this arise the many small streams to the lake, in which one can find lucky gold clumps.
The lake’s age is about 25 million years. It is the oldest freshwater lake in the world. Therefore, the lake is known as “Galápagos of Russia”. Through its age and thousands of years of isolation, the lake has been able to develop a world-wide unique flora and fauna.
The Baikal and its region form a unique natural paradise.
Flora and fauna contain about 2600 species. Approximately half of these are only based there. Among other things, on the lake, the only fresh-waterbush species of the world, the → Baikal-Seal.
A whimsical species of fish are the → Golomanka, scaly, transparent fish, half of which are oil. The most common species is → Omul. This fish with its big eyes belongs to the family of the → salmon fish. It is available everywhere around the lake - either culinary, smoked or simply dried and salted - simply delicious (!) And healthy.
By the way - the Omul and other species threatened extinction in the nineties due to overfishing. At Soviet times, active offspring were still active through fishing cooperatives. At Yeltsin’s time, almost anarchy arose in the fisheries industry - offspring were left out. Since Putin, many things have been regulated, especially for the purpose of protecting nature in and around Lake Baikal, including fishing.
The lake is largely enclosed by mountains and the taiga.
The taiga is the northernmost forest formation on the earth and is also called → “Boreal coniferous forest”. In the area north-east of the lake, we see mainly the “Dark Taiga” with regional species of high pines, pines and firs. To the south-west of Baikal, the forests consist mainly of needling larch trees forming the “Helle Taiga”. Further south there are extensive birch forests. In the southern part of the lake extensive steppes form over the mountainous landscapes.
In the vast forests reindeer, bear, lynx, elk and also wolves live. Wild horses are singled out in the steppes. Amur leopards and Siberian tigers were also present here, but have moved back to the eastern part of Russia. In the summer, the Großwild lived in the broad mountains and forests of Siberia, but also ventured into the small settlements close to Baikal during the winter half year.
On The Little Sea
Coming from the south of Irkutsk, we reached the small sea in the middle of the north-south extent of the Baikal about half an hour in the middle of the wooded mountains. Here the Baikal is the widest.
From a hill we suddenly saw among us in the valley a small place with a ferry port. From there ferries leave to the island of Olchon. Under the hill the small sea between the Baikal-West coast and the long, elongated island Olchon opened up.
On the hill we stopped - not only because of the view. This is also the monument of the → “Baikal Walker”. It is dedicated to the former convicts in Siberia. It was built in October 2014. The locals bring the grace of the bronze figure to a famous song of the convict, the song “Through the wild steppes of Transbaikalia”.
The Baikal hiker showed us the way to the mystical island Olchon.
In the valley we reached the small sea. It is protected between high mountains in the west and the island of Olchon. Its average depth is only 100 meters. In the summer, the water can heat well. There are also the main fishing areas.
The Small Sea is characterized by many bays with wooded mountain slopes, where many a base camp for tourists hidden in the countryside.
On the Island of Olchon
Because of a breakdown, we arrived late at night on the island of Olchon in our base camp in Chuzhir. Thanks to the mobile phone reception, we were able to get some help in these areas. After 22:00 there was still a strong Soljanka and a beer for us in Chuzhir despite the close of the shop.
In the coming days we alternated from the base camp with our cross-country minibus to the north and south of the island. The tours were always seemingly without a system on extended paths to the goal.
The trips resembled a safari through impassable areas.
It went through picturesque beautiful landscapes and shamanic stone formations. In small hikes we reached the most beautiful areas in the middle of the Baikal.
On the way we strengthened ourselves with delicious fish soup. Each of our riders prepared this soup at the camp fire from the Omul, the baikal-typical salmon-related fish.
The highest elevation of the island of Olchon is the mountain Zhima at 1276 meters. Toward the east, he falls abruptly to the island shore. Directly on the shore, the Baikal mountain continues to drop steeply above 1600 meters below water.
On the island of Olchon, various pine varieties as well as cedars, poplars, larch trees and birches set green accents in wild mountain landscapes of the north of the island and along the east side.
The name of the island means “small forest”.
Nevertheless, about 40 percent of the island’s surface area is occupied by steppe, which is spreading as a result of the dry Asian air masses. Meadow, stone and desert steppes spread infinitely - especially in the south of the island.
Rugged rocky landscapes and spectacular cliffs form the country where wild horses can still be found. Ground Squirrel (russ. Suslik, Cуслик) always touched our paths and rose curiously because of our presence.
The → cedar is said to be magical.
Perhaps it is due to a substance of the cedar, the → Thujone (also Absinthol or Tanacetone). The substance Thujone has a menthol-like smell and is contained in the essential oil of the cedar. It can develop psychoactive effects.
It is said that a part of cedar wood is given to us and always carries it with itself, it should develop healing powers. So after the trip we gave friends with a trailer from the wood.
Olchon has many peculiarities according to the mood of nature.
Salt lakes on the island - 6 in number - which are not connected with the groundwater, testify to many influences in the tectonic formation of the island. The water of these lakes has a pH of about 9.0 and is very sulphurous. These lakes dry out regularly - except for one, the lake “Zharanur”, which means as much as “black lake”.
In the north of Olbia there is a 6 kilometer long dune, which for decades has blown parts of the local village Pestchanja, an old fish factory and a former gulag. The old woman of Silesian descent, mentioned at the beginning, still lives in the village. As a small child she landed with her parents long ago in the former Gulag. She stayed here forever.
The North Cape of the island is a sacred burial place. On the island, a huge rock juts out of the water. He looks like a fang. The Buryats also gave the Cape the name “Khoboi”. A wooden pile is solitary there and functions as a cult. It is used to attach textile tapes of old clothing to the deceased or to deposit money coins for the homage of the spirits.
On the Shaman’s Rock
On the edge of the main settlement of the island - on the place Khuzhir - seemingly lonely is a limestone rock. The rock at Cape Burchan (burjatic: “god”) is known as the shaman rock.
The shaman rock is the most famous landmark of the island and is also one of the largest holy sites of Baikal.
In Khuzir, we took one of our base camps at Baikal. A walk to the shaman’s rock at Cape Burchan was one of our habits.
Previously, access was allowed only to shamans. Since the Bronze Age, the rock has been a sacrificial site, as evidenced by rock drawings in caves.
The holy shaman’s rock (Russian скала Шаманка, Skala Shamanka) is the holiest site of the Buryats and simply the symbol of Baikal. At this place one should be absolutely calm and in itself only positive thoughts roam.
So we walked awkwardly and in positive thoughts sunk repeatedly through this place. So we did not only ourselves good. We also honored the dignified history of this place, its faith in diversity and its spirits.
On the Island of Ogoy
Another small place of pilgrimage in the Little Sea is the small, uninhabited island of → Ogoy. It is also called the island of shamans. Many small typical shamanic relics - prayer ribbons and small stone pyramids everywhere confirm this.
The place is, however, first a Buddhist pilgrimage site. The symbol of - a Buddhist monument - stands on the top of the island of Ogoj. For the locals it does not make a big difference.
Having climbed the summit of the island, the breathtaking flair of the lake of Baikal is a form of trance not only by the sacred place but by a breathtaking flare. Perhaps it is simply all around us in effect with the ancient traditions.
My most severe → tinnitus is slain by the deafening silence. I feel the contact with something transcendent.
On the summit one stands before this sanctuary - the “Stupa of the Transfiguration”. A → stupa is, in the most comprehensive sense, a symbol of Buddhism. There are many possibilities and levels of the interpretation of a stupa - the diversity is however the decisive and significant.
In this stupa are various Buddhist relics - among others. A 750-kilogram library with original Buddhist texts - has been kept for future generations.
In the Tageran Steppe
The Primorskian Mountains on the west coast of the Baikal is predominantly covered with a “bright Taiga”. This vegetation is interrupted by the mountainous Tageran steppe. This steppe lies directly on the middle Baikal south-west of the island of Olchon.
The road from Irkutsk passes through this steppe just before the island of Olchon. During an excursion into the Tageran steppe, we crossed their endless appearances. On the Baikal-West coast, you reach across the steppe across imposing cliffs along the great Baikal.
The Tageran steppe contains many secrets.
It is probably one of the most mystical places on the Baikal. The rocks of the rock formations are estimated to be between 30 and 40 million years. Geologists look for rare minerals in the steppe. Nevertheless there is also a lush plant world - even representative of an alpine vegetation zone, the → Edelweiss.
Right here, on the rocky slopes and in caves, the first settlers lived at Baikal. Archaeological excavations form evidence of these first human settlements.
There are various caves from the ice age in the region around Sachjurta as well as karst caves on the steep bank to the Baikal. The caves are not easy to find and difficult to access.
To the south of the Tageran steppe, there are rock engravings up to 5000 years old on the Mount Mazur and Sagan Saba Bay (Burial: “White Rock”). The place has always been a place of holy ceremonies of shamans.
Settled on the Baikal
Looking at the share of nationalities, a very strong settlement has been seen on the northern edge of the lake since the construction of the → BAM (Baikal–Amur Mainline). On the other hand, traditional Buryatian settlement area (→ Buryatia) is on the south and south-east border. Buryats mostly live in the vast steppes and mountains to → Mongolia. The border to Mongolia is about 90 kilometers south of Baikal.
Of course - in all regions around the lake, different nationalities and also religions live, more or less propor- tionally represented.
They all always live harmoniously together.
The first settlers came to Baikal in Southern Siberia over 30,000 years ago. They settled in pre-ice age and the oldest section of the Stone Age on the ice edge - together with mammoths, bisons and rhinoceroses. Rock engravings, drawings, and even paintings in caves are a testament to prehistoric settlements and the first human steps in this region.
The Sarma Valley
In the Sarma Valley on the Baikal West Coast, we could admire part of such drawings at the foot of a huge rock.
Along the small river Sarma we walked into this valley. In the far end of the rocky valley, wide but rather low forests began to rise. Here we turned around, since in the forests of the late summer bear could be expected.
Many legends accompany the Sarma Gorge.
Our excursion guide reported some. The rock at the entrance of the bay is similar to an old Burjatin. Earlier, women were not allowed to enter the ravine at a fertile age. The punishment was a storm from the valley.
This bay could have been connected to the northern seas long ago, and the settlement of the Baikal with the Baikalbbe may have taken place.
It is, however, also possible that the migration of the Robbe took place via the Baikal outflow of the Angara. The Angara flows as a tributary to the → Yenisei, which flows again in the north of Russia to the → Kara Sea of the → North Polar Sea.
A biological station in the Sarma Delta, founded by the Educational University of Irkutsk in 1976, explores flora and fauna. The station operates, among other things, ornithological studies.
The rocks to the right and left of the valley are geologically considered under elevated pressure and temperatures. Thus there are inclusions of rare gemstone garnet - known in the Middle Ages under the name Karfunkel.
Winds
From this huge Sarma valley narrowing at the end of the valley, however, the most dreaded, strongest wind winds over the Baikal, which also quickly attains orcanstariness, also occasionally escapes.
Our tour guide told us that the Sarma wind, if he is really at the Raustoben from the valley, carries even heavy rocks with him. Such chunks carried it over many kilometers to the island of Olchon, even in a heavy storm. This storm was unpredictable.
The wind makes the sand crackle on the banks.
If you are alone on the shores of Baikal alone, you will never leave this equally holy and holy world. One feels a fusion of nature, spirit, Baikal with all elements. You can hear the sand as it continues its hike. One is so infinitely distant from the global, power-obsessed problems of our time.
You want to keep this magical hike forever. Like an odyssey through the universe you would never want to end it. All these winds should be an everlasting drive in this energetic environment. On some corners you can even find hiking dikes.
The sands crackle softly as the waves of the wind-blown lake Baikal glimmer in the sun setting, star-like reflections. I felt so free on the windy shores and on the mountains high above the Baikal.
Words of the shaman - here they get their meaning.
A total of about 30 different winds are described at Baikal. There are global winds, which influence the climate at Baikal differently depending on the season. They are mainly influenced by atmosphere and air masses. The lighter local winds result from regional temperature differences between air and water.
The winds often change their direction within seconds. So - sailors and swimmers were watching. Their names are depending on the regions where they come from - Sarma, Gornaya, Barguzine, Verkhovik, Nizovik, Pokatukha, Kharakhaikha, Bugulgeika, Angara, Selenga and Shelonnik.
To describe all the winds here would be idle. Even locals hardly succeed. Their understanding is, however, all the more important for maritime captains.
Climate
From mid to late September night frosts. In the winter, there is literally Siberian cold. Temperatures are average at night at minus 25 degrees, possibly up to minus 40 degrees. Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the lake is usually released for vehicle traffic. The ice is then meterdick. At the end of May the lake is relatively free of ice.
In the few summer weeks you can bathe comfortably.
At the end of August the water temperature rises to 12 to 14 ° C on the open sea, on the coast in protected coves at 22 ° C. But no matter what temperature - a bath in Lake Baikal is always a unique pleasure and source of new strength.
The daytime temperatures in the southwestern Baikal rise to as much as 25 degrees or even higher.
There is hardly any snow in winter on the Baikal. A mirror-smooth surface is usually found. The notorious winds of various kinds drive the flakes to the edges of the mountains around the lake. There they pile up to high snow drifts - suitable, among other things, for caves of the Baikal seals, in which these and their offspring overwinter.
Transportation
The country is incredibly wide. The roads can not all be expanded - because also too rarely. The main road on the west coast of Baikal runs from north to south only through a dirt track. Now and then a mobile planer in the use for the straightening - that must be enough.
Off-road vehicles do their transport service in summer and in winter. 4-wheel drive and leaf springs. Vehicles that cross the vast steppes in the south are looking for the new route parallel to extended lanes.
From the Baikal to the Pacific to the east, it is only about 2000 kilometers. The legendary river → Amur, which forms a border river between Russia and China, flows along this route. Is it really ideal to cycle along it to the Pacific by trakking?
Ferry service on the Baikal is available on the lake only from 17 May to 10 November each year.
The thick ice in the long winter half year does not permit a shipping.
Airports with direct connections to Moscow or Frankfurt / Main in Germany are located in Irkutsk and → Ulan Ude, the capital of the Burjatic Republic.
The Transsib in the south of Baikal has stops in Irkutsk, Sludjanka and Ulan Ude. In the north there is a stop of the BAM in the town of → Sewerobaikalsk. These tracks form the main supply arteries for the region. For example, the Transsib connects over 9288 km as the longest railway line in the world Moscow with Vladivostok on the Pacific.
En route with the Transib
Of course we had to get to know the flair of Transsib. A former railwayman was also a traveler among us. From Moscow to Irkutsk, we were too long - three and a half day the train is on the way. So we restricted ourselves to a part of the Transsib route.
Unforgettable remains the ride on the old railroad, the historical → “Krugobaikalka”.
Then it started. In Irkutsk, we were standing in front of a legendary Transsib train on the neat train station. His overwhelming sleeping compartments were packed with passengers. Each wagon was marked with a sign “Moscow - Ulan-Bator”. Before the train could continue, train attendants cleaned the windows and handles at the entrance.
Legendary is also the punctuality of these trains. On the huge track, every train arrives at the exact minute at each stop.
In front of this train stood our similar-looking traditional railroad. In each wagon there are two train attendants to take care of the passengers.
We were on the road for nine hours. We headed from Irkutsk towards the southeast on the Transsib route to Sludjanka, at the southernmost tip of the Baikal. There was a 45 minute interlude with a change of the lockomotive.
In Listvyanka, the historic railway station building was an eyewitness - as is the case everywhere in Russia. Absolutely clean, a lot of marble made from the lobby rather a small castle.
Then on the route of the old tsar railway continued “hair-like” along the western Baikal shore north to Port Baikal. In small places there were intermediate stops with traditional additions for the tourists. One could represent the feet or look at the hospitable local people. For the residents we were a welcome change.
For railway enthusiasts, of course, the dimensions were also impressive. Not only are the routes incredibly far in Russia, but also everything that has to do with the railway - whether the gauge of the track or the enormous dimensions of the wagons and locomotives.
Along the route there was a changing picture of mystical landscapes, of old tunnels and stretches on the banks of the Baikal, blue lagoons, steep rocks, fog banks or sunny shores, sometimes dark, almost menacing, and then inviting blue, glassy Waters.
In Russian comfort, the train on the track welled up with ancient wooden thresholds towards its destination. At the same time, the noise of the rails fell - for a long time I had not heard that.
In Port Baikal there was a traditional reception with Russian folklore. Passengers joined the artists, sang and danced. Afterwards we took the ferry over the “gate to the Baikal” to the opposite side in Listvjanka.
Bigger cities
West of the lake lies Irkutsk (600,000 inhabitants). The city is a university and capital city in the Russian → Irkutsk Oblast, located on the only outflow of Lake Baikal, Angara.
South-east of the lake lies Ulan Ude (400,000 inhabitants), capital of Buryatia with Mongolian flair, ethnographic museum and the Buddhist → Ivolginsk monastery.
On the northern edge of the lake Sewerobaikalsk (25,000 inhabitants), a “child” of the BAM - was created in the course of the construction of the Baikal-Amur-Magistrale completed in 1984.
The capital of Mongolia → Ulan Bator is only 8 hours train journey southbound over 585 kilometers from the capital city of Buryatia Ulaan Ude.
People
The people of the Baikal region, no matter whom you meet as a German, whether you are a policeman, an airport employee, a kwa vendor, a bus driver, an old man or a boy, people in the countryside, locals on Olchon Island, forest workers, Russians or Buryats All are always characterized by the utmost warmth, hospitality and helpfulness.
The main language of the locals is the Russian.
The young people are also mostly English. Often we had contact with locals. Language barriers were not an obstacle for us to understand - especially not for our fellow traveler Erwin.
Simply the humanity to each other brought again and again incredibly moving moments for us - moments, which will never be forgotten in us. The Russian language came back from hidden regions in the brain.
An old woman
We will remember an encounter with an elderly Buryatia. We were sitting at a speed train in a huge market hall in Irkutsk, when the good woman came in on a stick supported.
Erwin had a free stool next to him. Thus, according to the motto, “He does not do anything good unless he expressly wishes it.” He politely offered the old woman to sit down: “Sadieties boschaluista” (Russian: Sадитесь пожалуйста.)
The Buryatia sat almost on Erwin’s lap.
Turning to the apparently very trustworthy appearance of Erwin, she began to tell. Erwin listened to her very patiently and interested quite a while, but she hardly understood them. At some point, he told the Buryatia in russian language that he did not understand her: “Ja nje ponumaju” (Russian: Я не понимаю). The woman stared. Lyudmila, our guide, translated the reason for her and assured her that we were Germans.
The old woman exploded in a hearty laugh. She then said that Russians and Germans were all the same.
I use the favor of the situation.
With my camera I positioned myself kneeling before the two and took snapshots. When the Burjatin remarked to me, she had to laugh again and again and stabbed me with her pointing finger almost into the lens. It sounded like an outcry. She was surrounded by Germans and felt so eerily at ease.
Now she told us proudly and proudly that she was a daughter of → Gengis Khan. Lyudmila told us the background. The approximately 450,000 → Burjats from the Burjatic Republic and other surrounding Russian republics believe that they are ...
... daughters and sons of the unforgotten Great Khan and Mongol leader Genghis Khan - also known as Suedchin.
Ethnologically, this mass of descendants is not at all absurd. The → family tree from Gengis Khan currently indicates at least 1.5 million living descendants of the large khans in northern China, Mongolia and Russia (source: latest scientific investigations of male Y chromosome of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton (GB)) .
Finally, Erwin asked the old Burjatin any question: She did not know the answer and said:
“Я не могу знать все, потому что я всего сто пятьдесят лет.”
She said that she could not know everything because she was only 150 years old. It was a wise answer from a well-honest, elderly woman and a descendant of the Duchchin.
We were incredibly impressed by the warm Babushka. If the woman were still older, she could have answered many questions 😉
Religions
People in the Baikal region are often religious. Religions coexist peacefully with each other and partly mixed with → Christianity (Old Believers, Evangelists), → Buddhism and → Shamanism.
The Russian Orthodox Church has historically spread to the western side of the Baikal. The south-eastern side of Baikal is predominantly Buddhist. The ancient shamanism is present around the Baikal and on the island of Olchon. Other beliefs, among others. The → Islam are also to be found.
At Baikal the religions seem to be fused.
In some places, religious sites such as churches are used for the practice of religious ceremonies by different religions simultaneously or alternately.
One experiences the coexistence of different religious confessions everywhere. In many people, the crucifix next to a Buddha and also relics of shamanism are located next to each other.
This peaceful and tolerant confederation of denominations is exemplary in the world.
→ Shamanism plays a special role. It is the original belief of primitive people all over the world.
Faith, beliefs, traditions, rites and possibilities have been handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. Representatives are often characterized by very specific physical or other characteristics over many generations.
The Shaman
A famous representative of shamanism is the shaman → Valentin Vladimirovich Hagdaev. He is already born in the 19th generation of Burjataan shamans and is known all over the world. A forked thumb of the right hand was the sign of all his predecessors. Valentin was also born with this shamanic label.
How was Valentin a Shaman?
At the age of six he went to sleep one evening. He could not wake up the following morning. His parents brought him to the hospital. Valentin saw another world in the apparent unconsciousness. It was very colorful. When he had a chance to clarify his questions there, he came back into his body and felt that our world is full of suffering. He also felt that in the other world everything is simple.
Later, he had a meeting with a black horse, an ancient race, which also had a relation to a former shaman. Another sign was his six fingers on his right hand - the hand with which to make sacrifices. Valentin first refused to be a shaman, but accepted it later. So he began his learning and his way, as a shaman.
The 57-year-old Valentin is probably a modern shaman.
He communicates with the world not only in conversation or spiritually, but also via the Internet and via email. His shaman school was his grandfather, also a famous shaman - already at times. Valentine’s father broke out of this line - he was a Communist - but Valentine did not mean to be contemptuous.
Valentin continues an important tradition and spoke to us about shamanism as follows:
“We respect our history, culture, traditions and customs. We worship the sacred fire, our great ancestors and the gods of heaven, the earth, the sun and the moon. Pray to the creators of the universe and Mother Nature. We preach life in harmony with ourselves and with nature.”
The Shaman Valentin performs in many places traditional rituals, but also lectures on the history and culture of the Buryat Mongols. He masters methods of traditional medicine as well as Mongolian astrology “Zurhay”.
He wrote scientific works and poems about the world of shamanism. He traveled around the world to convey his faith. Thus he was, among other things, Already at universities in Switzerland and in Germany for lectures.
Valentin has many talents - he is a trained turner, was a construction worker, was with the army, is a teacher, book author and director of the cultural center.
We had a meeting with him, which we had to thank only the decades-long friendship of Ljudmilas with the shaman. He personally told us about the traditions of shamanism on the shores of Lake Baikal.
With awe, we sat 6 travelers barefoot in the circle around him.
We listened to his lecture at Schneidersitz. We looked a lot like children, who look up to the fairy telling grandmother. His lecture lasted for a long time. What was heard was more important to us than the pain in his legs.
Deeply, during his report, he looked alternately into the distance and into our eyes. He accompanied every statement with expressive gestures.
He also spoke proudly of a feast of shamans, ...
... in which he receives the most famous representatives of shamanism every year at the shaman’s rock at Baikal. Representatives are among others of the primitive peoples of Asia, Australia and North America.
I was able to meet the highly revered and legendary shamans, who had been widely admired throughout the country. Ljudmila - our guide - had already told him about me before our meeting. But he seemed to have read more about me deeply in my eyes during his lectures - right down to my last thoughts. I felt it formally - but had no urge to defend myself against it.
I had the feeling that he felt my everlasting deep torment as deeply in himself as a result of certain things. He gave me so much strength and energy to cope with his mind and his responses.
We talked about God, spirits and the world. As one of the highest things in the world, he values diversity - including the diversity of religions. He told me:
Without diversity, the world would be nothing.
The supreme being in the world is not one of the many spirits of shamanism or a god, in the faith of this shaman.
The highest being to be revered are the parents.
Without them, we would not exist. So he always carries an amulet with himself with the pictures of father and mother.
How the future looks? He could tell me something about it, even to my own. But these are things that require action for society - which do not happen in self-development.
He saw in me the disposition to action. Why? Hm ‘... - I too have some outward features, as he assured me - but not of a shaman, but of one .... The last thing I’ve said remains with me.
I myself must have a long time to think about what has been said. But I know with certainty - with the Russian soul and the Holy Baikal: “I want some more, but no power.”
The Future lies only in our Hands
Yes - we talked about many things - about his and my country.
His greatest wish is that the two countries - Russia and Germany - will be able to ...
... as it was in the best sense in the past centuries the case or best tradition - just as we were only a few years ago on the very best way.
He wished that the two governments would go back together. He wanted us to report back in Germany about Russia, the Baikal and its people, wherever it is possible. He wished that we should carry positive messages in the sense of peace between the two nations. He also wanted me to write down my experiences with religions.
Violent fantasies of extremists of this world are destructive tools. We agreed on that.
In order to underline these concerns, I should smoke with the great Shaman Valentin the peace pipe which he has given me. As a confident non-smoking, former smoker, I took it bravely on me. Hopefully no relapse.
It was an honor for me - Спасибо! Для меня это было почестью.
This path at the Baikal and the shaman was and remains an inspiration source - of course only if I meet her openly. Then everyone can overcome their own limits.
At the end of our conversation, the shaman hugged me intently - I replied - as two deeply connected brothers.
Open letter
The meeting with the shaman and all our experiences at the Baikal in Russia, I took the opportunity to write an open letter to all deputies of the German Bundestag. It is about “A question of war or peace!” It was my promise to the shamans to talk about it. The open letter was sent to the Bundestag on 24 October 2016 and is readable under » “Your Action for Peace”.
The Photography
In the past, I often had colors “draufgelegt” or colors intensified during the final development of the pictures (photo processing, Adobe Lightroom, etc.). The reason - the gray in gray in Central Europe seems ubiquitous - it is there, of course.
Now, however, there were surprising results regarding the color. Especially in photos with sunshine - despite a general color reduction during development - there were still very intense colors on the snapshots - more intense than you are accustomed to.
In particular, blue, aquamarine and green were often supposedly covered. It was not necessary to control temperature or heat at all. We thought back and forth. What could the allegedly perceived, alleged “color problem” have for a reason?
Maybe the answer is simple. The air at Baikal has a much higher purity. Nature does not only look more intense, it also blossoms more intensively. The water does not just seem blue - it’s blue and absolutely pure. The starry sky does not seem to be littered with more stars at night - it really is.
Nature has the primacy and not the everyday gray of the hectic civilization. The whole thing is clouded only when the sun does not shine - but mostly it seems there 🙂 THIS IS BAIKAL! Is it that bad?
A photo expert, who is very familiar on the spot, said to us:
As you know, the BAIKAL has many superlatives, including the color world. The extreme tectonics make the water mostly deep blue appear. The interplay of the sun and rapidly changing clouds often brings exciting contrasts into the picture.
You should consciously use these contrasts in the pictures. If the blue is too close to the water, the “blue channel” can be reduced in the photo processing. Reason can also be days with high UV-content. Recordings around the noon time are particularly bluish. Of course you can also compensate for this with filters.
In the sense of exciting photos we tended to the contrast-rich side. And - sometimes photos of the Baikal with only weak colors or completely in black and white have their very special charm.
Farewell
Well, the summary was a bit longer than 7 words. Farewell was hard for us. Surely there is much more to tell about the Baikal region and experiences.
THE BAIKAL, this giant of our planet, will surely remain unforgettable to me, my fellow travelers. Again, I do not want to wait 55 years until I meet the Holy Sea and the shaman again. For me the experience is not only source and experience, it is much, much more ...
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