Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Legend behind Lake Baikal

By David Morgan


Russia is a country that boasts for its quaint natural miracles. A visit to Russia would not be complete without visiting the famous lake - Baikal.



Considered to be the deepest lake on the planet Lake Baikal is found near Siberian wilds and near the borders of Mongolia. Russian people referred to the lake as 'Baikal Sea ' due to its size. If you're viewing the lake from the cliffs, you'll see a huge body of water that nearly appears like a sea. Based on a local legend, the lake was named for a extremely strong king. According to the legend, King Baikal had many stunning girls, one of whom was Angara. The king decided to let her marry Irkut, one of the wealthiest folk at that time. But Angara had already found love in Yenisei so that the 2 ran away from the king to live a life of their own. Today, there are more than 300 brooks that flow into the lake which represents the children of the king. The sole stream that flows out of the lake is Angara thus this stream is sometimes called the 'disobedient daughter ' by the area folk.



In 1996, UNESCO declared the lake as one of the planet's heritage sites. The lake is a very popular tourist destination due to the natural beauty of the lake and the environment. It holds about 20% of the clean water and homes above 1,700 species of flora and fauna. About 1,150 of these species cannot be found anywhere else worldwide. For instance, nerpa, which is a seal that lives in water, can only be found in this lake. The tourism authorities have been able to maintain the spotless environment round the lake.



The best time to go to visit this area is between July and September. From January to May, the lake remains frozen as the temperature reaches close to -35 C . Even during summer, the water in the lake is icy and cold. There's a local saying that if you touch the water you can live for extra 5 years but if you swim you'll get 25 further years to live. If you're a swimming enthusiast, then you'll enjoy the experience of swimming in Lake Baikal. You may enjoy fishing, rafting, trekking and pony trekking. Jeep service is available to offer you a steered tour of the surrounding area.



This visitor destination is accessible thru different paths. The closest airfield is located at Irkutsk which is also a major train station at the Trans-Siberian railway. The second route is through the Baikal-Amur train line by boarding at a place called Severobaikalsk. Severobaikalsk is a city found at the northern area of the lake. The third route is through Ulan-Ude which is on the eastern side of the lake. this traveller destination is well connected and you can select the handiest option to reach the destination.




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