Olkhon Island

Olkhon is seventy-one kilometres long and lies along the western side of Baikal, separated by the shallow Maloye More, and it is oddly dry - the mountains to the west take the rain, so the island is steppe and larch rather than taiga, with sand bays on one shore and cliffs dropping into deep water on the other. Khuzhir is the main village. Beside it stands Shamanka, the Cape Burkhan rock: a marble outcrop with a through cave, one of the nine most sacred places in Asia in Buryat tradition, associated with the spirit of Baikal and with shamanic practice that continues - serge posts with ribbons stand along the approach and there are protocols about where women traditionally did not go. It is also the single most photographed thing on Baikal, and the tension between an active sacred site and coach tourism is visible on the ground.

History

The Buryats and Yakuts were the island's first peoples, and Russian explorers first came in the 17th century. The name comes from the Buryat oyhon, wooded, or olhan, dry, and it is still debated which of the two is right (Wikipedia, Olkhon Island).

What's there

• Shamanka - the marble cape rock with a through cave, sacred in Buryat tradition.
• The serge posts - ribboned poles along the approach, part of living practice.
• The dry island - steppe and larch rather than taiga, in Baikal's rain shadow.
• The two shores - sand bays on the west, cliffs into deep water on the east.

When to go

June to September for the steppe and bays; February to March for the ice, when the crossing is driven and the lake is clear blue. Two to four days.

Before you go

Shamanka is an active sacred site, not a backdrop - do not climb on it or walk past the marked points. Ferry queues in summer run for hours. Island roads are rough sand and gravel needing off-road vehicles. Infrastructure in Khuzhir has not kept pace with visitor numbers and waste is a visible problem.

Nearby

Cape Khoboy is at the northern tip; the Maloye More separates the island from the mainland.

Key facts