Ushkany Islands

The Ushkany islands are four outcrops of marble in the middle of Baikal - Bolshoy Ushkany, about nine and a half square kilometres, and three smaller ones - rising steeply from water that reaches great depth immediately around them, and they matter for one reason: they hold the largest haul-out of Baikal nerpa, the only exclusively freshwater seal species in the world. How the species got into a lake so far inland is not settled; the usual explanation is arrival from the Arctic up river systems during a glacial period, and it has been isolated long enough to be its own species. Several thousand animals use the rookery on the Tonkiy island stones in summer. Visits are strictly controlled: permits from Zabaykalsky national park, landings only at set points, and viewing of the rookery from a screened hide at distance, because disturbance pushes the seals off the stones. Boats go from Ust-Barguzin, weather permitting.

The landscape

• The nerpa rookery - the largest haul-out of the world's only freshwater seal species.
• The four islands - marble outcrops rising from deep water mid-lake.
• The screened hide - viewing at distance, because disturbance clears the stones.
• The isolation question - how a seal reached a lake so far from the sea.

When to go

June to September, when seals haul out and boats run. A day within a longer Baikal trip. Permits and a licensed operator are required.

Good to know

Landings are limited and permits are compulsory - this is not a place to turn up. Viewing is from a hide at distance, not close encounters. Baikal weather cancels crossings regularly. Operators that promise close approach are breaking the rules that keep the rookery there.

Nearby

Svyatoy Nos and Ust-Barguzin are east; Olkhon is far to the south-west.

Key facts