     For the Russian people Lake Baikal is not just a lake, but natural treasure. Located in Siberia not far from the Mongolian border and surrounded by mountains, forests and wild rivers, Baikal is an immense and breathtaking area of natural beauty. Baikal holds twenty percent of the earth's fresh water and harbors more endemic species of plants and animals than any other lake in the world. Fed by 336 rivers and streams including the Angara, Barguzin, Selenga, Turka and Snezhnaya, the lake holds fifty species of fish including bullhead, sturgeon and omul. Baikal is world's deepest lake: the maximal depth is 1,620 m. Baikal's volume, at 23,600 cu. km, is greater than any other fresh water lake. If you could drain Lake Baikal, it would take the Great Lakes of the U.S.: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario to refill the empty basin!
     A glimpse into the lake's clear water is enough to convince anyone that nature not only exists in Siberia, it flourishes. The lake's surrounding wild mountains and rivers make the Lake Baikal region an ideal area for engaging in an array of outdoor activities including hiking, rock climbing, whitewater rafting, backcountry and alpine skiing, fishing, birdswatching and nature photography. There are also many regional cultural attractions. Today, as in the past, Baikal remains a crossroads of cultures where native Sayats still graze reindeers and Buryat people maintain many of their old traditions.
     In 1996, Lake Baikal was included in UNESCO World Heritage List.

DVD overview

     This documentary describes the trekking trip in Baikalskiy Range at the North-West part of Baikal area. In this trip we explore Lake Baikal from the very South to very North and back by air and sailing on hydrofoil, get fantastic fishing, swim in hot sulfur bathes on Baikal shore, hike through genuine deep Siberian taiga, climb the highest summit of Baikalskiy Range - Peak Cherskogo - and visit old Russian wooden fortress.
     Itinerary: arriving to Irkutsk - visit to Il'inskiy Ostrog (old wooden fortress on Angara river) - flight to Nizhneangarsk - transfer to Severobaikalsk - boat to Cape Kotelnikovskiy (with a stop to take hot sulfur bathes on Baikal shore) - hiking along Kurkula river - the foothill of Peak Cherskogo - climbing of Peak Cherskogo - Galkina pass - Goremika river gorge - Baikalskoe village - transfer to Severobaikalsk - hydrofoil to Irkutsk- rest on Irkutsk Water Reserve. This is our setup trip itinerary which covers all the area in 2 weeks, but shorter trips are available as well.
     Very rare inhabited Northern part of Baikal area, which is keeping it’s ecological purity and wilderness so far, is excellent place not only for trekking but for fishing (Baikal itself, small mountain lakes and flyfishing in mountain rivers) and for white water rafting as well.

Bonuses

We include topo map of the route and slideshow with more than 80 high resolution photos (not only taken in Baikalskiy Range but on the opposite shore in Frolikha area as well, which is real fishing paradize!) into “Bonus” folder on this DVD. In addition, the general map of Baikal area is printed on the opposite side of front cover.
For more information of this trip, please have a look here.

Video: PAL 4:3 34 min
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Titles: English
Region: all

This disk is playable on most of standalone PAL DVD players and on virtually all computer DVD players.
Bonus: hi-res printable topo map of the route (subfolder "map" in "Bonus" folder), more than 80 hi-res photos slideshow (baikal.exe file in "Bonus" folder).

System requirements (for PC playback and view): Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista or W7, Pentium III processor or higher, 64 Mb RAM or more, DVD-ROM drive, DVD software player (we recommend CyberLink PowerDVD v. 5 or higher), graphic card with at least 16 Mb RAM, sound card with Dolby Digital AC3 support; any picture viewer like ACDSee to see and print the map (color printer needed). To see the slideshow, just run baikal.exe in "Bonus" folder (note: it doesn't install anything onto your computer or affect your system in any other means). Display resolution higher than 800x600 is strongly recommended.

Price: $45

Order "Baikal- The Pearl among The Mountains" DVD now!

Please, us for any possible questions including techical support!