Lake Baikal,Siberia

A long time ago, I came across a picture of a frozen lake of pristine blue ice, with frozen pearls of trapped air bubbles suspended within. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I would find myself there one day, on a 600 km journey on the ice with nothing but a Russian UAZ Vehicle, a rented bike, and his own two feet.

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Located in the Southern part of Eastern Siberia, the Irktusk Oblast province of Russia is home to the oldest existing freshwater lake on Earth, dating back to 20-25 million years. The deepest continental body of water in existence, the lake has a maximum depth of 5,315 feet.

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The largest freshwater lake by volume, Lake Baikal is an ancient wonder which houses about one-fifth of all the freshwater on the Earth’s surface. The lake remains frozen in a state of timelessness from the months of late January to the end of April. Home to an approximate of 1,800 endemic plant and animal species, the lake lies in a cleft where the Asian subcontinent is literally splitting into two- the beginnings of a future ocean.

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The Siberian Baikal region is home to a number of hot mineral springs, produced by natural breaks in the Earth’s crust. This is where I began his journey, on a quest to reach the hot springs on the shores of his dream destination: the stunning Baikal lake.

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After fulfilling my quest to visit the hot springs of Baikal, I  set off upon a rental bike, complete with spiked tires, for a journey cycling upon the ice, which had begun to melt with the arrival of Spring. Cycling for 15km through slushy ice, I found myself without water and chased by dogs on my journey back to his rooms, where I took a few days of much-needed rest before my next big adventure.