🏞Russia’s Regions: Irkutsk Region — Where Lake Baikal Begins Some places sound like an invitation to travel the moment you hear their name. Lake Baikal is one of them. Today, in our Sunday journey through the regions of Russia, we travel to the Irkutsk Region — a land of Siberian taiga, historic towns, crystal-clear waters and vast open spaces. 💧The region’s main symbol is, of course, Lake Baikal, the deepest lake on the planet. More than 300 rivers flow into it, while only one flows out — the Angara River. 🏝One of Baikal’s most famous places is Olkhon Island. Here, open steppes give way to rocky shores and forests, while the famous Cape Burkhan has become one of the most recognisable symbols of Lake Baikal. 🏛But the Irkutsk Region is about much more than nature. Irkutsk, founded in the 17th century, has preserved the distinctive atmosphere of a Siberian city, with stone churches, merchant mansions and traditional wooden architecture. 🚂Another symbol of the region is the Circum-Baikal Railway. This historic route runs along the shores of Lake Baikal through tunnels, bridges, galleries and viaducts built in the early 20th century. 🌲Not far from Irkutsk is the Taltsy Architectural and Ethnographic Museum, where visitors can discover the traditions and everyday life of the peoples of the Baikal region. ✨The Irkutsk Region is a land of contrasts: ancient cultural traditions and a modern city, endless taiga and open steppe, wooden estates and the majestic waters of Lake Baikal. 📍And perhaps it is here that one can truly feel the scale of Russia: you can begin the morning in the streets of old Irkutsk and, just a few hours later, find yourself standing on the shore of one of the world’s most famous lakes.