The deepest and oldest lake in the world as well as the second-largest, Lake Baikal is beautiful, bio-diverse, and so remarkable that it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Down the road from the region’s largest city of Irkutsk, Listvyanka is the gateway to Lake Baikal from the west, while Severobaikalsk is the access point from the north. Olkhon, the lake’s biggest island and the fourth-largest in-lake isle in the world, has a very diverse landscape and fascinating Buryat villages.