In school on geography lessons probably everyone heard about the deepest freshwater lake on the planet, which is called Baikal.

What is the symbol of this place – of course, the Baikal seal “Nerpa” the same as in our logo.

You can’t say I have traveled Baikal and seen everything to see, if you have not see the Baikal seal. If you want to see it, Uskanii islands are the place to do so.

Ushkanyi Islands are situated almost in the middle of the Lake Baikal in the Barguzin district of Buryatia. Scientists believe that the archipelago is the top of an underwater ridge. The total area of Islands is approximately 10 km2. The Archipelago consists of 4 Islands: Large, Round, Thin, Long obviously they got names due to their form.

No more boring scientific information about Uskanii islands for today.

In the past in Siberia the word “Ushkan” used to stand for hare. It is quite reasonable to ask why islands have this name even if there are no hares there. First travelers were coast-dweller who inhabiting the White Sea and Arctic Ocean coasts. They used the word “Ushkan” or sea hare to name seals which they saw near the islands. If you want to see Baikal seals you are welcome to Uskanii islands, here of course you have a chance to make a photo with them.

There is one more interesting fact that these islands are considered as uninhabited (excluding lighthouse keeper and the meteorological observing station stuff). These islands are under protection of local state so to get there you need a special permission, and our company will help you to get it.

Ushkanii islands have their own endemic flora and fauna because these islands are difficult to reach and they has not been subjected to anthropogenic impact thus there are only 150 visitors per year. So you have an opportunity to see: Ushkaniy pine with twisting shapes of the trunk, Ushkaniy birch with black bark and sharp-toothed leaves, the trees which age is more than 300 years, and of course the largest rookery of Baikal seals (over 2,000 heads) located on the West side of the island is Thin island.