Great Baikal Trail
Encyclopedia
The Great Baikal Trail is a non-profit project to create a hiking trail
around Lake Baikal
in Siberia
(Russia
) with a total length of about 1800 km (1,118.5 mi). Although the idea for such a trail was born in the 1970s, construction only started in 2003 with the help of volunteers from around the world. The goal is to develop eco-tourism in the region, as an alternative to industrial development of the world's most ancient, deepest lake. The Great Baikal Trail is not yet completed, however, the first sections are already safe for use. Upon completion it will connect 3 national parks and 3 nature reserves. Every year the GBT organizes up to 25 volunteer camps, during which international participants work together with locals (Russian and English are the official languages spoken in each camp) to contribute to the trail's completion. The camps take place on the shores of Baikal, in pristine wilderness. In addition to trail-building camps, the GBT also runs educational and 'social work' camps, for example, camps where volunteers work with local kids with disabilities.
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
around Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
(Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) with a total length of about 1800 km (1,118.5 mi). Although the idea for such a trail was born in the 1970s, construction only started in 2003 with the help of volunteers from around the world. The goal is to develop eco-tourism in the region, as an alternative to industrial development of the world's most ancient, deepest lake. The Great Baikal Trail is not yet completed, however, the first sections are already safe for use. Upon completion it will connect 3 national parks and 3 nature reserves. Every year the GBT organizes up to 25 volunteer camps, during which international participants work together with locals (Russian and English are the official languages spoken in each camp) to contribute to the trail's completion. The camps take place on the shores of Baikal, in pristine wilderness. In addition to trail-building camps, the GBT also runs educational and 'social work' camps, for example, camps where volunteers work with local kids with disabilities.