Kotelnikovsky Cape

Kotelnikovsky cape lies on Baikal's north-western shore, eighty kilometres south of Severobaykalsk. From the north the Goryachaya river flows into the lake, from the south the Kurkula; between them, at the foot of the cliffs, rises a spring with water up to 81 degrees — the hottest on Baikal. In 1987 the spring was captured by a well; the water is fluoride-hydrocarbonate sodium, mineralisation 0.32 grams per litre. Drinking it is not recommended, but it is perfect for baths: the cape has two open pools and a third under a roof, with a flow of ten litres per second. To bathe in thermal water beneath the cliffs of a protected shore, looking out over Baikal, is a rare northern story: the ranger station of the Baikalo-Lensky reserve and guest cabins stand here too. Getting here is a long haul — by water along the shore or on foot on the northern trails — and that is why the place has kept its silence.