Fishing for a Siberian surprise

A dip in the icy waters of Lake Baikal is not for the faint-hearted. Picture / Jim Eagles

Here's a little quiz for you: what's the clearest body of water on the planet? No? Well, here's another clue, it's also the deepest body of water. Still not sure? It's also largest lake in the world, holding a fifth of the world's freshwater supply.

Correct. Lake Baikal in Siberia.

It is also extraordinarily picturesque, surrounded by mountains, dotted with fascinating villages and home to a unique wildlife, including, arguably, the tastiest fish on earth.

Baikal is one of those places you have to stop off at see when you're travelling the trans-Siberian railroad. For many years, there was no option because the 636km long banana-shaped lake, blocked the way.

They tried taking the trains across in a specially made ice-breaker but it couldn't cope with the storms and ice. They tried laying the rails on the ice but the first train to cross sank.

Eventually, a line was carved through the mountainous countryside at the southern end of the lake and the route between Vladivostock and St Petersburg was finally open.

We went to the lake by the soft option - bus from Irkutsk, but that was more than enough to provide a taste of just how dangerous Baikal can be.

A storm blew up, whipping the lake into such a frenzy that the weather-beaten skipper who was to take us on a cruise decided it wasn't safe.

Then the bitter wind was joined by icy rain and sleet, sending even the hardened locals at the lakefront craft market fleeing to shelter.

Before long, we were cold, wet, mumbling about hypothermia and wondering miserably how to spend the day.

"Hey," said Alexie, our guide, "you don't come to Siberia for sun. If you want sun go back home."

Good point, and, anyway, the mumbling didn't last long because a local woman invited us to her home for lunch.

It was a slightly ramshackle wooden house, its appearance enlivened by a collection of brightly painted outhouses, and we might have been forgiven for wondering how lunch was going to work.

But before such thoughts could arise, the furniture had been moved out, tables from all round the neighbourhood were moved in and piled high with food, bottles were opened, fires lit and the place was pumping.

Before making this trip I had read that omul was the finest eating fish in the world, so naturally I wanted to try it.

And, guess what? Among the goodies miraculously conjured up for this feast were plates piled with hot-smoked omul.

I don't know about the best in the world, but it sure is delicious, midway between smoked salmon and snapper, and it goes extremely well with cold Siberian vodka.

Better yet, while we were filling our bellies the storm passed, the sun came out and suddenly it was a perfect day for a lakeside stroll.

Apart from some new developments down the back, the lakeside village of Listvyanka is like something from a picture book, with quaint cottages and log cabins with gaily painted shutters set either side of a bubbling stream.

The village church, St Nicholas, was simply beautiful. I'm not sure what feast was being celebrated but a girl handed out posies to everyone entering the church, its old wooden walls were hung with magnificent icons, candles lit by worshippers provided a charming light, and the atmosphere was warm, friendly and moving.

It was such a delightful experience I bought an icon from the old woman selling candles and religious paintings.

Beside the lake, the market was back in action, selling mainly carvings and jewellery made with the semi-precious stones found in abundance around its shores.

This geologically active area has frequent earthquakes. The lake sits in the gap between two tectonic plates and is gradually getting wider.

Because of its size the lake also has a unique wildlife. Nearly 3000 species or sub-species have been identified in its waters and 80 per cent of those are found nowhere else.

The best place to find out about this unique place - especially if you can't go out on the water - is the Limnological Institute Museum in Rogatka which has informative maps and models, a collection of stuffed animals found around the lake edge and an aquarium containing a couple of the unique black-eyed nerpa seals and several species of fish, including huge sturgeon and plump omul.

That reminded me: I wouldn't mind having another taste of omul before moving on.

On the lakeshore a man was smoking some in a metal box using timber pulled from a dilapidated wharf.

Do you think he might be willing to share his feed?