I’m going to let you in on a secret.
There’s an island where you should never, ever go.
It doesn’t have paved roads. There’s faulty electricity. Nothing is open when you want it to be, because stores seem to take lunch breaks for at least two days. You rarely meet another person on the streets, and rarely hear voices from the houses.
It’s so quiet during the day.
And the silence seeps into everything.
On the first night, you will leave your room just as the sun is setting. The wind will push you up to the cliffs where trees are tied with blue silk prayer scarves and tattered kerchiefs. In the dying light, the mainland hills turn an otherworldly blue that stops you in your tracks. The boats below won’t seem to notice how long you stay up there, still and transfixed.
During the day, there’s not much to do except read, write, walk, and rest. Maybe you’ll play chess with a friend, or sit in the banya for a half hour, or take your time with a long meal, or simply go outside and stare at whatever stretches before you.
At night, the stars will come out, the windows of the dark wooden houses will glow with orange light, and the moon will rise thick, massive and bright over the eastern hills.
You’ll find yourself going for walks, long ambling strolls, just because your feet pick up and go. You’ll loop around the same streets and you’ll hike up hills to get views over the water. Half-stray dogs will follow you and roll at your feet as you sit on dusty rocks and stare out to the distance.
And you will hear nothing but the wind and the birds.
Even with your friends, though you may stay up until the late hours playing card games, considering ‘Would you rather…?’ riddles, and telling ghost stories, the quiet will get you during the day. You will drink excessive cups of tea while sitting outside on the porch, watching the pets and resident artists nap in the sun.
Your heart will breathe and your body will rest.
The island will stop you and slow you like amber. You’ll lose track of time, of the day you arrived and the day you’re supposed to leave.
And you will feel so at ease, so rested by the calm and arrested by the beauty, so perplexed by this place that barely gets a mention in your guidebook, that other travellers pass over because it’s too far out of the way, that you’ll be tempted to preserve it by keeping it a secret forever.
Because the quiet, and the water, and the cliffs, and the wind, will have turned it into one of your favourite places in the world.
But, of course, some secrets are too good to really keep.
So instead, you will reach a compromise. You will tell your friends about the silence and the scenery and the peace and the calm, but put a massive asterisk at the end.
You will tell them about this place – one of the most awe-inspiring, one of the most surprising – but that it’s an island that they will never, ever want to visit.
Because, if they do, they may never, ever want to leave.
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Sounds absolutely hideous, no one should go here….what the name again :)
Gotta keep it secret! ;)
Sounds great… I love places like this that are such a contrast to my every day life. I actually have never felt inspired to go to Russia, but if someday inspiration strikes, you can bet I won’t follow your advice to not go here ;)
I know – the contrast was killer. Although it did really remind me of those grey, windswept norcal beach towns!
Haha awesome! What a unique place. I wouldn’t mind spending a few days there, just wasting time, hanging out, and doing nothing. Don’t worry though, I’m still stuck in Korea so I won’t be making it anyways.. :P
Ha! There is no ‘wasting time’ here…even all that time you spend doing absolutely nothing is valuable for your mental health! ;)
Yes, I totally mean wasting time in a positive way! I feel the same! haha
You may have just convinced me it’s time I make my way back to the motherland. What a special little place you found, I promise I won’t tell anyone either.
DO IT. I would go back in a heartbeat!
Awesome discovery. It sounds like a perfect place to get lost in. Definitely on the list for when I eventually make it to Russia!
Somehow, I have a feeling that you in particular would love it – it’s the perfect spot to go, disconnect and write!!
I have just returned from Olkhon (in winter) and absolutely loved it! A magical place!
Isn’t it, though??
Out of all the travel blogs I have read, I absolutely love your pieces – especially this particular one. They’re well written and very poetic that you don’t necessarily find in many other peoples’ writings. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Wow…that’s really kind of you to say! Thank you :)
A very well written, thoughtful piece. You had me wondering with the title and then I saw the photos and about a quarter of the way down the page I said to myself, “Aha,” But don’t worry, your secret place is safe with me. Just to make sure I avoid this horrible island, where exactly is it?
Haha, glad you can keep a secret! ;) It’s in Lake Baikal, a worth the effort it takes to get there!!
This island is really an amazing place as it sits on Lake Baikal, which is the largest freshwater lake by volume, the deepest lake in the world, and the cleanest lake in the world. Lake Baikal is also one of the oldest lakes in the world at 25 million years old.
The island has a combination of desert, steppe, and taiga. On the western coast of the island you can find Shamanka, or Shaman’s Rock. The local indigenous people, the Buryats believe in Shamanism and this is Baikal’s most famous landmark.
However, as mentioned in the article, be ready to backpack and services are very limited. However, it is a nature lovers paradise.
I totally have to go there on my Trans-Siberian trip this summer! What’s the best way to get to the Island?
There are local marshrutkas to the island from Irkutsk’s Central Market! Cheap and fast due to how badly the drivers speed ;) Have fun!! xx