Chapter 12
Baikal Lake
In order to tour the area around Lake Baikal where traditions place the remains of the treasure of the tsars, the members of the Diadem Project boarded the so-called Circum-Baikal train the next day.
Originally one of the seven segments of the Trans-Siberian Railway, this train is today reduced to an 89 km tourist route along the southern shore of Lake Baikal, passing through thirty-eight tunnels and stopping at each of its five stations: Slyudlyanka, Kultuk, Maritui , Ulanovo and Baikal. It is an old, coal-powered locomotive that carries a few wagons, sometimes no more than two. The tour had a young blonde guide named Vera who mentioned the characteristics of the sites they were going through. At a time when the train was running down a cliff the young woman warned.
“Take care when the train goes up the cliff and especially when we go down, since the slope is very steep. Please ride seated until we leave this area.”