Izhilkhey Island is a small rock in the Maloye More Strait of Lake Baikal. It is clearly visible during boat tours that depart from the village of Khuzhir on Olkhon Island. The island is primarily known as a major colony of great cormorants. Over many years, the birds have nested on its cliffs, and their droppings have coated the rocks in a thick layer, turning the island white and earning it its second name—Belenkiy (or "Little White One").
A Rock Adrift in Baikal
Izhilkhey isn`t an island in the conventional sense. It is a majestic rock, rising 105 meters above the lake`s surface. With a small area of just 1,700 square meters, it is a solid stone monolith. Its shores are vertical and inaccessible, like the walls of an ancient fortress. Landing on it is impossible—it is a kingdom of birds and wind, not people. Nature itself has ensured its ecosystem remains untouched.
The island has three names, each telling its own story:
• Izhilkhey – The Buryat name, whose exact meaning has been lost to time, adding to its mystery.
• Belenkiy (White) Island – The most descriptive and popular name. It accurately describes its appearance: the island`s cliffs are a brilliant white, as if painted with lime.
• Seagull Island – A name from memory. It dates back to a time when seagulls were the masters here. But history had other plans.
The White Color: The Work of Thousands of Beaks
The striking whiteness of the cliffs isn`t a natural phenomenon but the result of vibrant life. Izhilkhey is a key nesting site for great cormorants in the Maloye More. For decades, thousands of these large black birds have occupied every ledge and crevice of the rock. Their droppings, known as guano, which contains caustic lime, have over the centuries coated the stone walls in a dense, multi-layered "armor." This is the secret behind Izhilkhey`s dazzling whiteness. It is quite literally painted by the life activity of its feathered inhabitants.
Interestingly, the seagulls that gave the island one of its names were eventually displaced by the larger and noisier cormorants. Today, seagulls are merely neighbors, while cormorants are the full-fledged masters of this stone kingdom.
View from the Water: An Icebreaker, a Whale, and Winter`s Ice Formations
The best way to appreciate Izhilkhey`s scale and shape is to approach it by boat. From the water, its silhouette can look like a giant icebreaker cutting through Baikal`s waves or the back of a colossal whale frozen in eternal travel. Tours from Khuzhir allow you to examine this natural sculpture in detail and observe the cormorants. The birds, accustomed to attention, often fly close to the boats, and tourists enjoy feeding them bread, capturing great photos.
But the island has a second, no less fantastic face that it reveals in winter. Due to the harsh continental climate and fierce winds, snow hardly settles on its peaks. Izhilkhey remains the same dark-white giant amidst the endless icy desert. However, at its base, nature works a different kind of magic: peculiar snow "growths" and huge icicles form here, stretching from the cliffs down to Baikal`s ice like crystal bridges. This sight is as unusual as it is beautiful. Winter tours by car on Baikal`s ice allow you to get up close to this icy wonder.
Protected Status: Rules of Preservation
Izhilkhey Island is part of Baikal`s fragile ecosystem and is therefore protected. Landing on it is strictly forbidden. This rule is not just a formality but a vital necessity for preserving the bird colony. Any human intrusion can scare the birds away and destroy their nests. Setting up camps, lighting fires, or pitching tents on the islands belonging to the water fund, which includes Izhilkhey, is not permitted.
