Eastern Olkhon

Recommended depths: four to 25 meters for photographing and filming, 8-40 meters for recreational dives, and up to 75 meters for deep and trimix dives.

The place owns its name Cherepakha (Turtle) to the peculiar stone that looks like a turtle. 

The place features three kinds of rocks: the layered vertical-oriented strata forming intricate structures, the sandy-stone steep incline, and the vertical stone drop-off.  You can also find a small canyon, tunnel, and small grottos here. The place is covered with sponges that grow as high as one meter. 

A good place for deep diving.

Recommended depths: three to 40 meters for photographing and filming, three to 40 meters for recreational dives, and up to 75 meters for deep and trimix dives.

The shallow waters bottom of the offshore area is nice: lots of sand, weeds and sponges at the edge of the drop off. The drop off is benchy, the benches are covered in sand and sponges, that decorate the scenery to the depth of 60 meters - this is an outstanding fact. To the north from the site at the depth from 40 to 25 meters there is a big stone pole - we call such rocks «fingers». To the north from the finger is a vertical drop off with a platform at the depth of 40-55 meters.

A very picturesque offshore area will make your safety stop interesting.

Deep dives along the «finger» rock.

Recommended depths: three to 40 meters for photographing and filming, three to 40 meters for recreational dives, and up to 110 meters for deep and trimix dives.

Though the place is called Khanayevsky Canyon, there is no canyon here.

The central part of the site is a 100-meter wall. There is a cave and a tunnel in the wall at a depth of 55-60 meters. At the edge of the wall in the shelf area, there is a cliff called Utjonok (Duckling).

The southern part of the site is a sandy drop-off with sponge-grown stones. The northern part of the site is a steep stone slope grown with sponges. There are two grottos at 32 and 35 meters.

Recommended depths: 7-25 meters for photographing and filming, 7-40 meters for recreational dives, and 55-100 meters for deep research dives.

The central part of the site is a horseshoe-shaped drop-off protruding into the lake. The edge of the drop-off is at a depth of 8-14 meters. At a depth of over 50 meters, the steep slope of the drop-off changes to a wall that is to be researched. At a depth of up to 25 meters, you find a thick sponge tangle.

Recommended depths: three to 65 meters for photographing and filming, three to 40 meters for recreational dives, and up to 110 meters for deep and trimix dives.

The site owns its name to the layered rocks of the drop-off and shelf that remind of a flaky cake called “Napoleon” in Russia.

In the northern (right) part of the site, you find a grandiose 90-meter deep canyon, admire it in all its beauty we recommend to choose the view point at the bottom of it at the depth of 95 meters. The canyon begins with a sand bottom amphitheater piled with trees and poles. The canyon walls are covered in cracks. On the southern wall of the canyon, there are three grottos at a depth of 13, 27, and 40 meters, respectively. The northern part of the canyon is very smooth at the depth lower than 40 meters, but it is quite rough otherwise. The northern part of the canyon is a huge shallow water offshore area and a benchy schistose rock drop off, covered in sponges. In the northern part this canyon meets another site called "Napoleon Shelf".

You can find a few other canyons in the southern (left) part of the site. There are many even walls, steps, and blocks in the shelf area, which as a whole looks like the foundation of a ruined man-made pyramid.

Napoleon ideal place for deep diving. Many trimix dives have been done at this site, with a maximum depth of 125 meters.

The place is also remarkable for its proximity (3 km away, on the opposite side of the lake) to the deepest point of the lake (1,647 meters). When the weather is absolutely calm a ship can be moored to the beach in the southern part of Cape Izhimei (this place can be called the center of the dive site), when the wind is weak, a ship can be anchored in the narrow offshore area in the northern part of the canyon, however, we usually make dives from a drifting ship.

A narrow canyon starts opposite the beach almost right from the shore and becomes very smooth from the depth of 20 meters. Narrow benches run to the depth of 60 meters and then they turn into a vertical drop off. To the left and to the right from the canyon are bench drop offs, covered in sponges. At the depth of 55-65 meters the benches get smooth and the drop off becomes vertical. At the depth of 75 meters there is a sharp angle inclination. The lower part of the canyon looks like a cone, its top is at the depth of 105 meters. To the left and to the right from the cone the walls run into the abyss. We have not explored them to find out their maximum depth.

The northern part of the dive site - steep benches lined with cracks, turning into a vertical drop off, the lower part of it is not identified. The nothern part of the dive site Izhimei Canyon is adjacent to the Cape Izhimei dive site.

The southern part of the dive site - steep benches covered in sponges, turning into a vertical drop off, the lower point of it is also not explored. The southern part of the dive site is adjacent to the Cousteau dive site.

Lots of white sand and green sponges at the edge of the drop off. The drop off and the benches are covered in white sand and green sponges, that decorate the scenery to the depth of 90 meters - this is an outstanding fact.

An ideal place for deep dives. Many trimix dives have been done at this site, with a maximum depth of 140 meters.