


Russia

Guided, Small Group

Mid Range
This 9-day tour travels around Lake Baikal, one of the most spectacular lakes in the world. It's home to incredible aquatic life, over 3,500 species of plants and animals, 70% of which can be found nowhere else in the world. Freshwater seals, 'nerpas', can be seen on the rocks around the lake, they one of only three freshwater species of seals in the world. Visit Barguzin Valley where Genghis Khan's mother was born and meet the local Buryat people. Guided by an English-speaking guide this is a fascinating visit to Lake Baikal, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Sight, often called the 'Pearl of Siberia'.
From USD 460 per person
Single supplement for the tour is 10400 RUR/person
Meet at the railway station accompanied by our English-speaking guide. Check-in to the hotel. Shower/rest. Enjoy a 2-hour walking city tour. It starts at the historical part of the city: Epiphany Cathedral, the oldest stone-structure Church of our Saviour and the only Catholic Cathedral in Irkutsk, Polish Roman Catholic Church. The tour leads you through the Kirov Square and circus, taking you to the main street of Irkutsk, the Karl Marks Street. You’ll walk along the street to get to the Angara river embankment. Right there, where the monument to Alexander III is, all young people gather, so you’ll have a chance to see “the youth culture” of Irkutsk. Free time. Overnight.
Breakfast. Car transfer to the village situated only 60km away from Irkutsk – Listvyanka. On the way visit an open-air wooden architecture museum “Taltsy”. In the museum you’ll see the settlements of indigenous Siberian people of 17th-20th centuries. Some of the buildings presented in the museum were brought there from the villages that were flooded after building hydro-electric dams in the Irkutsk region. Check-in to the guesthouse. Guided walk to a local Baikal museum that has a set of aquariums. There is one with the only mammal representative, the Baikal Seal, in it. Walk up to a nearby view point. There you’ll get a chance to take panoramic pictures of Baikal from above. Enjoy your visit to a local 19th century wooden St.Nicolas church and a local fish market where you’ll see a great variety of fish and different ways of cooking it. Free time. Overnight.
Breakfast. Transfer to Khuzhir village on Olkhon Island by car. After you get to Maloe More – the bay near the Olkhon Island (it takes about 3-4 hours), you will take a ferryboat to get to the Olkhon Island. On the opposite shore there will be Russian military 4X4 vehicles, which will take you to the mini-hotel in Khuzhir (it will take about 1 hour). Khuzhir is the main village of the Island with the population of 1500 people. Check-in to the tourist resort. Enjoy the sunset on Shaman cape near Khuzhir village. Overnight.
Breakfast. A day long group tour to the northern part of the Island by car. You’ll be taken to the best view points of Olkhon Island where the guide will introduce you to all mysterious legends that this place holds. Enjoy lunch cooked on a campfire. Return to the village. Overnight.
Breakfast. Explore Khuzhir by going to the museum of Olkhon Island and to the fish factory. Take a swim in warm waters of Baikal. Free time. A private boat transfer to the village situated on the eastern shore of Baikal – Ust Barguzin. You will cross Lake Baikal in its deepest and widest place! Check-in to the resort in Ust-Barguzin in the evening. Overnight.
Breakfast. Enjoy a tour to the Barguzin Valley. This place is considered to be sacred for Buryats and as legends say that’s where Genghis Khan’s mother was born. In the evening you’ll have a traditional Eastern Buryat dinner. Overnight.
Breakfast. Transfer to Ulan-Ude. Check-in to the hotel in the late afternoon. Rest. Overnight.
Breakfast. Move on to the next part of the tour by exploring the Buddhism culture in the famous Ivolginsky datsan. The tour takes you to the beauty of Ivolginsk valley. We walk for almost an hour and a half around the monastery, entering temples and listening to the prayers. Enjoy your visit to the Old Believers village where you’ll listen to the folk songs of the community and find out many interesting details about their culture. Dinner in old Russian way.
Breakfast. Check-out from the hotel. End of the programme.
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