Tour Duration: 5 days
Group Size: 2 - 5 people
Specialty Categories: Cultural Journey, Ethnographic Tour, Sightseeing
Season: Year round
Tour Customizable: Yes
Price Per Person: USD 1,275 - 1,540
Today, the same as many centuries ago Lake Baikal remains a crossroads of cultures. Even though Irkutsk is located in the middle of Asian continent it is included into the list of European historical cities for its unique architecture. And it takes only an overnight train to find yourself in Buryatia on the east coast of Lake Baikal where many elder Buryat people maintain their old traditions and use Buryat language in everyday life. Note how different some details are here. When you enter a café in Irkutsk you will most likely be served black hot tea from a cup while in Buryatia many traditional restaurants will pour some green tea to a bowl.
While being the center of Buddhist religion in Russia, Buryat autonomous republic is also a home for the Old Believers’ settlements since the XVII-th century. Many of the Old Believers prosecuted by Russian Orthodox Church resided in the remote wilds of TransBaikalia – the territory that we now know as Buryatia. Even today the Old Believers villages have citizens who follow the traditions including two-finder cross sign and unique singing style. Explore this amazingly diverse Lake Baikal area in one of our fully-guided excursion and ethnographical discovery tours!
Tour Itinerary:
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Arrive to the city of Ulan-Ude located east of Lake Baikal. Meet your guide at the airport/railway station. Transfer to a hotel for check-in (at noon). Short city-tour of Ulan-Ude with its merchants' houses of the XVII-XIX centuries, churches and the biggest Lenin's monument in the world. Tour to ethnographical museum of TransBaikalian people which is an open-air museum that includes Evenk, Buryat, Cossak, Old Believers complexes. Authentic houses, Gers, domestic utensils, old furniture, national costumes are exhibited here. On the way back to Ulan-Ude, enjoy local Buryat cuisine lunch at café housed in a traditional nomad's ger. Return to a hotel for rest and overnight. Includes: (L).
Breakfast. Depart for a tour to Ivolginsky Datsan (Buddhist Monastery) located 25 km from Ulan-Ude. Ivolginsky Datsan is the center of Buddhist religion in Russia. Nowadays it is also an institute “Dashi Choikhorlin” which is “The land of Happy Teaching” in Tibetan. It's a school where the Buddhist monks, Buddhist scholars, specialists in Old Mongolian languages are being trained.
Then proceed for a tour to the village of Old Believers. The Old Believers of Buryatia are a colorful branch of Orthodox Russians exiled to Siberia in the XVII century after the church reforms carried out by Patriarch Nikon. They managed to preserve their culture, way of singing, and religious ceremonies as it used to be over three centuries ago. Home-made lunch will be served at a host family followed by ritual funny games and Old Believers’ polyphonic songs. Transfer to Ulan-Ude. Hotel overnight. Includes: (B), (L).
Breakfast. Transfer to the railway station to board a train to Irkutsk. Spend ~7 hrs in a Trans-Siberian train. This part of the railway track leads from Ulan-Ude westwards to the most southern extremity of Lake Baikal and then further to Irkutsk. Rails are laid on the shoreline of Baikal only in a few meters from the water edge. You can take a break from our busy excursion program and relax in a train cabin for a day starring out of your window at Lake Baikal mirror-like surface. There is a choice of 1-st (2-bunk cabin) and 2-nd (4-bunk cabin) classes available; some trains can also offer tickets with lunch included and served into the train cabin (for extra charge). Finally arriving Irkutsk, your guide will meet you at the railway station. Transfer to a hotel in Irkutsk for check in. Time to rest. Overnight in Irkutsk hotel. Includes: (B).
Breakfast in a hotel. Check out. City tour around all of Irkutsk major historical sights including Znamensky Orthodox Cathedral, old-style wooden houses with distinctive hand-carved trims, the Monument to Russian Emperor Alexander III. Lunch in a restaurant. Departure to Listvyanka settlement at Lake Baikal waterside. Stop for a two-hour excursion to Taltsy open-air museum of wooden architecture where one can discover the culture and the lifestyle of native Siberians and Russians. Museum funds include over 40 original log buildings. The most valuable of them are the "Tower of our Savior" built in 1667 and the Khazanskya Chapel built in 1669. Arriving Listvyanka. Check in to your hotel. Overnight. Includes: (B), (L).
While in Listvyanka visit Baikal Museum with the diverse collection of Baikal flora and fauna. You will also see here aquaria with some of Baikal endemic species including Baikal nerpa, the only fresh water seal in the world. Then take a chairlift to the top of Chersky peak from where one can enjoy breathtaking views on Lake Baikal, the Angara River and peaks of Khamar-Daban Mountain Range. Lunch in a local fish restaurant. Attend a show of Baikal nerpa in Listvyanka nerpinarium located next to the main pier. Transfer back to Irkutsk for airport or railway departure. Includes: (B), (L).
Prices (per person):
- Superior accommodation (4* hotels):
* 2 pax: $1,540 p/p
* 3 pax: $1,390 p/p
* 4-6 pax: $1,320 p/p
* Single supplement: $485
- Standard accommodation (3* hotels):
* 2 pax: $1,275 p/p
* 3 pax: $1,185 p/p
* 4-6 pax: $1,115 p/p
* Single supplement: $290
Price Includes:
- Accommodation on DBL sharing basis as stated in the itinerary
- All meals as stated in the itinerary
- All private car or minibus transfers
- 2-nd class train tickets Ulan-Ude-Irkutsk (1-st class and/or lunch available upon request)
- Museum entry fees
- English-speaking guide during transfers and excursions
- Russian visa support
Price Excludes:
- Air tickets or train tickets to Irkutsk/from Ulan-Ude
- Health insurance