- Tour with primary focus on the acquaintance with culture and spiritual life of the region
- Crossing of the lake in its widest and deepest part
- Possibility to see all types of the Baikal landscapes
- Acquaintance with the Republic of Buryatia and Olkhon island
- Participation in the shamanic ritual
- Comfortable accommodation all tour long
- Private boats and transports
- Tasting of the local cuisine
Lake Baikal is one of the most amazing Russian destinations. For travellers this great lake offers not only hundreds of natural sites. Also the Baikal region is considered as a confluence of different religions. The most spread of them are the Orthodoxy, the Buddhism and the Shamanism. Our itinerary is about them all. You will get acquaintance with the way they remain intact in the spirit of peaceful coexistence and how they are intimately entwined in the life of local people.
Besides the acquaintance with the culture, we have included the nature discovering of Lake Baikal. For realizing the true strength and immensity of the lake, it’s necessary to cross it in its deepest and largest central part. The landscape changes: taiga-covered hills, desert steppes, sand dunes, mountain valleys and, of course, the sheet of the purest Baikal water lay going directly to the horizon.
We propose you to go for this tour in the best period of summer season when the water reaches the highest temperature, the sun is bright and the rains are rare. For getting acquaintance with the Baikal culture in all of its aspects, you will stroll about the old streets of the Irkutsk city, listen to the chime of the Orthodox Churches, visit the Buryat region and the Buddhist spiritual centre - Ivolginsky datsan, and participate in the true shamanic rite. You will visit Olkhon Island, this cradle of shamanism in Asia, where every sacral place keeps hundreds of legends and beliefs.
This tour is accessible for everybody: you can go alone, in pairs or with your whole family independently of the age. All over the itinerary there will comfortable accommodations. In Ust-Barguzin we propose to spend a night in the local family for steeping in the real everyday life of the Baikal village. All services of the tour are private: we don’t use the scheduled bus or boats.
We want you to discover the lake in all its wide diversity – natural and cultural! If you visit Lake Baikal, you would definitely come back!
- Day 1Discovery of the Irkutsk cityIrkutsk
- Day 2Taltsy museum and first meeting with lake BaikalIrkutsk — Listvyanka
- Day 3Meeting with a shaman and road to Olkhon islandListvyanka — Olkhon island
- Day 4Ogoy island and Buddhist StupaOlkhon island
- Day 5Sacred site for shamansOlkhon island
- Day 6Baikal crossing from west to eastOlkhon island — Ust-Barguzin
- Day 7Barguzin valley and the Dancing GoddessUst-Barguzin
- Day 8Centre of the Russian Buddhism and Buryat capitalUst-Barguzin — Ulan-Ude
- Day 9Return to IrkutskUlan-Ude — Irkutsk
- 10:00Individual transfer from the airport to the hotel (private car)*The indicated time is approximate. It can be changed according to the time of your arrival.
- 12:00Accommodation in the hotelFor tourists arriving early in the morning, check-in from 06:00 at no extra charge. Rest after the flight.
- 13:00Lunch in the restaurant of the city
- 14:00Excursion in the city centre of IrkutskExcursion with the guide in the city centre of Irkutsk. You will visit the most worth seeing places of Irkutsk: the Decembrists' museum, Orthodox churches, quay of the Angara river, wooden houses, central markets. You will feel the particular atmosphere of the city. You will have an opportunity to listen to the bells ringing in the Church of the Saviour. Also, we will visit the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Church of the Epiphany.
- 19:00Dinner in a restaurant — Not included
- Overnight at the hotel
0.5 h transfer (6km)
- 09:00Breakfast in the hotel
- 10:00Transfer to the Listvyanka villageMeeting with your guide and driver and departure to the Listvyanka village situated on the board of Lake Baikal near the moth of the river Angara.
- 11:00Excursion to Taltsy museumVisit to the open-air museum Taltsy, discover a typical Siberian village of XVIII-XIX century. The museum has become the place of the conservation of the monuments of the popular culture.
- 13:00Lunch in the restaurantWe will have lunch at a restaurant of Baikal cuisine overlooking the source of the Angara River.
- 14:10Lift on the Chersky rockYou will take the chair lift to the Chersky rock 728 metres above sea level. There is a breathtaking panorama: Listvyanka village, Angara river's source and the skyline flowing with the Baikal waters.
- 16:00Arrival to ListvyankaAccommodation in the hotel. Rest.
- 16:30Walking in the villageWalking with your guide, visit of fish and souvenir markets. Free time. Optionally you can go to the nerpenarium (seal park show) or take a boat excursion (extra charges). For those who wants it's possible to visit the The Church of St. Nicholas that was built in the beginning of the XIX century.
- 19:00Dinner — Not included
- Overnight in the hotel
1 h transfer (69km)
- 09:00Breakfast in the hotel
- 10:00Departure to the Olkhon islandLeave for the Olkhon island by the private car. We will stop to blandish the local spirits, to ask their benevolence during the trip.
- 12:10Excurion to the ethnographic museum and meeting with a shamanWe will get acquaintance with the culture of the Baikal Buryats. We will take part in the rite of purification, get acquaintance with the local spirits and ask them to bless our travel.
- 13:00Lunch in the cafe en routeYou can taste the national dishes of the Buryat cuisine.
- 17:00Arrival to KhujirCheck-in in the resort. Free time. Discovery of Burkhan rock. Walking around the village, visiting port.
- 19:00Dinner in the resort
- Night in the resort
6 h transfer (361km)
- 09:00Breakfast at the resort
- 10:00Transfer to the port of Khujir villageEmbarkation on the boat. Navigation in the Maloye More strait.
- 12:00Visite of the sacred water source SurkhaytorWe will go on shore and will walk to the sacred water source . This source was divided by one powerful shaman into parts: male and female. The water of the source is of a high silver-ion concentration and it is considered as healing.
- 13:00LunchPicnic with hot tea on board.
- 14:00Excursion to Ogoy islandOgoy island is a the biggest island of the Maloye More strait. The island is considered as a "pure" place: people have never lived there and the is no negative energy. There is a Buddhist Stupa - the stupa of Enlightenment.
- 16:00Return to KhujirTransfer to the resort and rest.
- 19:00Dinner at the resort
- Overnight at resort
- 09:00Breakfast at the resort
- 10:00Olkhon island excursionAfter breakfast excursion by 4X4 (UAZ) to Khoboy Cape, the northernmost point of Olkhon, sacred place of the shamans. The trip will allow you to discover the beauty of the Maloye More (Small Sea) and its islets, also places of worship of shamans. Stroll towards the cape.
- 13:00Outdoor lunch
- 14:00Stroll and return tripReturn to Khuzhir. Visit of the hamlet of Uzury on the east of the island. The road passes through steppes, beaches and taiga.
- 19:00Dinner at the resort
- Overnight at the resort
7 h 4x4 (80km)
- 09:00Breakfast at the resort
- 09:40Transfer to the port
- 10:00Navigation to Ust-BarguzinBoarding on private boat. We will sail above 1.5 kilometres abyss for several hours before reaching the village of Ust-Barguzin. During this cruise, we can admire the picturesque views of Lake Baikal and of Svyatoy Nos peninsula.
- 13:00LunchPicnic (lunch box) on board.
- 14:00Continuation of the navigationCrossing of Lake Baikal in its widest part. This great cruise will really allow us to sail in the geographical centre of the lake.
- 16:00Arriving on the islandAccommodation in the guest house of the locals.
- 19:00Homemde dinnerThe hostess will serve dinner round cooked from fresh local products.
- 20:00Russian banya
- Overnight in the guest house
- 09:00Breakfast
- 10:00Full-day excursion by Russian 4x4 (UAZ)By the prairies of the Barguzin valley, we will go to the Barguzin Datsan where in 2005 the image of the Saint Yanjima was appeared on the big bowlder near the Datsan of Barguzin in the Siberian taiga. Now, this place became the pilgrimage destination of the faithful and tourists.
- 13:00Lunch (picnic)
- 19:00Homemade dinner
- Night in a guest house
- 09:00Homemade breakfast
- 10:00Transfer to Ulan-UdeDeparture to Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Buryat Republic, by private car.
- 13:00LunchIn the cafe of buryat dishes
- 14:00Excursion to the Ivolginsky datsanVisit of the Ivolginsky datsan, serving the most important place of worship in Buryatia and the centre of Buddhism in Russia, located outside the city in a beautiful steppe.
- 16:00Walking city-tourWe leave our luggage in the office of the railways station and go for a walk along the centre of Ulan-Ude city - the capital of the Republic of Buryatia
- 22:30Departure to Irkutsk by night train* Train, 2nd class compartment, 4 berths
- Overnight in the train
4 h transfer (268km)
- 07:00Arrival to IrkutskTransfer to the airport. End of the programme.
4 h (268km)
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- English-speaking guide
- Accommodation as per itinerary
- Transport as per itinerary
- Excursions and visits as per itinerary
- Reserves and national parks entrance permissions
- Transfer from airport / railway station on first day
- Banya
- Boat trip
- Letter of invitation
- Meals according to the program
- Transfer to airport / railway station on last day
- Medical insurance
- Personal expenses and tips
- Visa fees and travel insurance
- Optional activities
- Airline tickets
The departure is guaranteed for the group of 4 participants. If there are less persons in the group, the price can be recalculated. The price includes breakfast on Day 2-8, lunch on Day 1-8 and dinner on Day 3-6. Banya (Russian sauna) is included on Day 6. Single supplement – 15 800 RUB / pers.
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