ITINERARY Day 1. Arrival in Moscow. Our English-speaking guide will meet you at the international airport. Transfer to the hotel. Your first night in Moscow. Optional – bus tour “Moscow at night” or pub crawl.
Day 2. Check-out from the hotel. We will have time to explore the major highlights of Moscow – the city of great Russian history and culture. We will visit the St. Basil's cathedral, Red Square and the world-renowned Lenin Mausoleum. After this a short bus tour around Moscow is waiting for us. Our tour guide takes you to the “Sparrow Hills” with an observation platform which provides a fantastic panoramic view of Moscow and then through the main streets of Moscow - huge, busy and elegant at the same time. Transfer to the airport to catch your flight to Irkutsk.
Day 3. In the morning we will travel by small coach to Listvyanka. The highway from Irkutsk to Lake Baikal goes through a picturesque taiga forest up and down hills and after about an hour we will arrive at a viewpoint facing Shaman Rock at the mouth of the Angara River. On our way we’ll stop to visit the Museum of Wooden Architecture in Taltsy. This open-air museum has a large collection of original wooden houses, equipped with handmade traditional furniture. All the houses were brought here from several local villages. The museum shows the lifestyle of the 17th to the 19th centuries, both in a Russian village and in the local Buryat and Evenk camps. The small but lively and tourist-friendly village of Listvyanka is located on the shore of Lake Baikal 70 km from Irkutsk. In Listvyanka we will have sightseeing tour of the village, including a visit to the St Nicolas Russian Orthodox Church. Dinner. Overnight in a lodge.
Day 4. After breakfast, we will be transferred to the boat station, where we’ll take a boat ride across the beautiful Angara River to port Baikal to catch legendary local Baikal railway. We will enjoy the virgin Siberian landscape and the magnificent sunset on the lake’s coast. We will arrive to village Kultuk where we stay for a night. Dinner. Overnight in a private house.
Day 5. After breakfast , we will be transferred to the famous Shamansky cliff, popular with rock climbers. Shamanka, the first large settlement on the left bank, is located under this cliff. Depending on the weather we will have a chance to relax by sunbathing and swimming in the lake. Picnic lunch. In the afternoon we will go to Sludyanka village and visit Mineral Museum. Overnight in a private house.
Day 6. After breakfast, we will be transferred to the southernmost point of Lake Baikal. From here we will continue our trip to the very heart of the Tunka valley – gorgeous mountain countryside. On our way we will stop at important Shamanistic and Buddhist holy places including sacred site Dashi Goman. We’ll reach our horse farm and continue our adventure on horseback. Stop for dinner near a beautiful mountain river. Overnight in tents.
Day 7. Return to the horse farm. Transfer to Arshan village – a famous mineral spa resort in Sayan Mountains. After lunch we will walk to mineral springs, waterfall and visit Buddist temple – Datsan. Dinner. Overnight in a guest house.
Day 8. After breakfast a walk in the village. You can purchase here plenty different herbal remedies, souvenirs, items of Mongolian and Buryat clothing. Afterwards the van will pick us up and drive us to the rafting camp. We pack our luggage and receive an introduction to whitewater rafting. The first stage of our rafting trip lasts for about 3 hours, including the entrance to the Zyrkazunskoye Gorge and the challenging Kulich rapid. Lunch en route. Arrival at our camping place. Dinner. Overnight in tents.
Day 9. After breakfast, we start the most difficult but also most interesting part of our rafting adventure. The stretch of river between Zubkogan and the Big rapid is relatively smooth. The next part gets more difficult with plenty of chess order rocks scattered in the river. As we approach the Big rapid we can already hear the sound of roaring water. The cameraman may have his best shot from a small platform situated right above the obstacle. After the rapid is conquered we can treat ourselves to a hot lunch and then continue rafting to the next camp. Dinner. Overnight in tents.
Day 10. Rafting to the abandoned Vyguzovo village, where we reach calm waters and find ourselves near the settlement of Shamanka. There are a few forested islands on the way to the deserted settlement of Vyguzovo on the river's left bank. The trip ends at a 500-metre wall, the famous Shamansky cliff, popular with rock climbers. Shamanka, the first large settlement on the left bank, is located under this cliff. There is a ferry connecting the settlement with the road on the right bank. Lunch on the shore. Packing up and transfer to Irkutsk by tourist bus (50 km). Overnight in a hotel in Irkutsk.
Day 11. Early morning transfer to the airport to catch your flight to Moscow. It will still be morning when you arrive in Moscow, because of the time difference. Transfer from the local airport to the international airport.
Major Highlights of this Tour:
Optional: If you take a flight to the UK in the late evening you can enjoy Moscow for one more day.
At your request we can organise for you one of the following activities:
- If you are an art-lover, then you will be impressed by the world famous masterpieces displayed in the Tretyakov Gallery and in the Pushkin Museum;
- Another option in Moscow would be a visit to the large and interesting Izmailovo Park, where you will find traditional wooden houses and churches as well as authentic Russian souvenirs;
- You can also visit the Novodevichy Convent, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Convent was used by women of the Tsar’s family and of the aristocracy. Many members of the Tsar’s family and some very famous Russian artists, writers, politicians have been buried in its cemetery. The Convent provides an example of the highest accomplishments of Russian architecture with rich interiors and an important collection of paintings and artefacts.
Some places you visit in this journey are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Please click here to view the UNESCO review page:
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