Helicopter stay "The Baikal tour in 8 days"

A personal guide, who will accompany you throughout the entire journey, will pick you up at the airport. You will be taken to Mangutay, a settlement on the southern shore of Lake Baikal, covering a 130-kilometre stretch in two hours. Most of the settlement occupies the left bank of the River Bezymyannaya. To the south rise the northern spurs of Hamar-Daban and Mangutay Mountain which is adjacent to the settlement. Mangutay is a Buryat word for silver. After the transfer, you will have some free time to rest and have lunch. You will be accommodated at the rustically charming Lyod Residence on the shore of Baikal. This family hotel boasts warmhearted service and a signature cuisine restaurant. It is a perfect place to indulge in the admirable scenery and energy of Lake Baikal. You will contemplate the sunset from the shore, then relax in a banya and stare at the starry sky over Baikal as you luxuriate in a rejuvenating outdoor bath. After that, you will have a chance to choose what to have for dinner as it is not included in the tour price and spend the night at the hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will get aboard a boat for a 30-minute Baikal cruise to a distinguished architectural monument: the Circum-Baikal Railway. The voyage will take you along the railway in the direction of the Listvyanka settlement. In two hours, you will debark to marvel at the architectural ingenuity of the Circum-Baikal Railway: its stone tunnels, arched bridges, and old breast walls. You will take a journey into the history of the warfare that took place there and hold Civil War rifles and grenades. In one of the tunnels, you will watch a short film about the mysterious disappearance of the gold reserve of the Russian Empire. It was lost during the retreat of the Kolchak army along the Circum-Baikal Railway and never found. After a stroll along the shore, you will partake of traditional Baikal cuisine for lunch on the yacht deck. After lunch, you will take a class on disassembly and assembly of antique weapons. You will be taught to identify when and where a rifle was manufactured and how it was used throughout history by looking at the gun proof marks. In the evening, you will return to the hotel and muse on the new experiences which the day brought to you. You will have a chance to have dinner for an extra fee. The night at the hotel will restore your strength for further adventures.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will helicopter to Maloe More. That day, you will spend four hours travelling. Upon arrival, you will be accommodated at Baikal Prestige Villa. Quietly hidden in the picturesque Mandarkhan Bay, the villa offers a view of Baikal and premium comfort. The wooden house will make you feel cosy and close to nature. There will be no other guests at the villa, but you and your group. You will savour a lunch of traditional cuisine at the villa and hop on the helicopter again. The helicopter will take you to Ogoy Island, where you will discover the Stupa of Enlightenment, a Buddhist temple built in 2005. Take 108 steps along the path that goes around the Stupa, and you will get a blessing for your good deeds. You will fly over Ogoy Island and its northernmost cape: Khoboy. You will soak in the scenic vistas of the island unfolding below and marvel at bays of strait Maloe More and Primorsky Ridge. After that, you will arrive at the villa for a luxurious SPA programme: you will unwind in a warm outdoor pool and banya. You will end the day at a campfire, contemplating serene nightly vistas of Baikal. You will have dinner and spend that night at the villa.

The fourth day will begin for you with meditation to the sound of water falling from the height of eight metres enabled by the villa’s own adjustable waterfall. After breakfast at the villa, you will helicopter to the north of Baikal. You will travel for six hours that day. En route, you will visit the Ushkan Islands. In this protected wildlife area nerpas, cute little Baikal seals, love to take a rest just a few meters from a viewing platform. Accompanied by a research worker of Baikal National Park, you will take a stroll to the seal-watching spot. After lunch you will take a helicopter flight over taiga-grown shores of northern Baikal, you will land near an 80-metre deep mountain lake: Frolikha. This will be a perfect opportunity to embrace the beauty of nature, feel one with it, and soak in its energy. Afterwards, you will fly to the Cape Kotelnykovsky recreation base, a thermal resort in the middle of pristine taiga, where you will stay in a luxury suite. The day will conclude at the recreation base where you will have dinner before going to bed.

You will have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the recreation base. You will have a whole day to have a rest at the Cape Kotelnikovsky thermal resort. The most exciting feature of the cape is the hot springs where water temperature reaches 71°C in one spring, making it the hottest on Baikal. You will pamper yourself through bathing in thermal pools with no limits, steaming in a banya and refreshing yourself in a SPA treatment and massage. You will take a stroll along the rocky gorge of the River Kurkula and marvel at unruly streams and small waterfalls up close. You will sleep at the recreation base, tanking up energy for another day of adventures.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will travel from the north to the south of Lake Baikal. You will spend four hours travelling on that day. Your first destination will be Peschanaya Bay, one of the most picturesque corners of Lake Baikal. You will explore the part of the bay where there are no other tourists. Fascinating vistas of Tazheranskaya steppe and Anga river valleys will unfold below as you approach the bay. Peschanaya Bay is part of the southwest shore of the lake. There, you will enjoy white sand, warm turquoise water, views of taiga and awe-inspiring mountain scenery — a little Siberian paradise, no less! After picnic lunch, you will fly to the Listvyanka settlement, and, from there, you will be transferred to the Anastasia Hotel Compound. The hotel boasts a pleasant private area, Swiss-style architecture, and a scenic overlook of Baikal and head of the Angara. Unwind in a banya and enjoy your leisure time outdoors. After that, you will have a chance to choose what to have for dinner as it is not included in the tour price and spend the night at the hotel.

Your last day will begin with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a 25-minute transfer to the Taltsy Museum. The Taltsy Museum is an open-air collection of unique wooden architectural monuments. It is an ancient model settlement that preserves the authenticity of the 17–20th centuries. The museum is divided into four historical and cultural zones: Russian, Buryat, Evenki and Tofalar. You will explore the wooden tower of Ilimsky Ostrog, the17th-century church, the Siberian tavern, the Buryat nomad camp (ulus), and the Evenki nomad camp (stoybichshe). You will get to know the life of the indigenous people of Siberia — and the people who came to live there from other regions. In Taltsy, you will have free time to walk on your own, contemplate nature, and enjoy the fresh air of Baikal for the last time on this tour. You will have lunch at the museum, partaking of taiga herb tea, a hot Russian traditional drink called sbiten, honey, and bliny (Russian pancakes). After lunch, you will take a 35-minute trip to Irkutsk. On arrival, you will check into the Amursky hotel and enjoy the comfort of a luxury room. The hotel is located 700 metres from the historic area of the 130th quarter. You will spend that day discovering Irkutsk. You will have a chance to have dinner in the evening for an extra fee and spend the last night of the tour at the hotel.

You will have breakfast at the hotel and, finally, be transferred to the airport. Take these warm memories of Lake Baikal and Baikalia with you. Baikal will be waiting for you to come back in winter.