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You will be picked up at Irkutsk Airport and taken on the vintage tram tour of the city.
The Soviet-era train boasting authentic interior will send you on a journey back in time — and space. This will be an excellent opportunity to see the key sights of Irkutsk.
You will see the old Siberian trade centre, the place where there was a tsarist-time prison, and the Church of Our Savior, built as part of the Irkutsk kremlin. There, you will feel the spirit of the days long gone, which lives in the ornaments of the old wooden houses.
Your journey through time will bring you to the house where the exiled Decembrists and the fairy-tale-ish building that hosts the Historical Museum of the 19th Century. Afterwards, you will see the memorial tomb of Alexander Kolchak, the Admiral who led the White Army in the Russian Civil War.
You will take a lunch break at a restaurant to recharge your batteries for a further journey into the history of Irkutsk.
The next stop on your itinerary will be the Decembrist Museum.
In the 19th century, many of the Decembrists who revolted against the Tsar were sent into Siberian exile. Once their forced labour terms were over, they were allowed to settle in Irkutsk. The descendants of noble families, they brought their way of living with them to the capital of Siberia. That is their story, and you will learn more of it at the Decembrist Museum.
After the guided tour, you will check in at the hotel and have leisure time.
Today’s Irkutsk is a modern city. Take a stroll down the promenade along the Angara and marvel at this mighty Siberian river. Visit souvenir shops to buy memorabilia for your family and friends at home.
Use the rest of your free time in the evening to have dinner and have a reinvigorating sleep at the hotel.
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Your day will begin with breakfast at the hotel, after which you will check out and have time for lunch.
The guide will pick you up and take you to Sakhyurta, a small settlement that sits on the shore of the strait Maloe More. You will get there in about three and a half hours.
At the end of the day, you will check into the hotel, have dinner there and take a rest for the next day, full of new experiences.
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After breakfast at the hotel, you will check out, and your guide will pick you up.
You will travel to Ogoy Island. The trip will take about one hour.
When on Ogoy, you will cruise by speedboat through the wild waters of Baikal to the strait Maloe More’s main landmark: Ogoy Island. Its oblong shape will immediately remind you of a dragon’s back. The beach will astonish you with pink crimson sand. All that, along with quaint rocks and sparse greenery, creates an otherworldly impression.
In the heart of the island, 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.
After that, you will take a one-hour trip back to Olkhon and check into a hotel there.
Your next activity will be a walking tour to Cape Burkhan and the spiritually charged Shamanka Rock, often referred to as one of the nine relics of Asia.
There is a cave in the rock that has been especially revered by shamans and indigenous people, who believed it to be home to the lord spirit of Olkhon. For centuries have shamans conducted their rituals and made sacrifices at Shamanka Rock.
If you love collecting experiences of magical places around the globe, Shamanka Rock will be an immense excitement.
Once the guided part of that day is over, you will have lunch at the hotel and have leisure time. Make sure to take a walk along the Saraisky beach.
The day will end with dinner at the hotel and restful sleep that will give you energy for another day of adventures.
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The day will begin with breakfast at the hotel.
Your exploration of Olkhon will culminate in the tour of Cape Khoboy, another spiritually powerful landmark of Baikal. Buryat legend has it that gods have gifted the power to the first shaman at Khoboy. Since then, it has been a tradition for shamans to conduct their mystical rituals there.
Khoboy attracts occultists from all around the world, and you will have a chance to feel the ancient powers of this scenic sight.
After the tour, you will have a picnic at the cape.
You will have dinner at the hotel and sleep your last night there.
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Your guide will pick you up after breakfast at the hotel, and you will check out.
After that, you will take a two-and-a-half-hour boat cruise from Olkhon to Gremyachinsk.
Upon your arrival, you will have dinner at a restaurant, check into the hotel, and spend the night there.
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You will have breakfast at the hotel and time for lunch out.
Gremyachinsk is the first settlement founded on the Baikal’s coast. You will enjoy walking on the sand along the water while contemplating fascinating nature.
Dinner and comfortable sleep will await you at the hotel.
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After breakfast at the hotel, you will check out and travel to Ulan-Ude for about two hours.
You will make a stop on your journey at Semeyskie villages and have lunch there. This tour will take around six hours.
In the 18th century, Poland underwent a political change, while tensions between Russia and China grew. Catherine the Great responded to those challenges by moving old believers from Russia's western border to Siberia. The colonists founded villages and were nicknamed as ‘Semesyskie’ by locals, which means family people’, as the newcomers came with large families.
The villagers wearing colourful ethnic costumes will greet you with rousing songs and homemade dishes. You will marvel at their authentically decorated houses and historic churches, where they still worship god the old Orthodox way.
You will have time for dinner before departure. A train from Ulan-Ude will take you further to Irkutsk. You will travel in a second-class compartment.
• There is an option of finishing the tour on that day and flying back home from Ulan-Ude. By choosing this option, you save 3000 rubles per person.
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You will arrive in Irkutsk and be transferred to the airport.
