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After the reception at the airport, you will head to a secluded VIP base on the shore of Lake Baikal. The only way to get there is a 30-minute helicopter ride.
Tsarskoye Podvorie is hidden in a quiet nook on the shore of Lake Baikal, away from civilisation. Nothing will disturb your rest there. Dmitry Medvedev, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl and the top management of Gazprom and Russian Railways took rest there.
You will have lunch on the premises.
Your first day on Baikal will be calm, quiet and relaxed. You will take a stroll along the shore, play billiard or tennis, and bathe in a warm outdoor swimming pool. At the end of the day, you will unwind in a Russian steam bath (banya) or Turkish bath (hammam).
You will be free to choose a dinner option as it is not included in this tour’s price and spend that night in the guest house.
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You will start the day with a luxurious outdoor breakfast at the pool. Pinecone jam, farm milk food products, and other fresh produce will be served for you to indulge in.
After breakfast, you will be able to choose a leisure option. Take a walking, bike, or equestrian tour, fish at the dock, ride a water scooter, or fire a rifle at the shooting range.
You will have exquisite local specialities for lunch: Baikal omul and game flavoured with taiga spices. The meal will culminate in the tasting of various teas made of hand-picked Baikal herbs.
Afterwards, you will be able to either continue your outdoor activities or enjoy SPA treatments in the Russian banya, Turkish hammam, jacuzzi, and a cold plunge pool.
That day will end for you with dinner by the fireside, complemented by a glass of wine.
You will tank up energy for the next day, full of new experiences, through a restful night at the recreation centre.
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After breakfast at the recreation centre, your nine-hour excursion program will begin.
You will explore the Circum-Baikal Railway, cruising along it by yacht, and walking along it.
The architectural ingenuity of the Circum-Baikal Railway will reveal its stone tunnels, arched bridges, and old breast walls to you.
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. It will tell you the story of the gold reserve of the Russian Empire that was lost during the retreat of the Kolchak army along the Circum-Baikal Railway and never found.
After the stroll along the shore, followed by an outdoors buffet, 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 recreation centre and contemplate the sunset in the summer house on the shore of Baikal.
You will have dinner and spend another night at the recreation centre.
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After breakfast at the recreation centre, you will have a day full of adventures. Buckle up for a four-hour helicopter tour of the south of Baikal!
During the flight, you will see the Tunkinskaya Valley, renowned for Alpine meadows, mountain scenery, and the valleys of rivers Irkut, Kitoy, and Shumak.
You will make a stop in the Shumak Valley a.k.a. the Valley of a Hundred Springs for four hours. There, you will experience the healing power of the mineral springs, explore the valley’s landmarks and learn its legends.
Each of the hundred springs has its own name like Heart, Eyes, Kidneys, Liver, and others. Drink the healing water onsite and take some of it with you. You can also take a radon or a mud bath to experience the Siberian natural spa at its finest.
From there, you will go on a four-kilometre trek along the river canyon to the 30-metre waterfall on the Creek Mramorny.
You will have lunch after visiting the waterfall and return to the recreation base.
Your day will conclude with dinner before the night at the recreation centre.
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After breakfast at the recreation centre, you will take a nine-hour cruise to see the most picturesque places of Baikal, including its uninhabited bays. You will cruise past the head of the Angara, the only river that flows out of Baikal, and the famous Cape Burkhan, where Shamanka Rock towers over the water.
En route to Peschanaya Bay, you will visit a couple of other picture-perfect bays. 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! You will have a chance to swim and lie on the sand beach.
You will have a picnic lunch amidst the thrilling beauty of Baikal.
By the evening, you will disembark on the shore of Maloe More and check into 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. No other guests will there be at the villa but you and your group.
You will enjoy a luxurious SPA programme in a warm outdoor pool and banya, and end the day with a conversation by the campfire.
You will have dinner and then a reinvigorating sleep at the villa.
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You will begin that day 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 take a ten-hour cruise to Maloe More.
Your first destination will be Ogoy Island. 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.
You are going to see Olkhon from all angles. The first disembarkment on the island will be Cape Burkhan or Shamanka Rock. This place is still referred to as one of the nine relics of Asia. According to legend, the lord spirit of Olkhon lived in the cave of Cape’s cliff.
The cruise will continue towards Cape Khoboy, the northernmost point of Olkhon. A Buryat word for ‘fang’, the name Khoboy is inspired by the shape of the cape’s cliffs. The Cape is also nicknamed as the Girl for its reminiscence of a female figure when you look at it from the waterside. Khoboy is renowned as the place of power.
After visiting the western shore of Olkhon popular with tourists, you will head to the eastern shore. There, in the complete wilderness, you will feel one with nature — an otherworldly experience will that be. What you are going to find there will remain a secret.
On return to the villa, you will take a rest in the swimming pool or unwind in the banya.
You will have dinner and spend the night at the villa.
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After breakfast at the villa, you will check out and take a six-hour jeep safari through Tazheranskaya Steppe.
Tazheranskaya Steppe boasts a unique landscape including hilly terrain, skerries, steppes, sands, pinewoods and fir woods across ten kilometres. The steppe stretches to several Baikal bays. It is also renowned for its gems and semiprecious stones.
The steppe is rich with caves such as Mechta, Oktyabrskaya, Sluchaynaya, and others. Geese, cranes and storks nest at its many mineral lakes.
The ride will take you through the sites where the lost tribe of Kurykans settled centuries ago. You will explore the remains of their towns and cave paintings.
After the safari, you will head to Irkutsk where you will check into the Amurskiy hotel. The hotel is located 700 metres from the historic area of the 130th quarter, which provides an unparalleled opportunity to explore Irkutsk.
You will have dinner and spend the night at the hotel.
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After breakfast at the hotel, you will be transferred to the airport.
In those eight days, you will have had lots of unforgettable experiences and soaked in the energy of Baikal. Keep these memories and come back in winter.