3 days and 2 nights
This tour is a great introduction to Lake Baikal and the city of Irkutsk. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m (2442 ft) and contains roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water. The body of water is also known as the 'Baikal Sea' and the 'Pearl of Siberia'. At 1642 meters (5390 ft) Lake Baikal is the deepest, and among the clearest lakes in the world. Greater than 25 million years old, Baikal is also the world's oldest lake. Baikal is home to more than 1700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world. The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is also home to the Buryat people who follow the Tibetan Buddhist religion and reside on the eastern side of the lake rearing goat, camel, cattle and sheep.
Arrival in Irkutsk and departure for a whole-day excursion to Lake Baikal (65 km). Enroute you will stop for a guided tour of Taltsy - an open-air Museum of Russian/Siberian Wooden Architecture. The museum's oldest building is the Spass Tower of the Ilimsk Fortress (1667) and the still active Kazan Chapel (1679). You will then proceed to the headwaters of the Angara River to see the famous Shaman Rock (a sacred site for the local people). You will then have lunch at a local restaurant serving Baikal fish specialties.
After lunch, you will go on a walking tour around the Listvyanka settlement: you will visit the Church of St. Nicolas the Wonderworker - the guardian angel of travelers, make a stop at a local fish market, and go to the Baikal Ecological Museum to see the lake's flora and fauna.
Overnight in Listvyanka
Meals included: lunch
After breakfast at the hotel you will head towards Irkutsk to have a city tour including a visit to the Cathedral of the Holy Sign. Apart from ornate and rich iconostasis, the cathedral is famous for its graveyard where you will visit the graves of the Decembrists Mukhanov, Beschasnov, Trubetskoy and the Russian Columbus Shelekhov.
Lunch at a restaurant in the city center.
Excursion to the Decembrists Museum where you will learn about the Revolt of December 14, 1825, its participants and their life in Siberian exile.
Overnight in Irkutsk
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Irkutsk began as a small settlement in the mid 17th century for gold-trading and for the collection of the fur tax from the Buryats (the local inhabitants of the area). The settlement officially became a town in 1686 and the first road between Moscow and the new city was built in 1760. With the road construction, many new products, often imported from China, were widely available in Irkutsk for the first time including gold, diamonds, furs, wood, silk and tea. In 1821, Irkutsk became the seat of the Governor-General of East Siberia. In the early 19th century, many Russian officers and nobles were sent into exile in Irkutsk for their part in the Decembrist revolt against Tsar Nicholas I. Due to this influx of individuals from St. Petersburg, Irkutsk became the Siberian center of intellectual and cultural life. By 1900, the city had earned the nickname “The Paris of Siberia.” Today Irkutsk has become a college town with many young people studying at the university and other institutes of higher education in the city.
Breakfast at the hotel
Check out from the hotel
Departure to the railroad station or airport in Irkutsk.
Say goodbye to Lake Baikal and Irkutsk. We look forward to welcoming you back to this very special part of the world at some point in the future.
These sights are included into the standard package:
This architectural and ethnographic museum opened its doors to the public in 1980. On the territory of 67 hectares there are over 40 architectural monuments (fortress wall, churches, barns, water mills, parish school, peasant houses) and over 8,000 exhibits that tell about life in the Siberian villages XVII-XIX centuries. The museum often hosts folk festivals, and is also often used by filmmakers because of its authentic look.
The museum is housed in a mansion belonging to one of the leaders of Decembrist revolutionaries - these were Russian aristocracy who were banished to Siberia after their ill-fated attempt in December 1825 to overthrow the Russian Tsar in favor of a Constitutional regime. The museum is truly evocative of 19th century Russia.
Apart from ornate and rich iconostasis, the cathedral is famous for its graveyard containing the graves of the Decembrists Mukhanov, Beschasnov, Trubetskaya and the Russian Columbus Shelekhov.
Listvyanka is a small settlement located on the shore of Lake Baikal. On the way from Irkutsk to Listvyanka there are 3 places of interest. The first is the obo - a sacred place for the local Buryat people. The second is Taltsy - an open air Museum of Russian Wooden Architecture. The third is the famous Shaman Rock (another sacred site) located on the headwaters of the Angara river. Listvyanka is also home to the Church of Saint Nicolas the Wonderworker - the guardian angel of travelers, and the Baikal Ecology Museum with exhibits of the unique fauna and flora that surround the lake. There is also an aquarium which contains different species of local fish and the Baikal nerpa - the earth's only fresh water seal.
hotel 3 stars | |
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1 | $1467 |
2 | $804 |
3 - 5 | $705 |
6 - 9 | $589 |
10-15 | $494 |
single supplement | $197 |
Included in tour:
Not included in the tour:
Payment policy:
To book a tour, 30% deposit is required at the moment of booking. The trip must be fully paid 31 days before departure.
Cancellation policy:
61 or more days before departure - a fee equal to 15% of the entire package will be charged.
60-15 days before departure - a fee equal to 30% of the entire package will be charged.
14 days or less before departure or no-show - a fee equal to 100% of the package will be charged.
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