A trip to the valley of lotuses. Tour to Astrakhan region

06:30 Early breakfast at the hotel. 

07:00 Meeting with the guide, departure for an excursion to Kalmykia.

Today we are waiting for a unique Elista — the Pearl of the steppe, the capital of Kalmykia. Cultures, religions, and architectural styles are mixed here. 

Kalmykia is a land of endless steppe expanses like the ocean. Elista is the capital of this amazing republic. 

The life of Stolny grad is saturated with legends, legends and ancient rituals. For example, guests of a diverse city are invited to pass through Altyn Bosch — the Golden Gate. Kalmyks believe that such a rite cleanses the soul and thoughts. 

Elista is also home to the largest Buddhist temple in Kalmykia, and the influence of Tibetan architecture can be unmistakably determined in its outlines. 

12:00-13:00 Arrival in Elista. 

Memorial to the victims of political repression “Exodus and Return" by Nobel Prize winner Ernst Neizvestny. 

The Stupa of Enlightenment is a traditional place of pilgrimage for Buddhists all over the world, a place of strength and inspiration, a place of fulfillment of desires. 

13:00-14:00 Lunch at a cafe in the city. 

14:00-17:00 Visit to the new Central Buddhist Hurula of Kalmykia with a 9 m high Buddha statue. 

The Museum of the History of Buddhism.

The Museum of Unique Kalmykia or the Museum of Nomadic Peoples. 

Walking tour of the city center — Golden Gate, inspection of sculptural compositions created at the international Biennale of sculptors The Great Silk Road and Man and Nature through the eyes of the East.

17:00 Free time to buy souvenirs. 

17:30 Gathering of the group and departure to Astrakhan. 

22:30 Arrival in Astrakhan, transfer to the hotel.

Attention! On this day, you will have long bus trips (4-5 hours).

Breakfast at the hotel. 

09:00 Meeting with the guide, departure of the group to the village of Saltpeter. 

Today we will make an amazing trip to Sarai Batu, the medieval capital of the Golden Horde. 

140 km above Astrakhan, the village of Selitrennoye (Kharabalinsky district of the Astrakhan region) stretches in the steppe. Looking at the wide desert steppe surrounding the village, it is impossible to believe that one of the capitals of the world, one of the largest centers of civilization, was once located here. 

But, nevertheless, it was here, on the hills and mounds of the modern village, that the Golden Horde once settled. From here the raids and campaigns of the conquerors were carried out, and here lie the ruins of the huge Golden Horde city of Sarai Batu, called the Saltpetre settlement. 

11:00 Arrival in the village of Saltpeter. 

11:00-13:00 Inspection of the excavation site, a fascinating tour of the scenery of Sarai Batu, the reconstruction city of the Golden Horde, which was built in 2010 in the Kharabalinsky district of the Astrakhan region for Andrei Proshkin's film “The Horde”. 

When you get to Sarai Batu, the capital of the Golden Horde, the city impresses with maximum historical authenticity, which archaeologists helped to recreate thanks to their long and painstaking work. 

13:00-14:00 Lunch. 

14:00-16:00 Free time, you can walk along the shore of Akhtuba, ride camels, visit the khan's headquarters, a playground of sand figures, a torture chamber or shoot arrows (for an additional fee). 

16:00 Gathering of the group, departure. 

18:00 Arrival.

Breakfast at the hotel. 

09:45 Gathering of the group and departure for an excursion to the sturgeon farm. 

On the way there, you will be told about the history of fishing in Astrakhan. 

11:00 Arrival at the sturgeon farm. 

11:00-12:00 Guided tour of the Astrakhan fish sturgeon farm. This sturgeon farm is one of the four largest enterprises for the cultivation of sturgeon fish in the Astrakhan region. 

The farm has 40 pools for growing sturgeon from eggs to fry and 180 cages for growing fish in the river, as well as its own breeding herd of sturgeon, beluga, sterlet and bester. 

At the sturgeon farm, you will see the entire process of reproduction and cultivation of sturgeon, sterlet, beluga and bester, and you can also participate in the process of feeding sturgeons. You will be told about the process of obtaining caviar in vivo, as well as about the intricacies of keeping juveniles in pools. 

12:00-13:00 Delicious fish lunch in the restaurant of the author's cuisine with fish dishes (sturgeon ear, sturgeon steak with potatoes, sliced vegetables, drink). 

13:00-15:00 Free time on the farm. 

There is an equipped swimming area. 

On the territory of the farm there is a company store where you can buy farm products at below—market prices (with a full package of documents) - hot and cold smoked sturgeon, balyk and black caviar without intermediaries and trade margins, hot and cold smoked catfish, dried roach, bream, pike caviar, various canned fish, preserves, fresh fish and more; souvenirs with the symbols of the Astrakhan region and the sturgeon farm. 

Fishing enthusiasts should definitely take fishing rods with them and try their hand at fishing on the picturesque bank of the Kizan River. 

15:00 Departure to Astrakhan. 

16:00 Arrival in Astrakhan, free time.

Breakfast at the hotel. 

09:00 Meeting with the guide. 

Departure for an excursion to the Volga Delta to the blooming lotus fields. 

An amazing tour awaits us today. 

From July to September, it is time for lotus blossoms in Astrakhan. Now the Volga Delta has the largest lotus fields in the world. 

We will visit one of the recreation centers of the Astrakhan region and take a boat or motorboat to the fields of blooming lotus.

Take with you bathing accessories, a hat, a towel, sunscreen. 

11:00 Arrival at the recreation center, briefing, boat boarding, departure for an excursion to the Volga Delta. 

During the trip you will see the feathered inhabitants of the delta, admire the beauty of the Astrakhan nature. But the most vivid impression for you will be the view of the magnificent lotus fields — a magnificent sight. 

You will be taken to the most picturesque place where you can take pictures, swim and admire the beauty of the blooming lotus. 

13:00-14:00 Return to the base. 

Lunch at the restaurant of the recreation center (complex). 

14:00-17.00 Rest at the base, you can sunbathe, swim in the pool, fish (provision of gear for an additional feepayment). 

17:00 Departure to Astrakhan. 

19:00 Transfer to the hotel. Free time.

Breakfast at the hotel. 

Room release (items are placed on the bus or remain in the hotel's luggage room). 

Transfer to the railway station and to the airport for those leaving. 

Additional excursions are possible for an additional fee:

9:00 Meeting with the guide, departure for an excursion to the Kurmangazy Sagyrbayev Center of Kazakh Culture. 

The mausoleum and museum complex of the legendary Kazakh poet Kurmangazy Sagyrbayev is located 70 kilometers from Astrakhan on the territory of the village of Altynzhar. It is a unique cultural monument of the Kazakh people. 

We will go to the burial place of the poet, to the village of Altynzhar, where we will visit the Kurmangazy museum complex, learn a lot about the history and culture of the Kazakh people, admire the beauty of the Astrakhan deserts and visit the mausoleum of the great akyn. 

10:30 Arrival in Altynzhar village. 

10:30-11:00 Visit to the mausoleum of Kurmangazy Sagyrbayev. The mausoleum was erected 100 years after the death of the great composer on the site of his grave. 

11:00-12:00 Meeting of guests according to the traditions of the two peoples, visiting the museum of the great akyn. The Kurmangazy Museum is a combination of three stone buildings stylized as large white yurts under the blue sky of Altynzhar. 

12:00-13:00 Interactive performance “One day in the life of a yurt" is a musical and ethnographic program. 

13:00-14:00 Lunch of national Kazakh dishes (manti, kainars, baursaks, tea). 

14:00-14:30 Free time, photo shoot in national Kazakh costumes. 

14:30 Departure to Astrakhan. 

16:00 Arrival in Astrakhan (for tourists departing on an evening flight, transfer to the airport). 

16:30-17:30 Visit to the Astrakhan fish market (at the request of tourists), transfer to the hotel, to the railway station or to the airport. 

The cost of an additional excursion to the Center of Kazakh Culture for 1 person with a group of at least 15 people is 3900 rubles.