May on Lake Baikal

Breakfast. 

Let's start our day with a visit to the Decembrist Museum, which is located in the historical center of Irkutsk. 

Ekaterina Ivanovna Trubetskaya is one of the most famous wives of the Decembrists, who left the capital, full of luxury, followed her husband to eternal hard labor in Siberia. 

The museum tells about the life of the family of Sergei Petrovich and Ekaterina Ivanovna, as well as other Decembrists in Siberia.

Starting with hard labor in the Blagodatsky mine and ending with exile in Irkutsk. 

After that, we will go to the central part of Lake Baikal – to the Small Sea (250 km, 4-5 hours). 

On the way you will see a variety of landscapes of the Baikal region: the picturesque spurs of the Baikal range, the Tazheran steppe, the mountainous shores of the Maly Sea and the Olkhon Islands. 

We will have several stops along the way, we will learn how to "burkhanit" correctly, we will stop at the stele with the Eagle and at the monument to the tramp.

On the way, we will stop at the Golden Horde ethno-complex: a meeting with white food, a folklore program and a dance master class on the ancient dance "Ekhor" – everything that will completely immerse you in Buryat culture. 

Cuisine is like a business card, through it the traditions and culture of peoples are learned, so next we will have a tasting of the most delicious and very satisfying dishes of Buryat cuisine. 

Let's continue our way to Lake Baikal, drive off the highway a little and in front of us: a real Marble quarry! 

The marble deposits here are older than Lake Baikal, they are more than two billion years old. 

There are giant pieces of marble scattered everywhere. 

The walls of the marble quarry are perfectly cut to a depth of 10 meters, the snow-white stone shines beautifully in the sun and looks spectacular against the blue sky, and in the distance the stunning beauty of Lake Baikal. 

Upon arrival at the Small Sea – accommodation at the recreation center (comfortable rooms). 

After taking a break, you will have a walking tour of the Baikal coast. 

During the tour, you will learn the legends about our Sacred Lake.

The guide will tell you interesting facts about Lake Baikal, its flora and fauna, Olkhon Island, and the Olkhon Gate Strait. 

After the walk, we will relax in the traditional Russian bathhouse with a birch broom and herbal Baikal teas.

Dinner at the base.

Guide: Yes. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

We have breakfast and go on a car tour of Olkhon Island to Cape Khoboy. 

We start our journey from the recreation center, moving to the ferry crossing on Olkhon Island. 

We are crossing to the island. 

Olkhon is the largest island on Lake Baikal, its area is 730 sq km, you will feel the scale during our trip.

The nature here is beautiful and unusual, the landscapes change one after another: steppes, forests, sand dunes, rocks and the infinity of Lake Baikal!

We are driving past Cape Kobylya Golova – in shape the cape resembles the head of a horse drinking water from Lake Baikal, we saw it from the other side – from our recreation center. 

There is a legend about the warriors of Genghis Khan, who allegedly camped on this cape.

Then we pass Cape Khorgoy – here is the highest point on the Hadai Mountain, from which a wonderful panorama of the southern part of the island opens. 

And on the pass there is an obo in honor of Eugene, the spirit of the pass. 

It is necessary to stop here and throw a coin. 

After a while, a forest and a village appear in front of us, and on the left there is a wonderful view of the "calling card of Lake Baikal", one of the nine Shrines of Asia – Cape Burkhan or Shamanka Rock.

Shamanka was the most revered holy place on Lake Baikal, where sacrifices were made and vows were made since the appearance of the first shamans. 

The cape cave was considered the residence of Eugene, the island's owner.

North of Cape Burkhan there is a magnificent sandy beach of the Sarai Bay, which stretches for 3 km between Cape Burkhan and the village. The Harans. 

Sandy ramparts hide cozy glades deep in the shore, surrounded by a pine forest.

Then we move to the north of the island to Cape Khoboy. 

Driving through the forest, we will certainly stop in the thickets of the wild rose to admire this beauty and make amazing shots. 

The Sandy tract is a miniature of the famous Sandy Bay. 

Constant winds blowing from the sea carry sand from the shore and form sand deposits, which are called "Moving Sands". 

At the edge of the forest, you can find stilted trees that have risen above the sand by 30-40 cm on their roots. 

Their height is much lower than that of the famous stilt trees in the Sandy Bay. 

Sagan-Khushun – "white cape" is an extremely picturesque rocky cape with a length of about 1 km. 

Sagan-Khushun rocks are included in the list of natural monuments of Lake Baikal. 

This place stands out among the monotonous coast with spectacular pyramid-shaped rocks, known to the local population as the "Three Brothers", the legend of which you will learn during the tour.

And here we have the main goal of our journey: Cape Khoboy. 

Khoboy is a sacred place, a place of strength and powerful energy, the northernmost cape on the island of Olkhon. 

In appearance, it resembles a sharp canine (just "canine" is translated as "hoboy" in Buryat). 

Cape Khoboy is located near the widest point of Lake Baikal (79.5 km), and only in good weather from it you can see the opposite shore, the mountainous contour of the Holy Nose Peninsula.

There is a site on the cape where the pan-Mongolian shamanic tailagans are performed. 

After trekking to Cape Khoboy, we will have a Baikal picnic with fish soup. 

And then there is another, no less beautiful place – Cape Shunte.

Shunte in translation from the Buryat language is nothing but a larch. 

The cape is named after the tree for a reason, a dense coniferous forest grows on its shores. 

Shunte-Levy is located in the northeastern part of Olkhon Island and is famous for its bright colors: marble veins and bald patches of red lichen. 

An excellent view of Lake Baikal comes off from the observation deck of the cape, a high red rock.

And now on the way back! 

Guide: Yes. Meals: breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner.

Breakfast.

Car tour of the Tazheran steppes. 

The Tazheran steppes are a truly unique natural complex. 

The age of the Tagheran massif is about 400 million years old. 

This is one of the most interesting geological sites on Lake Baikal. 

We have to climb to the top of Tang Khan Mountain.

This is the highest point of the Maly Sea coast. 

It is from here that a fantastic view opens: the island of Olkhon, numerous bays and bays, the islands of the Small Sea, the endless Tazheran steppe. 

It's an indescribable feeling: only the sky is higher! 

Then we will go down to the "Snake Gorge" – a very beautiful and cozy bay. 

The road to it is so winding that when viewed from above, it may seem that a huge snake, descending from the mountains to Lake Baikal, left such a trail.

Then we go to the very heart of the Tajeran steppes – to the Valley of Stone Spirits. 

A place of power, a plateau filled with hundreds of stone pillars that rise above the Tazheran steppe, like huge armies frozen in battle. 

Transfer to Irkutsk. 

Accommodation at the hotel. 

Free time in the evening in Irkutsk.

You can visit the Angara Embankment, take a walk and take photos against the background of churches at sunset, as well as visit the Upper Promenade, where there are many cafes and restaurants. 

Guide: Yes. Meals: breakfast.

Breakfast.

The end of the program (check-out time at the hotel is 12.00).

Additionally, it is possible to order a transfer to the airport or to the railway station (cost 1200 rubles / car, or taxi: 500 rubles).

Guide: No. Meals: breakfast.