New Year holidays on Lake Baikal

Breakfast at the campsite.

The campsite offers to spend the first day of the New Year actively and informatively.

You will have the opportunity to participate in folk festivals, get acquainted with the beauties of the Malomorsky coast, skate on the smooth ice of the lake, visit the Russian bathhouse, play table air hockey and much more (additional fee).

Lunch at the campsite.

After a busy day, you will have a festive dinner and a fun party with a competitive program.

Overnight at the campsite.

(including meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Breakfast at the campsite.

Having welcomed the new year well and having spent the old one, we will say goodbye to the shores of the Small Sea and return to Irkutsk along the familiar road, where you will again see the picturesque mountains of the Baikal range covered with forest thickets (~ 6 hours).

In the evening, after staying at the hotel and relaxing from the road, you can walk around the New Year's Eve Irkutsk among the ice sculptures in the city center, ride a slide and just watch how the New Year is celebrated in this Siberian city.

Accommodation at the hotel.

(incl. meals: breakfast).

Transfer to Irkutsk by private transport.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today we are going to the village of Listvyanka (65 km, ~ 1 hour).

On the way, we recommend visiting the architectural and ethnographic museum "Taltsy" (additional fee), where you can not only see the wooden architecture and life of the peoples of the Baikal region, but also participate in traditional winter fun: ride on skins from a real Russian slide, ride a sleigh or a three-piece or walk on stilts.

In Listvyanka, we suggest you take a sightseeing tour of the village with a visit to the observation deck at the famous Shaman stone, listen to the romantic legend of Lake Baikal, visit the current Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the patron saint of all travelers and navigators.

Lunch.

Those who want to learn more about Lake Baikal can go on an excursion to the Baikal Ecological Museum (extra charge), where there are many exhibits telling about the inhabitants of Lake Baikal, they can even be seen live in aquariums located in the museum.

It is worth finishing the day with a visit to the souvenir market adjacent to the fish rows, where you will be offered all the variety of Baikal fish cooked in various ways.

Overnight at the hotel.

(including meals: breakfast, lunch).

Today you have free time in the morning, and everyone can choose the entertainment they like.

We recommend you to get acquainted with cute sled dogs and, under the guidance of an experienced instructor, try yourself as a kayak (additional), ride through the snow-covered forest on horseback (additional), spend time in the ski complex (additional), make a souvenir for yourself at one of the original master classes – blacksmithing, pottery or creative needlework (optional), or just take a walk along the shore of Lake Baikal. 

And after lunch, transfer to the city and get acquainted with the capital of Eastern Siberia – the ancient city of Irkutsk. 

During a sightseeing tour of the city, you will visit the historical center, the embankment of the Angara River, architectural monuments, take an excursion to the Znamensky Monastery with one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Siberia, famous for its iconostasis and burials on the territory (graves of the Decembrists, Grigory Shelikhov, etc.). 

After visiting the city's attractions, you will be able to buy original gifts at the souvenir shop, and then plunge into the atmosphere of New Year's Eve festivities in the central square of the city with a large Christmas tree, fabulous ice sculptures, labyrinths and slides.

(including meals: breakfast, lunch).

Breakfast at the hotel.

Irkutsk – Arshan shuttle bus (210 km, ~ 5 hours): first along the picturesque Kultuk highway to the village of Kultuk, and then along the road passing through a wide valley between two mountain ranges: Khamar–Daban on the left, Eastern Sayans on the right.

In this unique Tunka valley, you can see young volcanoes and old Buryat yurts, the gray peaks of the Tunka Loaches against the piercing blue sky.

Accommodation at the hotel.

Lunch at the hotel.

It is better to take a tour of the village on foot, then you can see those details and little things of the local way of life that are not visible from the window

the bus.

You will walk along the forest road to the datsan Buddhist temple, where you will be told about its history, the rules of conduct in datsans, Buddhism in Buryatia.

Then visit the healing mineral springs (take a mug or even a plastic bottle with you), the picturesque mountain river Kyngarga, walk through the park of the Arshan resort with its natural monuments, pick up a souvenir in an entertaining market where souvenir rows are adjacent to sellers of local medicinal herbs for literally all diseases.

A simple trekking along the Kyngargi Canyon will allow you to enjoy landscapes that can only be seen in winter: a rushing river bubbling under a layer of transparent ice, bizarre splashes on rocks resembling fairy-tale palaces, bridges and grottoes.

Dinner at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel.

(including meals: breakfast, dinner).

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today we continue to explore the picturesque surroundings and get acquainted with the amazing Tunka Valley. During the day, you will not only see almost the entire valley, but also visit the iconic places of 3 religions, which are combined in a special way by the locals.

Orthodoxy will be represented by the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, shamanism – the sacred place of Tamhi-Baryasha, where they ask for protection from the gods during their journey, Buddhism – the main datsan of Tunka, located near the resort village of Nilov Deserts, also known for its radon springs.

And during car crossings, the guide will not let you get bored, telling you about the history of Tunka, the richest natural world, traditions and legends of these places.

Lunch at the cafe.

Dinner at the hotel.

(including meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Breakfast at the hotel.

After that, transfer by regular bus to Irkutsk (~ 5 hours)..

Upon arrival in the city, the end of the program (~14:00 hours).

(incl. meals: breakfast).