Snowy Lake Baikal. Sightseeing tour

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer to Olkhon Island by regular transport. (320 km, ~ 7 hours) along the road that runs through the steppes past ancient Buryat villages, through the picturesque spurs of the Baikal ridge, the Siberian taiga, which then again give way to the Mongolian landscapes of the Tazheran steppe.

You will see both the "Small" and "Big" seas – two parts of Lake Baikal, separated by Olkhon, and the famous Olkhon Gate Strait, which runs between the island and the mainland.

Another 40 kilometers around the island and you are in the village of Khuzhir, the capital of the island.

An afternoon activity for you will be a walking sightseeing tour of the surrounding area: a walk through the village of Khuzhir, a visit to the sacred cape

Burkhan (Shaman Rock) is one of the 9 shrines of Asia, equally revered by shamanists, Buddhists and Lamaists.

Dinner at the campsite.

Overnight at the campsite.

(including meals: breakfast, dinner).

Breakfast at the campsite.

The island is an island, but there are such distances and roads that if you go on an excursion, it's for the whole day.

So this day will almost entirely be spent on a full–day excursion to Cape Khoboy - the northern tip of the island, near the widest part of Lake Baikal. 

On the way you will be able to see all the variety of Baikal natural landscapes concentrated on the island: steppes with deep bays, sand dunes, mixed deciduous forests with areas of relict spruce forest, picturesque cliffs on the shore of marble covered with red lichens.

And on the cape itself, with a panoramic view of the northern part of Lake Baikal, and in good weather you can see the outlines of the Ushkany Islands and the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula – a walk through the surroundings, during which the guide will tell you about the legends, traditions and customs associated with these places.

A hot lunch.

Dinner at the campsite.

Overnight at the campsite.

(including meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner).

Breakfast.

Free day on the island.

We suggest you take a walk around the surroundings, visit the Sarai Bay and admire the views of winter Lake Baikal.

You can also take an ethnographic tour to the Buryat village (extra charge), where You will get acquainted with local traditions and customs.

Dinner at the campsite.

Overnight at the campsite.

(including meals: breakfast and dinner).

Breakfast at the campsite.

Transfer to Irkutsk by regular transport (320 km, ~ 7 hours).

In the evening, after staying at the hotel and relaxing from the road, you can walk through the streets of Irkutsk in the evening and gain strength before the second, no less exciting, part of the program.

Accommodation at the hotel.

Overnight at the hotel.

(incl. meals: breakfast).

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 bus window.

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, lunch, dinner).

Breakfast at the hotel.

Today we continue to explore the picturesque surroundings and get acquainted with the amazing Tunka Valley. 

You will visit the crater of the extinct Talskaya Vershina volcano, see the cones of the Chersky and Kovrizhka volcanoes. 

You will hear about the distant past of the Tunka Valley since the Jurassic period, as well as exciting legends about the ancestor of the Buryat tribes of Bukha-noyon, the beautiful Kyngyrga.

The Tunka Valley is often called the "Land of healing narzans" because of the abundance of mineral springs, which in their healing properties are not inferior to the famous waters of the Caucasus and the Carpathians. 

The methane baths of the Pearl spring are unique in their chemical composition.

The hospital is located in a picturesque place on the right bank of the Irkut River. 

You can swim in the pool with mineral water (for an additional fee), drink healing phyto tea, and taste Buryat cuisine (for an additional fee).

(including meals: breakfast, dinner).

Breakfast at the hotel.

Transfer by regular transport to Irkutsk (210 km, ~ 5 hours).

The road to Irkutsk passes in memories of the time spent, funny and funny incidents, interspersed with exclamations of surprise from the views outside the bus window.

Stop for photography at the Kultuk observation deck, which offers a fascinating panorama of southern Baikal and the Khamar-Daban mountains.

And then to the very suburbs of Irkutsk – the Kultuksky tract with its serpentine mountain road, which inspires admiration and horror at the same time.

Transfer to the hotel.

Accommodation at the hotel.

(incl. meals: breakfast).

Breakfast at the hotel.

A day of exploring the ancient Siberian city of Irkutsk.

Sightseeing tour of the city: visit the historical center, the embankment of the Angara river, monuments of architecture, history and culture.

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.).

Visit to the central market and souvenir shop.

The end of the program is ~14:00.

(incl. meals: breakfast).