The taste of Lake Baikal. Gastronomic tour

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Many peoples and cultures intersect on Lake Baikal – the indigenous Buryats, the Russians who came and strengthened themselves, Baikal is separated from the Mongols only by the Khamar-Daban mountain range, and Uzbek and Chinese cuisine were brought here by merchant caravans. This tour is a rare opportunity to try a mix of dishes from Buryat, Chinese, Asian and Siberian cuisines!

The tour is conducted on an individual request on any date all year round, the cost depends on the number of participants and is calculated individually.

Location

Russia, Irkutsk

Sightseeing tours

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Weekdays: 8am - 8pm
Weekends: 8am - 7pm (GMT +3)

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Tour highlights

Famous Buryat buuzes

Let's taste the most delicious dish of Buryat cuisine

Chinese cuisine

Let's try dishes from chefs specially invited from Shanghai and Harbin

Taltsy Museum

Let's take a walk through the ethnographic museum in the open air

Circum-Baikal Railway

Let's get acquainted with the architectural heritage of a century ago and learn about the history of its creation

Baikal fish

Let's take a walk through the local market and try fresh cold and hot smoked fish

Itinerary

Day 1 - Irkutsk
After arriving in Irkutsk, we will meet you at the airport/ railway station and help you check into a comfortable historical hotel in Irkutsk.
Our gastronomic tour begins!
We are going to a Russian cuisine restaurant for lunch.
The restaurant's menu offers dishes of classic Russian cuisine, according to recipes from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Lunch will be rich in a merchant's way: salad with roast beef, borscht with sour cream, vinaigrette with pears, steak and cherry cake.
After a hearty lunch, our acquaintance with Irkutsk begins.
The tour program includes only the most significant places in the history of Irkutsk.
And in the evening we will have a meat feast.
We will take a look at the first smoker restaurant in the city.
It was here, in Khasanovsky Lane, since 1872, that the famous wine cellars of the Nerchinsk millionaire Mikhail Butin - an entrepreneur, public figure, philanthropist, true patriot and just a very versatile and interesting person from the history of Irkutsk - were located.
Let's try roast beef with smoked cherries, pork knuckle with cabbage, and for dessert – mousse "white mushroom".
After such a hearty dinner, we return to the hotel and relax.
Meals: lunch, dinner.

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Day 2 - Ust-Orda settlement
At 12:00 we leave for the village of Ust-Orda, which is one of the centers of Buryat culture.
We will visit the ethnographic complex, where the owner of the yurt (Buryat dwelling) will meet us and greet us with white food, as well as conduct a fire purification ceremony.
Next, the owner of the yurt will tell us about the life of the Buryat people and teach us how to cook the main national dish – buuz, and the owner of the yurt will play for us on the national instrument Maureen Hur and sing an amazing song about a lone wolf with throat singing.
At the end, we will all start dancing and dance a circular dance round dance.
After an ethnographic immersion in the culture of the Buryats, a gastronomic journey awaits us.
Let's try the recently made bouzas, khushuur with homemade cream cheese, Baikal fish soup, cherry dessert "Urme" from farm cream with grissini, tincture on pine nuts and tea with steppe herbs.
After a hearty lunch, we return to Irkutsk and have a little rest before a new gastronomic discovery.
At 19:00 we leave for China, and for this we do not need to cross the border at all and even leave the city!
We will visit a Chinese restaurant.
The authenticity of the recipe is monitored by chefs specially invited from Shanghai and Harbin.
The business card of the restaurant is a Peking duck.
The unique marinade, prepared according to ancient Chinese recipes, impregnates poultry meat from the inside, saturating it with aromas of oriental cuisine.
And for dessert, let's try the Shanghai cloud.
After dinner, we return to the hotel and relax.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

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Day 3 - Listvyanka
Not only Thursday can be a fish day.
You can and should try the delicious Baikal fish at any time.
Therefore, after breakfast we go to Lake Baikal, to the village of Listvyanka.
It's only an hour's drive and we're there!
On the way, we will visit a unique collection of historical and architectural monuments of the peoples of Eastern Siberia of the XVIII-XX century — the Taltsy Museum.
It is one of the five largest open-air museums.
Next, we will take a chairlift to the Chersky Stone observation deck, which offers stunning views of Lake Baikal, the source of the Angara River and the opposite shore with mighty ridges.
The next stop of our cultural and educational program is the Baikal Museum, which is completely dedicated to the study of Lake Baikal.
Here we will see the most important endemic of the lake – the Baikal seal.
At the end of the tour, we will take a virtual dive to the bottom of the lake.
After such an eventful program, lunch is waiting for us at the restaurant.
Fish treats and Baikal desserts are on the menu today.
After lunch, we check into a hotel located on the shore of Lake Baikal and have a little rest.
And in the evening we invite you to dinner at a restaurant overlooking Lake Baikal, where you can taste traditional Baikal cuisine in a modern version: salad with Baikal fish and Baikal fish balls, and for dessert – "shaman stone" - mousse cake made of white chocolate, pine nuts, stuffed with lingonberries, fir cones and an almond biscuit.
Free time after dinner.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

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Day 4 - Circum-Baikal Railway
After breakfast, we go to explore Lake Baikal from the water.
(in winter, the tour can be conducted on Khivus or replaced).
After breakfast, we go to explore Lake Baikal from the water.
A guide is already waiting for us at the pier, with whom we will go on a water tour of the most beautiful places of the Circum-Baikal Railway and tell us about all the legends and legends of the great lake.
The guide will tell you about the creation of this segment of the Trans-Siberian Railway: about how much effort and even human lives had to be left on this section of the railway.
It is not for nothing that this site is called the "golden buckle of steel Russia".
During the tour, we will have a delicious homemade picnic lunch.
After the tour, we return to Listvyanka.
You will have some free time so that you can walk around the local fish market – as a souvenir you will bring from Lake Baikal not only a lot of positive emotions and photos, but also Baikal souvenirs, as well as try cold and hot smoked fish.
At 16:30 we say goodbye to Lake Baikal and leave for Irkutsk.
Upon arrival, we will celebrate the end of the tour with dinner at the Russian cuisine restaurant from 17:30 to 18:30.
You can choose a late flight and fly home as soon as possible, or check into the hotel yourself, leave your things in the room and wander through the souvenir shops of Irkutsk, enjoying the atmosphere of the city.
Additionally, we can arrange an individual transfer to the airport and meals.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

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Difficulty

Suitable for everyone

Accommodation

Hotel

3 nights

Comfort

Premium

The tour includes accommodation in a hotel in Irkutsk and Listvyanka.

The cost of the tour for 1 person, depending on the size of the group, RUB.:

Number of people in the group	The cost per person in the group, RUB.
Group of 2 people	113 000
Group of 3-4 people	105 000
A group of 5-6 people	85 000
Group of 7-8 people	70 000

In the tour program, we offer accommodation in a 2-bed comfortable Standard room with two separate beds/a double bed. The furniture in all rooms of the "Standard" category is made according to sketches of the interiors of the mansions of Irkutsk merchants and patrons of the 19th century. The windows in the rooms overlook the quiet pedestrian Bogdanov Lane or the courtyard of the Central Telegraph Office. The room size is 20 sq.m. Each room has a large plasma TV, air conditioning, a wardrobe, a telephone, a safe, a kettle with the necessary set of dishes and individual items for each guest.

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Tour conditions

Group

up to 9 tourists

Minimum age

3 years old

Duration

4 days 3 nights

Group meets at

Russia, Irkutsk

Included in price

2 nights at the hotel "Central" 4* (Irkutsk) standard room;
1 night at the Mayak Hotel (Listvyanka village) standard room;
transfer according to the program;
meals according to the program (3 breakfasts, 4 lunches and dinners);
entrance tickets to museums with guided tours;
boat trip along the KBZHD;
funicular ascent;
services of a certified guide;
memorable gifts.

Paid extra

air and railway tickets to Irkutsk and back;
accommodation in rooms and hotels of a higher category;
early check-in/late check-out;
an additional day of accommodation;
guide services with a different language;
additional meals, not restaurant specialties on the main menu;
alcoholic beverages;
additional excursions not included in the itinerary;
additional transfer not included in the program;
insurance.

It's important to know

Air and railway tickets are not included in the price of the tour. You can purchase them yourself or contact us for help.

Dates and Prices

The tour dates are not confirmed yet. Please, for clarification

Individual dates available on request

1 Jan – 31 Dec

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13 – 16 Oct 4 days 3 nights

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13 – 16 Nov 4 days 3 nights

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13 – 16 Dec 4 days 3 nights

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13 – 16 Jan, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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13 – 16 Feb, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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14 – 17 Mar, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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14 – 17 Apr, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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14 – 17 May, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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14 – 17 Jun, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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14 – 17 Jul, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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14 – 17 Aug, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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14 – 17 Sep, 2025 4 days 3 nights

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