Southern Baikal & the Legendary Island Olkhon

Special notes:

• The tour is led by Russian-speaking guides; bilingual guides or interpreters are provided for extra charge upon request

• Check-in time at hotels is 14:00. Check out time at hotels is 12:00. Earlier check-in and later check-out are charged for according to the hotel’s accommodation rates.

The tour program:

Today is the first day of the tour, and you are welcome to start it with exploring lake Baikal in Listvyanka settlement. This is perhaps one of the oldest Russian settlements on the shore of the great lake. Lately it has turned into a tourist centre with the number of sights, cafes, hotels and tourists exceeding the number of residents.

On the way to Listvyanka it is worthwhile visiting Taltsy open-air ethnographic museum (for extra charge). Here one can feel the unique charm of the authentic wooden architecture and everyday life of the Pribaikalye peoples, and take part in some traditional winter entertainments: get a thrill sliding down a real Russian ice-hill, have a ride on a sled or Troyka or try to walk on stilts.

In Listvyanka we invite you for a sightseeing tour, during which you will visit an observation platform next to the famous Shaman-Rock, hear a beautiful legend and visit the acting Russian Orthodox church of St.Nicholas-the-Miracle-Worker – the patron of all travelers and sailors. You may also have an excursion to Baikal Ecological museum (for extra charge) with an exposition telling about the flora and fauna of Baikal, including aquariums with the lake’s live inhabitants.

Besides, you may visit the spectacular open-air market, where the locals sell souvenirs alongside with home-made specialities of Baikal fish.

Finally, we recommend you to have dinner at “Proshliy Vek” (“Past Century”) café (for extra charge), where one can enjoy delicious specialities of original Siberian cuisine as well as a marvelous view of Baikal.

Today you have a day at leisure, and everybody can choose his own way to spend it. You can go snowmobiling, dog-sledging or horse-riding in the Siberian taiga (for extra charge), try blacksmith’s craft or pottery at a special master-class (for extra charge), explore the local downhill skiing routes (for extra charge) or just walk around Listvyanka and examine what you missed yesterday.

After lunch – automobile transfer to Irkutsk.

After breakfast - trip to Olkhon island. En route you should make a stop at the Obo – Buryat sacred place to worship the local spirits.

You will see the diversity of the local sceneries: magnificent spurs of the Pribaikalskiy range and the Siberian taiga forest covered with snow, which then change to totally different and practically snowless Mongolian-type landscapes of the Tazheranskaya steppe, mountainous shores of the Maloye sea, and finally majestic Baikal.

In the afternoon you will reach Khuzhir settlement – the capital of Olkhon, where you will put up at a tourist lodge with cozy log cabins, have dinner, and those who wish may experience hot Russian banya (optionally, for extra charge).
Today we invite you to start exploring the vast spaces of Olkhon with a walking sightseeing tour of the outskirts: Khuzhir settlement, sacred Burkhan cape (Shaman-Mount) – 1 of the 9 Asian shrines, equally worshipped by Shamanists, Buddhists and Lamaists; 
In the afternoon you will have free time to walk on your own or to choose any of the excursions offered at the lodge for extra charge.

Although Olkhon is just an island, the distances here are quite long, making most of the local excursions last practically the whole day. You will spend this day exploring the legendary Khoboy cape – the island’s northernmost point, which is located at the widest place of Baikal.

On the way you will see all the diversity of Baikal’s natural landscapes concentrated on the island: steppes, bays jutting deep into the shore, sandy dunes, mixed deciduous forests interspersed with relict fir woods and magnificent marble rocks spotted with red lichens.

The cape gives a splendid panoramic view of Baikal’s northern part, and if the weather is fine, one can make out the outlines of the Ushkanyi Isles and Barguzin Peninsula.

It is really worth having a walk here, during which the guide will tell you the legends, and describe traditions and customs connected with this place.
After breakfast, you will depart to Irkutsk by bus. The long way will amuse you again by changing sceneries and give enough time to recollect the journey which has flashed past, exchange impressions and gradually get ready for the returning to the noise and fuss of the city life. The main thing: please, do not forget to thank the local spirits for the good weather and luck on the way!

Today is the final day of the tour, and we offer you to explore Irkutsk – ancient Siberian city.

During the city sightseeing tour you will see the historical centre, the place, where over 300 years ago Irkutsk was founded, the Angara river’s embankment, the most prominent monuments of architecture and, of course, Znamensky (Holy Sign) Russian Orthodox convent with one of the most beautiful Siberian cathedrals noted for its iconostasis and graves on the territory (graves of the Decembrists, Gregory Shelikhov and others). After the sightseeing you will have some time for shopping at the central market and a souvenir store.

Tour price includes:

- accommodation at hotels and lodges (twin occupancy): 1 night in Listvyanka (room with private bathroom), 3 nights on Olkhon island (room with private bathroom), 2 nights in Irkutsk (room with private bathroom);

- meals as per program;

- transfers as per program;

- excursions as per program.