The Baikal in the heart of Siberian winter in group

Night flight to Irkoutsk. You spend the night on the plain and arrive to Irkoutsk the next day. The flight takes arround 6 hours and the time difference between Moscow and Irkoutsk is 5 hours.

Arrival to Irkutsk in the morning time. Transfer and acommondation (guest house). Resting time acording to the time of your arrival.

Lunch in a traditional Russian restaurant.

Departure for a guided tour of Irkutsk: discover the cental square, the Victory monument, the chuches of Saint Christ and Epiphany, Amgara river side with its monuments in the honor of Alexander III. Camera lovers will really enjoy walking the charming and unusual streets with old picturusque houses.

Dinner and night at the guest house.

Breakfast at the guest house.

Departure to Listvianka, the village on the coast of the nearest lake to Irkutsk (70 km). Visit on your way the open air museum of  traditional wooden architecture Talsty. Lunch at a traditional restaurant.

Short stop on arrival to Baikal to have a look at the place where Angara river takes its beginning. It is one and only river which flows out of Baikal, while 336 others flow into it. Due to the flow and the tampreture of the water Angara never freezes here. In the middle of it it is possible to see the Shamans rock... Visit the museum of the Lake with aquarium of niepras (freshwater seals) and put yourself in it virtually. 

Accomondation in the small hotel in the center of the village. Banya (Russian sauna) session in the evening.

Breakfast.

Exceptional day on a hovercraft! Today you explore the lake along the west coast. You are comfortably installed in a heated cabin of this vehicle, considered the safest to travel on the ice. Stop at the village of Bolchié Koty where in the 19th century, gold washers washed gold in the small river that flows into the lake. 

In winter the ice forms strange frozen waves and stalactites along the coast, so we will stop in several places to walk on the smooth ice and look through it. Ice skating is possible (please call ahead).

Stop in another village, Bolshoié Goloustnoïé founded at the end of the 17th century. Its history is linked to the creation of the first trade routes between Russia and China. The estuary of the Goloustnaya River is formed by several arms with a wide delta devoid of trees, due to frequent winds in this part of the lake. Lunch in a small local restaurant.

On the way back to Listvianka, visit the local market with its saleswomen exposing all kinds of fish: dry, smoked, cooked as well as handicraft products. Discovery of the local port with the boats caught in the ice.

In the evening, banya (Russian sauna) session. Do not forget your swimsuit if you wish to experience it.

Dinner at the hotel.

Departure from the hotel at 9.30. Visit of the Saint-Nicolas cathedral, protecter of all the fishermen and travelers.

Departure to the trip on the snowmobile along CircumBaikal  in the south of Listvianka. It is a "golden ring of Trans-Siberian". This historic railway line was cut from the main line after the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric station. You will be two people per snowmobile accompanied by an instructor and your english speaking guide. Short stop infront of the Baikal Port, in other words the principle station of this ancient route. 

In the afternoon you will cross the widest part of the lake still by snowmobile. Our destination is the Vydrino village whuch takes place on the boarder of Irkutsk region and the Republik of Burytiya. Step by step we reach the mountains of Khamar-Daban. At this part of the lake it is occured the biggest amount of snowfalls.

For children under 12 years old, who cannot ride the snowmobile themselves, we offer different programm for this day with an animator: show of seals, slades ride, workshop of cooking pelmeni (Russian raviolis) and the transfer to Vydrino on the hovercraft.

Accomondation in the nice guest house (all new) on the bank of Snejnaya river.

Banya, dinner and night in the guest house. 

Departure on minibus taking the Moscow-Vladivostok highway, which passes the Baikal Lake on its southern part for the distance of 200 km. The next stop is the Utulik village which is 48 km away.

The group will be divided in two: first part will take a ride on snowshoeing along the mountain river in Taiga, the second part will take a ride on the dog sledges carried by Siberian Huskies (2 persons for the sledge with 4 dogs).

Lunch in a warm place. In the afternoon the 2 groups change the activity. You will also have a chance to see one of the numerouse bridges of the Trans-Siberian railway, which connects the two parts of the village and of course there is a big chance to see the train passing by, because the traffic on this famous track is quite intense.

Return to the guest house in the end of the day.

Banya (Russian sauna) and diner at the guest house.

Quiet morning walk in the Vydrino village with its traditional houses it the wood covered with snow by the freezed mountain river Snejnaya.

Transfer to the station around noon. Departure on the Trans-Siberian train. We travel along the lake shores for 150 km before we cross the peaks of Cisabaikalie and arrive to Irkutsk. 

Lunch at the restaurant of the train. Arriving at the Irkutsk main station at 16:20. Acommondation in the hotel (a 3* type).

Diner on your own.

The last day we start with the visit of Museum of Decembrists and the surrounding area.

At noon we move to the Museum of Tea. We discover the history and the origins of tea, the tradition of drinking it in Russia, particularly in Siberia, the history of large tea packing factories, which existed in Irkutsk uptil the end of 20th century. Tea ceremony with traditional Russian pasty (pirogis and pirojkis).

We finish with the visit of the Central Market where we can buy the region specials. Free time.

Final dinner in the restaurant in the city center.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport.

Flight to Moscow.