Natural mysteries of Baikal

Region: Baikal and South Siberia

Reserve: Baikalo-Lensky Reserve Baikalsky Reserve Barguzinsky Reserve Pribaikalsky National Park Zabaikalsky National Park

Lake Baikal is the oldest by 25 million years, the deepest, at even more then a mile deep, of the world's lakes. It is about 636 km long and about 80 km wide. Located in Siberia near the Mongolian border, today, as in the past, Baikal remains a crossroads of cultures and trade routes of Europe and Asia.
Surrounded by mountains, forests, and wild rivers, the lake is an immense and breathtaking example of natural beauty. Lots of legends are about this magnificent place. Native people, the Buryats, deified the lake, they always treated it as a holy yekha dalai (great sea). The 13th century Mongolian leader Genghis Khan is popularly supposed to have been born on Ol'khon Island where there is a revered shamanic shrine.

Baikal contains a fifth of the world's surface fresh water. As a point of comparison, if you were to drain Lake Baikal, it would take all the Great Lakes of the United States to refill the empty basin! Baikal's water, long famous for its spiritual and medicinal qualities, is called "living water". The exceptional variety of endemic animals and plants, living nowhere else, make the lake one of the most biologically diverse on earth. Many animals live in the taiga surrounding the lake, including brown bear, musk and Siberian red deer, elk, reindeer and Siberian sable. Lake Baikal is home to the world's only freshwater seal, and the mystery of how the nerpa came to Baikal still baffles scientists. There are 53 species of fish, including endemic: sturgeon, omul, grayling, burbot, groundling, bullhead, pike, perch, and viviparous oilfish golumyanka and gobi.
There are three zapovedniks (strict nature reserves) and two national parks, stretched out on the shores of Baikal. You can see these unique lands, travelling on board and trekking along the mountainous shore. You will never forget the impression left after observing the exotic animals of the Taiga, travelling around the Siberian cedar forest, which covers the majority of the Baikal's shores. You can take pleasure in magnificent sunsets above the water surface, bathing in cold waters of Baikal, boat trips and horse riding. And, also, receive a huge charge of energy or gain a year of life, granted by Baikal to each visitor, by taking a dip in the Lake.

You must see Baikal to be able to say what it is…

Our guides

Photogallery of tour:

Itinerary:

1 day	Departure from Moscow to Irkutsk
2 day	Arrival in Irkutsk, transfer to hotel, leisure time, lunch, guided tour around the city (Wooden houses built in XIX century, churches, local museum, Alexander III monument, Catholic cathedral etc) Dinner in a local restaurant decorated in old Russian style
3 Day	Departure by bus to Listvyanka after breakfast. Settlement located on the southern shore of the lake, 76 km far from Irkutsk. En route a guided tour to Taltsy – the Museum of Russian Wooden Architecture in the open air. Visit to the Baikal Ecology Museum. Embarkation to the ship, lunch. Beginning of the cruise in Pribaikalsky National Park
4 Day
5 Day	Arrival to Olkhon island, Huzhir settlement. Bike trip. Dinner with traditional fish soup (ukha) prepared on the open fire
6 Day	Arrival to Baikalo-Lensky Reserve, cape Rytiy. Whole day trekking along the Rita river valley to observe rocks and in the evening it's possible to watch bears. Rytiy is a sacred buryatian place where only local men are allowed
7 Day	Arrival to Severobaikalsk.
8 Day	Arrival to Barguzinsky reserve. The whole day trekking along "Nergeli" ecological path. It goes along Shumilikha river valley (12 km). In one day you cross all natural zones of the mountains and observe different vegetation types from Baikal shore up to the lakes in the mountains, sandy dunes in the river valley, glacial relief forms
9 Day	Arrival to Zabaikalsky National Park (Monakhovo settlement). Trekking along "Zmeevaya (snake) bay" trek. It goes along Chivirkuysky bay of Baikal and is 20 km long but easy to pass in one day
10 Day	Arrival to Posolsky Monastery, excursion around the territory. The monastery was established on the Baikal shore and it was important center of diplomatic and trade missions of Asia-Pacific countries. It is the only monastery in Russia built to honour the ambassador Yerofey Zabolotsky to Mongolian khan. Lunch on the boat, continue the cruise to Talanki shore (wild sandy beaches)
11 Day	Arrival to Tankhoy, Baikalsky reserve, the whole day trekking in the mountains along the wild "Hamar-daban jungle" route (7 km). Giant plants surround the path, reminding about dinosaur times millions years ago. The route goes up to the mountains till sub-alpine medows along Osinovka river valley. The end of the cruise part, departure to Ulan-Ude by train
12 Day	Buryatian mysteries of the past. Ethnographical open-air musem which territory is divided into several complexes: archeological, evenks, buratian, old-belivers. Lunch at a buryatian yurt. Excursion to Ivolginsky budda temple - the capital of Russian Buddist founded in 1945. Dinner in a restaurant
13 Day	Departure to Moscow

Price:

Tour operates for the groups of 6 PAX and more. Dates and price fix for every group individually.

INCLUDED:

Еxcursions and transportation according to the program, guide, medical insurance, accommodation in Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude.

NOT INCLUDED:

Flights Moscow-Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude-Moscow, boat rent, alcoholic bevareges, personal expences, additional excursions.