“Legends of Baikal”
July 11-19, 2020

Irkutsk and Lake Baikal, Cape Khoboy, Shamanka Rock, Taltsy and Listvyanka,
Museum of Baikal and the Baikal Circum-Railway

This tour will introduce you to the most mysterious and ancient fresh lake of the planet Baikal. Your trip will be full of impressions and emotions. High travel dynamics will help you to feel every moment of the tour, the beauty of Siberian nature, will give you a rest after the busy rhythm of the conference. This tour does not require special physical training and sports skills, so even a novice tourist can safely go to it. Moscow and St. Petersburg, this is not all of Russia. Having visited Lake Baikal, you can safely say that you have seen the real Russia.
Total duration: 7 days / 6 nights tour, along with the road tour will last 9 days.
Type of route: combined, bus/minbus, ferry, train, on foot.
Meals: three meals a day, daily from the 2nd to the 7th days of the tour.

Submission of application forms is carried by the e-mail address: bgrs2020@bionet.nsc.ru (+ copy at belkova_ov@inbox.ru) with the subject of the letter “Tour to Baikal”.
THE APPLICATION FORM (eng)    /   THE APPLICATION FORM (rus)

Tour program:
Description of the tour on Russian

July 10th. The day before.
Departure by evening train from the Novosibirsk to the Irkutsk.

July 11th, day 1. 
Road. In the train we are waiting for acquaintance with the group, entertaining conversations and intellectually fun games, relaxation after the conference.

July, 12th, day 2.
Arrival early in the morning at the railway station in Irkutsk, transfer to the hotel, check-in. Breakfast. Rest after the road. After lunch, we go to the first meeting with Lake Baikal in the village of Listvyanka (70 km.) On the way, we will visit the Taltsy ethnic museum complex in the open air, where we will get acquainted with the history and architecture of Siberian villages of the Irkutsk Province of the 17th — 20th centuries, and visit in peasant estates and Buryat yurts, we will see part of the Ilimsk prison and find out the traditions of local peoples, find out who Baba Yaga really is.
In Listvyanka, we will have a very informative excursion to the Baikal Museum of the Scientific Center of the SB RAS. A fascinating journey into the history and world of Lake Baikal, the most beautiful and amazing fresh lake in Russia. 70-30 million years ago, in its place were warm lakes, and only 150 thousand years Baikal took on a modern look. The erudite guides will tell and show us in the expositions the history of the origin of life on Earth from the Big Bang to the present day. We will see the flora and fauna of the lake, learn the history of Baikal exploration and much more.
Return to the hotel in Irkutsk. Dinner.

July, 13th, day 3. 
After breakfast, we leave for the Circum-Baikal Railway. A sightseeing train with comfortable seats runs along the coast with stunning views of Lake Baikal, through tunnels and forests. The KBD is called the “golden buckle” of Russia’s steel belt, built in tsar times and is rightly the most beautiful and most expensive railway in Russia. Guides lead their stories, and we enjoy the pristine Siberian nature. We are also waiting for a stop and a walk along the lake.
The tour takes all day, the lunch include. Then return to the city. Dinner.

July, 14th, day 4.
After breakfast, we check out of the hotel and leave for the island of Olkhon, in the heart of Lake Baikal. After 4-5 hours on the way, lunch on the way and ferry crossing, we go around the island to the camp site by the special car UAZ, located in a beautiful place near the shore of the lake. This is not only the Siberian hinterland, but an amazing place in terms of power of energy, known throughout the Buddhist world.
After accommodation in rooms (3-4 people, amenities per block), we will have a walk to Cape Burhan, better known as the “Shamanka Rock”, a visiting card not only of Olkhon Island, but of the whole Baikal. Then you can choose: arrange a photo shoot at sunset on the lake or take a thoughtful walk along the sand dunes, or dream about it while looking into the dark blue waters of the lake.
Dinner at the camp site.

July, 15th, day 5. 
Breakfast. Today we are waiting for a day full of amazing impressions. Excursion to Cape Khoboy, perhaps you will remember for a lifetime. If you have ever been to Portugal at Cape Roca on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, you are surely impressed by the beauty of the high cliffs of the cape and the vast expanses of the ocean. Now attention. Cape Khoboy not only looks very similar in the photographs, but it feels much larger than its European twin. Here everyone, willingly or not, will think about the power and omnipotence of our nature, the Universe, eternity and who we are, maybe, just guests on this planet. On the way we are waiting for stops in the most interesting places: Cape Budun, Sand, Cape Sagaan-Khushun. You will see the highest beautiful rocks, from which only the bravest of you dare to look down into the waters of Lake Baikal, hear the legends of the lake and try the local cuisine on a picnic. After the picnic on the forest, we will continue the way to the peak of Love and Padi of Uzura.
Return to base. Dinner.

July, 16th, day 6. 
Rest day on the island. Walks along the lake, impressions, relaxation. Near the hostel there is an excellent sandy beach and pine forest. Rest in this place will fill you with amazing energy and harmony. Cycling and quadrocycling (for an additional fee), horse-riding or visiting a Burat village (for an additional fee) or walking along the coast of Baikal – choose only you!
Breakfast lunch dinner. By the way, this tour may well become a gastronomic pleasure for you. The famous Baikal omul and Buryat poses (buzes) will be appreciated even by gourmets.

July, 17th, day 7. 
After breakfast, we return to Irkutsk. Again the ferry, road, lunch on the way, stop in roadside cafe (self-catering at extra cost), and hotel accommodation.
Finally, it’s time to get acquainted with Irkutsk, a beautiful old Siberian city with a rich history and traditions. We are waiting for a tour of the historic city center, the 30th quarter, the promenade, acquaintance with temples, monasteries and churches. Irkutsk is simply created for walking. By the way, in one of the monasteries the wives of the Decembrists, those who followed their husbands to hard labor, are buried here.
After dinner, departure to the train station and boarding the train for those tour participants who return to Novosibirsk by train.

July, 18th, day 8.
Early eviction from the hotel, transfer to Irkutsk airport for those tour participants who choose the return trip by plane.
The rest of the group rides on the train.

July, 18th, day 9.
Early morning arrival by train to Novosibirsk.

Minor changes are possible in the program.

The tour price includes:
– 3 nights accommodation in a hotel in Irkutsk, in 2-4-bed rooms;
– accommodation for 3 nights at a camp site on the island of Olkhon, in 3-4-bed rooms;
– transfers according to the program;
– a Irkutsk sightseeing tour;

– excursion to the ethnic museum “Taltsy”;
– excursion to the Museum of Baikal in the Listvyanka village;

– a guided walk to Cape Burhan;
– excursion to Cape Olkhon;
– tour of the Circum-Baikal Railway;
– 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner) from the 2nd to the 7th day; except for lunch on day 6;
– guide (English speaking);
– medical insurance, including accident insurance.

 

Cost of the tour: 57,400 rubles (745 euro) (group 14 people).
In case of recruitment of 19 people, the cost will be reduced to 54,900 rubles (712 euros).

The cost of the tour is not included and is paid additionally:
– surcharge for single occupancy in hotels during the tour;
– food on the road in the train from Novosibirsk to Irkutsk and back;
– travel Novosibirsk – Irkutsk-Novosibirsk
* by train (price for “round trip” – reserved seat from 6500 rubles (93 euro) (2 class), compartment coach from 12 000 rubles (172 euro) for places below)
* by plane (price for “round trip” from 14,000 rubles.(about 200 euro).

Tickets from Novosibirsk to Irkutsk and back are purchased in agreement with each participant personally.

Tour participants can plan their trip to the conference taking into account the tour by purchasing a ticket from their city to Novosibirsk (to participate in the conference) and flying back from Novosibirsk on July 19 afternoon or evening (returning from a trip to Baikal). Or you they fly back home immediately from Irkutsk after the end of the tour on July 18.