Itinerary
This tour is a great introduction to Lake Baikal and the city of Irkutsk. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m (2442 ft) and contains roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water. The body of water is also known as the 'Baikal Sea' and the 'Pearl of Siberia'. At 1642 meters (5390 ft) Lake Baikal is the deepest, and among the clearest lakes in the world. Greater than 25 million years old, Baikal is also the world's oldest lake. Baikal is home to more than 1700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world. The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is also home to the Buryat people who follow the Tibetan Buddhist religion and reside on the eastern side of the lake rearing goat, camel, cattle and sheep.
Day 1
Lake Baikal, RussiaThe Listvyanka settlement, RussiaThe Listvyanka settlement, Russia
Arrival in Irkutsk and departure for a whole-day excursion to Lake Baikal (65 km). Enroute you will stop for a guided tour of Taltsy - an open-air Museum of Russian/Siberian Wooden Architecture. The museum's oldest building is the Spass Tower of the Ilimsk Fortress (1667) and the still active Kazan Chapel (1679). You will then proceed to the headwaters of the Angara River to see the famous Shaman Rock (a sacred site for the local people). You will then have lunch at a local restaurant serving Baikal fish specialties.
After lunch, you will go on a walking tour around the Listvyanka settlement: you will visit the Church of St. Nicolas the Wonderworker - the guardian angel of travelers, make a stop at a local fish market, and go to the Baikal Ecological Museum to see the lake's flora and fauna.
Overnight in Listvyanka
Meals included: lunch
Day 2
Irkutsk, RussiaIrkutsk, RussiaIrkutsk, Russia
After breakfast at the hotel you will head towards Irkutsk to have a city tour including a visit to the Cathedral of the Holy Sign. Apart from ornate and rich iconostasis, the cathedral is famous for its graveyard where you will visit the graves of the Decembrists Mukhanov, Beschasnov, Trubetskoy and the Russian Columbus Shelekhov.
Lunch at a restaurant in the city center.
Excursion to the Decembrists Museum where you will learn about the Revolt of December 14, 1825, its participants and their life in Siberian exile.
Overnight in Irkutsk
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Day 3
Listvyanka, RussiaIrkutsk airport, RussiaLake Baikal, Russia
Breakfast at the hotel
Check out from the hotel
Departure to the railroad station or airport in Irkutsk.
Say goodbye to Lake Baikal and Irkutsk. We look forward to welcoming you back to this very special part of the world at some point in the future.
This tour is a great introduction to Lake Baikal and the city of Irkutsk. Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world with an average depth of 744.4 m (2442 ft) and contains roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water. The body of water is also known as the 'Baikal Sea' and the 'Pearl of Siberia'. At 1642 meters (5390 ft) Lake Baikal is the deepest, and among the clearest lakes in the world. Greater than 25 million years old, Baikal is also the world's oldest lake. Baikal is home to more than 1700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world. The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. It is also home to the Buryat people who follow the Tibetan Buddhist religion and reside on the eastern side of the lake rearing goat, camel, cattle and sheep.
Day 1
Lake Baikal, RussiaThe Listvyanka settlement, RussiaThe Listvyanka settlement, Russia
Arrival in Irkutsk and departure for a whole-day excursion to Lake Baikal (65 km). Enroute you will stop for a guided tour of Taltsy - an open-air Museum of Russian/Siberian Wooden Architecture. The museum's oldest building is the Spass Tower of the Ilimsk Fortress (1667) and the still active Kazan Chapel (1679). You will then proceed to the headwaters of the Angara River to see the famous Shaman Rock (a sacred site for the local people). You will then have lunch at a local restaurant serving Baikal fish specialties.
After lunch, you will go on a walking tour around the Listvyanka settlement: you will visit the Church of St. Nicolas the Wonderworker - the guardian angel of travelers, make a stop at a local fish market, and go to the Baikal Ecological Museum to see the lake's flora and fauna.
Overnight in Listvyanka
Meals included: lunch
Day 2
Irkutsk, RussiaIrkutsk, RussiaIrkutsk, Russia
After breakfast at the hotel you will head towards Irkutsk to have a city tour including a visit to the Cathedral of the Holy Sign. Apart from ornate and rich iconostasis, the cathedral is famous for its graveyard where you will visit the graves of the Decembrists Mukhanov, Beschasnov, Trubetskoy and the Russian Columbus Shelekhov.
Lunch at a restaurant in the city center.
Excursion to the Decembrists Museum where you will learn about the Revolt of December 14, 1825, its participants and their life in Siberian exile.
Overnight in Irkutsk
Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Day 3
Listvyanka, RussiaIrkutsk airport, RussiaLake Baikal, Russia
Breakfast at the hotel
Check out from the hotel
Departure to the railroad station or airport in Irkutsk.
Say goodbye to Lake Baikal and Irkutsk. We look forward to welcoming you back to this very special part of the world at some point in the future.
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