Your day will start at 13:00 with a sightseeing tour of Irkutsk. Where you will learn more about the architecture, its people, and the history of the Irkutsk ostrog (burg), the central part of the city. During the tour you will see many of the city’s major landmarks including the Savior Church, Cathedral of the Epiphany and Memorial Complex “Eternal Flame” before continuing to central street with the Alexander III monument and the White House.

You will stop for traditional Siberian lunch at one of the local restaurants before returning to the hotel and enjoying some free time in the evening.

After your tour of the museum, you will stop for lunch at a restaurant at a famous landmark, ‘Shaman Stone’, offering panoramic views of Lake Baikal.

After lunch, you will visit the Church of St. Nicholas and the Baikal Museum where your guide will tell you about some of the 3500 species flora and fauna of Baikal. Next, you will climb the cableway to the Cherskiy Stone observation platform for spectacular views of the Angara River and Port Baikal.

Finally, your tour of Listvyanka will end with a visit to the fish and souvenirs market. Here, you can buy a wide variety of Baikal minerals and artefacts including jade and lapis lazuli, various shamanic amulets, cedar products and try the delicious hot and cold smoked Omul fish exclusive to Lake Baikal.

After your tour, you will be taken to your accommodation where you will be spending the evening.

On the way to the island, you will stop for lunch at a local café (not included).

Upon arrival in Khuzhir, you will check into your accommodation before enjoying an evening meal to celebrate your arrival to Olkhon island!

Cape Khoboy is the best place for a photo session and in clear weather you will be able to make out the opposite shore of the lake and the Baikal-Svyatoy Nos peninsula. For locals, Khoboy is a holy place and the focal point of Lake Baikal’s energy; it is often used as a space for rest and reflection and is the perfect place for meditation. Tourists tend to visit the natural rock formation, the ‘Rock of love’, resembling the curves of the female figure.

At the cape, you will have time for a picnic-style lunch and after some free time exploring the cape, you will return to the hotel where a traditional evening meal will be waiting for you.

Following your trip to Shamanka, you will return to the hotel to pack before being taken to the pier to begin the boat trip to Ust-Barguzin on the opposite shore of the Lake Baikal. You will get the chance to see the natural beauty of Olkhon Island from the water.

Upon arrival to Ust-Barguzin, you will be taken to your hotel where you will check-in and enjoy an evening meal.

The name of the valley, Barguzin, derives from the name of the Bargut tribe that once inhabited the valley. Today, the valley holds many sacred locations and remains home to several tribes. You will stop for a picnic lunch and learn more about the lives of the people in this unique part of the world.

After your trip to the valley, you will return to the hotel for dinner and some well-needed rest.

You will have time to stop for lunch at a local café on the way, before enjoying some free time on arrival. You will get the chance to walk along the sandy beaches, rent a boat and go fishing, or relax in an authentic Russian banya.

After a well-needed break, an evening meal will be served at your hotel.

Upon arrival in Ulan Ude, you will be taken to your hotel for check-in.

Your morning will start with a visit to the magnificent Ivolginskiy Datsan – a Buddhist Monastery, and the center of Buddhism in Russia. Ivolginsky Datsan is a complex of Buddhist monasteries opened in 1945 as the only Buddhist spiritual center of the USSR. The datsan has become particularly popular with tourists for its ornate altars and interiors decorated with authentic works of art.

After visiting Datsan, you will be taken to the UNESCO-protected Village of Old Believers. The heritage of the Old Believers has been recognised as wholly unique and of great cultural significance by UNESCO. Old Believer culture sees Russia represented by the Yakut heroic epos “Olonkho” and the verbal art of the Old Believers in Transbaikalia.

While touring the village, you will visit the local museum, home to various artefacts from Old Believer culture passed down through the centuries before sitting down to a traditional old Russian lunch in an Old Believer’s house with live entertainment.

On returning to Ulan Ude, you will begin a sightseeing tour of the city before finishing with a splendid evening meal at your hotel.