Feel the winter magic of Baikal, when the white clouds of steam rise from the endless expanses of the dark Baikal waters, surrounded by majestic mountain ranges, and the trees on the shores are like in a fairy tale – each branch is white, enveloped in silvery snow…
Enjoy snowmobiling, a troika ride, toboganning, dog sledding and stay with a local family to celebrate Christmas.
Day 1, 23 Dec
Arrive in Irkutsk in the morning by the night flight from Moscow. Meet your guide – and we are setting out for Baikal. Transfer to Listvyanka settlement located on the shore of Baikal, in the mouth of Angara-river, 70 km away from Irkutsk. On the way we will stop at the obo site, where an offering to the local master-spirits is usually made, and at the source of the never-freezing Angara, the only river flowing out of Baikal.
Arrive in Listvyanka where Baikal starts. The immense lake looks magic in its white steam rising from the dark waters, which makes the forest look like a fairy tale. A welcome shot of vodka and “raskolotka”, the traditional Baikal snack of frozen raw fish, are waiting for you. Check in at the rooms at the hotel ***, rest. In the afternoon, you will have an opportunity to do the dog sledding in the taiga forest (optional, for extra-charge: dog sledding along the winter track 10 km). Walk to the Dog Sledding Center of Listvyanka, and the local dog mushers would explain you how behave during dog sledding, describe the dogs characters, teach how to harness the dogs and do the mushing.
Or, this is the right time to discover Listvyanka settlement on your own.
You could also go up to the Chersky Hill to enjoy a marvelous panoramic view of Baikal lake and Khamar-Daban mountain range on its opposite shore.
Return to the hotel. Dinner and night in the hotel (DBL).
Day 2, 24 Dec
After breakfast, you shall put on the thickest clothes you have and walk to the already familiar Dog Sledding Center. The snowmobiles are waiting for you! After the safety briefing, snowmobile driving instructions and a short training, you will depart for a ride in the winter taiga (2 pax/snowmobile). Hot tea during the activities in the fresh air is specially appreciated.Return to the hotel. Lunch in the hotel restaurant and time on your own in Listvyanka.
Before dinner, a good banya (traditional Russian steam sauna) will be heated for you. Try doing it the Russian way – in a few sessions, whisking yourself and each other with the birch-tree whisk and dipping in the snow. Dinner and night in the hotel (DBL).
Note: you spend this day without a guide. The snowmobiling instructor speaks basic English.
Day 3, 25 Dec
After breakfast, we start a day full of discoveries. In the morning we are leaving by car to Taltsy, the open-air museum of wooden architecture, which exhibits over 30 specimens of Siberian architecture of 17-19c brought from the different locations in this region, among them a Buryat yurt and an Evenk traditional tent.After the museum visit, we will have lunch of the traditional Russian cuisine in Sibirskaya Zaimka and have a ride in the sleds drawn by the Troika. Here, you can also have a slide down an icy hill (natural toboggan), as all local children and not only do.
Upon return to Listvyanka, there is a bit of free time to prepare for Christmas celebration. In the evening, we will go to a Russian family to celebrate Christmas together (“the Catholic Christmas”, as we call it, because the Orthodox Christmas celebrated in Russia takes place on the night 6-7 January). During the dinner, our Siberian hosts will narrate about Baikal and will tell you interesting stories about the life of the locals.
Night in the hotel (DBL).
Day 4, 26 Dec
After breakfast, check out. We are going to Irkutsk city, but on the way we will stop at the Baikal Ecology Museum to learn interesting facts about the lake’s formation, its endemic flora and fauna. We will also see an interesting video about Lake Baikal and Baikal’s freshwater seal - nerpa. In Irkutsk, after lunch in one of the restaurants, we will have a guided tour of the city. We will make acquaintance with the history of Irkutsk founded by the cosacks and will visit the oldest part of the city with its wooden houses, the embankment of the Angara river, Znamenski cathedral.
Dinner and night in the hotel*** (DBL).
Day 5, 27 Dec
Breakfast and transfer to the airport for departure by flight to Moscow
The Tour Operator reserves the right to introduce alterations to the itinerary due to weather conditions or other factors out of control by the Tour operator.
Possible optional activities in Listvyanka (for extra charge):
- trip by boat on Baikal (to be booked in advance)
- longer rides and other itineraries for snowmobiling and dog sledding
- downhill skiing and snowboarding at the hill of Kamen Cherskogo (local interest slope)
- trip to Pribaikalskaya tourist accommodation for tubing, downhill skiing (local interest slope), skating
- extra banya
