Barguzin fairy-tale (9 days, 8 nights)

Tour
 Barguzin fairy-tale

Day 

Program

day 1 

Arriving, meeting at the airport. Accommodation hotel/homestay, breakfast

Excursion to the Ivolginsky Datsan with a khuvarak-student, the Buddhist center of Russia (35 km from Ulan-Ude)

Dinner at the restaurant — ger «Baatarai Urgoo» (from Buryat «Geser's encampment»). Buryat national meals: booza (dumplings), bukhuler (meat broth), noodle-soup, salamat, green tea with milk, shangi (Buryat bread)

View tour round the city

Visit to the Old-believers' village. Zabaikal Old-believers — colorful ethnic branch of raskolniks exiled to Siberia in 18th century after the liturgical reform held by patriarch Nikon. Here in Siberia, far from tsar and Soviet government they could preserve their original culture, songs, religion in its virgin form. Siberian supper, games, old songs and a lot of fun!

Overnight in hotel/homestay

day 2 

Breakfast at hotel/homestay

Excursion in the Ethnographic museum of Transbaikalian people. This open-air museum includes Evenks, Buryat, Cossack, Old-believers complexes. Original houses, gers, chums, utensils, ancient furniture, national clothes.

Dinner at the restaurant of Russian food «Samovar».

Free time

*Perfect addition to the tour:
 .Excursion to the Center of Oriental Medicine (Tibetologists will tell your diagnosis according to your pulse. You can see procedures of nontraditional cure: phytotherapy, hyrudotherapy. The theoretical base of the methods is Atlas of Tibetan Medicine (exhibited). There's phyto drug-store. Excursion is held by a center's specialist).
b.The museum of Buddhism. Exhibitions: «Buddhist art», «Atlas of Tibetan Medicine», «Chronograph of Buryatia»

Supper. Overnight hotel/homestay

day 3 

Breakfast in the hotel. Departure to Ust-Barguzin.

Visit of Sretenski Nunnery in Baturino (en route). White-stone orthodox church of 19th century

Lunch at a guests' house «Turka»/ poznaya en route. «Turka» means «omul road». Baikal omul — endemic fish with soft taste. There are a lot of ways of its preparing: salted, hot and cold smoked.

Arriving in Ust-Barguzin, accommodation in homestay. Banya, supper, overnight. Ust-Barguzin — the last densely-populated place before entering the Zabaikal National park, situated at the mouth of the Barguzin river. Appreciate the heat of Russian banya, Siberian meals and hospitality!

day 4 

Breakfast in the homestay.

One-day tour (260km) around the Barguzin valley — the northern steppes of Asia. Chingis-khan and his warriors are from this valley. The valley is situated at the picturesque place — between two mountain ranges: Ikatski and Barguzinski. It is famous for its natural and historical monuments. The tour begins with Petrogliffs (rocky paintings, age 3000). The way will bring us to the Suvinski Castle (Suvinski (a stone which looks like a bull where shaman rituals are taken place). Near the river Ina there is Stone Garden (10 km large stones which «are grown» from the land). Scientists still don't know the origin of such natural phenomenon. In the Japanese culture it is known as «Khiraniva» — «Philosophic Garden». At the Alginskoe Lake you will observe birds of prey: kites and goshawks. The historical museum of the village will tell us about the life of local people and fate of exiled Decembrists. Dinner in the buryat family: buryat national meals. Arriving in Ust-Barguzin. Banya, supper. Overnight at homestay. Ostantsi) — an architectural miracle created by nature itself forming a picturesque group, reminding castles ruins with huge stone towers and narrow rocky ravine between them with the length about 200m and height 50m. There are a lot of nests of doves and swallows in the rocks. Higher The Suva there is a place of admiration of Barguzin buryats - The Stone Bull

day 5 

A. Breakfast. Transfer by car to Monakhovo. Transfer by motorboat to Bezimyanaya bay. Accommodation in the guest house. Cozy summer houses are situated in a forest and viewed to the sand beach. Dinner. Accommodation. Supper. Overnight at guest house.

B. Breakfast. Transfer by car to Monakhovo. Transfer by motorboat to Krokhalinaya bay. Accommodation in hotel. Comfortable floating hotel at the sand coast. Dinner. Accommodation. Fishing in the bay: pikes, taimens. Surprising, but successful fishing is guaranteed even to beginners. Supper (fish-soup, smoked fish). Overnight in hotel.

C. Breakfast. Transfer by car to Monakhovo. Transfer by motorboat to Zmeinaya bay. Accommodation in the hotel. Comfortable floating hotel at the sand coast. Dinner. Accommodation. Fishing in the bay: pikes, taimens. Surprising, but successful fishing is guaranteed even to beginners. Supper (fish-soup. smoked fish). Overnight in hotel.

day 6 

Breakfast. One-day tour round the Chivirkuiski bay. Islands, caves, hot springs. At the spring's exit there's a wooden cabin for bathing. Near the main cabin there are 4 griffins among shingle. The spring's water is hydrocarbonate-sulphate-sodium with smell and taste of hydrogen sulfide (from 10 till 23 mg/l). The local population uses the spring for treatment backache and different illness. Bathing in the springs. In winter there's no snow around the spring — it disappears on the warm land (t'= +60'C). Picnic lunch. Supper, overnight in hotel/guest house.

day 7 

Breakfast. One-day tour on the ship to the Ushkanie islands. Observation of Nerpa — Baikal endemic, the only specie of fresh-water seal in the world. Picnic lunch on one of the islands. Kayaks afford to reach maximum near the nerpa, take good pictures not to frighten them by motor sounds. Supper, overnight in hotel/guest house.

day 8 

Breakfast in hotel/guest house Transfer Chivirkuiski bay — Monakhovo — Ust-Barguzin — Ulan-Ude. Dinner at guests' house «Turka»/ poznaya. Farewell supper. Departure by train/plane the next day.