Irkutsk city tour, 3 hours

The Irkutsk guided city tour last 3 hours. All year round. From 1 client up to groups variable in size.

Description

Pick up at your hotel in Irkutsk your guide will make you visit the beautiful Russian Orthodox churches and a Polish Cathedral (the only Siberian Gothic-style building), you will see many small one- and two-story wooden houses or cabins that are decorated with “wooden laces” (hand-made carvings) as well as modern constructions of the 20th century. Visit either the Irkutsk Museum of Regional Studies or the Decembrists’ House. During the Irkutsk city tour, our guide tells you about the development of the Siberian city evolution, and shows the most interesting sights and peculiar features of one of the most beautiful cities in Russia.

Irkutsk city tour and trip to lake Baikal fisherman village listvyanka, 1 day

All year round. From 1 client up to groups variable in size. All transfers by private car, English/German/Japanese/Spanish/Italian/French speaking guide, one museum.
Duration of the tour is 8-9 hours (city tour takes 2 hours).

Description

Pick up at your hotel in Irkutsk your guide will make you visit the beautiful Russian Orthodox churches and a Polish Cathedral (the only Siberian Gothic-style building), you will see many small one- and two-story wooden houses or cabins that are decorated with “wooden laces” (hand-made carvings) as well as modern constructions of the 20th century. Visit either the Irkutsk Museum of Regional Studies or the Decembrist House. During the city tour of Irkutsk, our guide tells you about the development of the Siberian city evolution, and shows the most interesting sights and peculiar features of one of the most beautiful cities in Russia.

After lunch you go by car to Listvyanka settlement. The highway from Irkutsk to Lake Baikal goes through picturesque taiga-forest up and down the high hills. After a 1 hour drive you come to a viewpoint facing the Shaman Rock, at the source of the Angara River. The small but tourist-wise village of Listvyanka is located on the western shore of Lake Baikal, 70 km from Irkutsk. This old-style Siberian village is famous for its trade history. Visit of the Museum of Lake Baikal (Limnological Museum) provides information about the origin and wild life of the lake. In the village, a variety of hot- or cold-smoked and salted omul and grayling fish is on sale. A great snack on the shore is omul, a delicacy of Lake Baikal, which has been just smoked for you. Several private cafes and restaurants offer traditional Siberian or European meals for you. You can taste pelmeny (stuffed dumplings), pirozhki (with cabbage, or meat, or berries), and caviar sandwiches to feel the spirit of Siberia.

On your way from Irkutsk to Listvyanka, at your request, a car can take you to the Wooden Architecture Museum of Tsaltsy (47 km from Irkutsk and 23 km from Listvyanka). The open air museum has a large collection of original wooden houses equipped with the old-style furniture and domestic utensils. The museum shows the style of life in the 16th to 19th century Russian villages and Buryat and Evenk tents. You can observe the interiors of a Russian fort and the 15th century watchtower, a Siberian izba (house) and a chapel, a Shaman yurt and other interesting things.

Observation trip Irkutsk and Lake Baikal, 3 days/2 nights

Itinerary

Day 1
Morning arrival or pick-up in Irkutsk and transfer to Hotel Baikal Chalet (Breeze Htl) in Listvyanka village, on the shores of Lake Baikal. A chance to settle in and relax before embarking on our tour around Listvyanka village, a traditional Siberian village and a visit to the Limnological Museum (Museum of Lake Baikal) to learn about the unique history, flora and fauna of the deepest freshwater lake in the world.

Day 2
Mid-day transfer to Irkutsk and a visit to the Museum of Wooden Architecture, an open air museum relating village life in 16th – 19th century Russia. Check into Hotel Victoria or Homestay 1 Nt b/b before embarking on our City Tour by car which will highlight the city’s major attractions and includes a visit to the Regional Museum. After the tour, free time to shop or wonder around this beautiful city.

Day 3
Breakfast. Free time. Shared day transfer to station. Departure from Irkutsk.

Discover the Shamans culture around Irkutsk

All year round. From 1 client up to groups variable in size. All transfers by private car, Private local guide, one museum. Duration of the tour is about 6,5 hours. We offer a new ethnographical tour at Lake Baikal area, an exiting visit to the region where the Shamanism is still practiced. It is the brilliant way to experience the Buryat people traditional hospitality and cuisine, to enjoy their dancing and music. You are invited to take part in the original ceremony of “meeting-and-greeting” guests at Buryat dwelling, view the folk arts, make offerings to the local spirits, so you feel yourself like a medieval nomad.

Description

By our company’s car, tourists and a guide come to settlement Ust-Orda, the administrative and cultural center of Ust-Orda Buryat National Region, situated 70 km from Irkutsk. Its population is about 10.000 people, mostly involved in herding cows and sheep in the vast Mongolian-like steppe. In Ust-Orda, the local guide take you to an excursion in the Local Lore Museum, showing the history of Siberia from the Stone Age to the present day in fossils, rock-painting, pictures, authentic tools, robes and dresses, weapons and jewellery.
After dressing in Buryat traditional clothes, the tourists are invited into a traditional ger. Before getting in, the major Shaman accomplishes the procedure of cleaning the guests from possible evil spirits and gives them further protection. Inside the yurt, everybody sitting around the fire tastes the Buryat tea, followed by oriental dishes typical of this region. To get to know what happens later come to see it!

Accommodation in Irkutsk Hotels