BUDDHA
LENIN
TAIGA
BAIKAL
October 2025 Update: in compliance with the latest amendment (23 October 2025) to EU Council Regulation 833/2014 / Decision 2014/512/CFSP, all tours and tourism related services to the Russian Federation are currently suspended until further notice. This page remains active for informational purposes only. Individual travellers can still legally travel to the Russian Federation without breaching international regulations, though. Russia remains open and welcoming to foreign visitors: don’t let nonsense regulations and bad press scare you away! Please contact us to learn more about your options to visit the Russian Federation, including all locations of the Buryatia Tour described hereunder, without incurring any violation to the existing sanctions against the country.
DAY 1 tO DAY 2 • Ulan Ude
Meet-and-greet at Ulan Ude International Airport, transfer to our hotel of choice, and introductory briefing about Buryatia and its unique culture.
The following day will be entirely devoted to the urban exploration of Ulan Ude, the little-know capital of Buryatia.
During our sojourn in town, we'll also visit the villages of Ivolginsky and Atsagat, home to two of the most important datsans (temples) of Buryat Buddhism and major pilgrimage sites for every Buddhist across Russia and the former Soviet Union.
Overnights in Ulan-Ude.
DAY 3 TO DAY 4 • Baikal Lake
After breakfast we'll depart from Ulan-Ude and slowly travel along the eastern shore of the mighty Baikal Lake.
We'll spend two entire days gallivanting around the villages, bays and coves scattered along the pristine eastern shores of the Baikal.
Highlights will include: secluded bights, white-sand beaches, boat trips in summer, ice driving in winter, and an all-inclusive excursion to the remote Holy Nose Peninsula.
During your time in the area, you'll have also the unique chance to meet with the local Buryat people, who will share with you their food, their home and the mystic secrets of their culture.
Meals and overnights in local guesthouses.
DAY 5 • Barguzin Valley
We'll spend the fifth day of our tour travelling across the Barguzin Valley, also known as the little Tibet of Siberia for its concentration of temples, shrines and pilgrimage sites.
During our journey through the valley, we'll visit several traditional villages inhabited by both Buryats and Evenks, a formerly nomadic Tungusic people spread across much of Northern Asia.
In the afternoon we'll then head back south towards Ulan-Ude for a well-deserved good night’s sleep in the city.
Overnight in Ulan-Ude.
Bespoke Experiences • Cultural full immersion with a local Buryat family on the eastern shores of the Baikal Lake and traditional Siberian banya session in Kultuk or Arshan.
DAY 6 • Southern Shores
We'll leave Ulan-Ude in the morning and travel along the southern shore of the Baikal Lake up to the fascinatingly desolate village of Babushkin, named after the early bolshevik revolutionary Ivan Babushkin, before continuing by train along the world-famous Baikal Panoramic Railway.
The train will stop en route in several pretty wooden hamlets, lakeside resorts and Soviet industrial towns such as Mishika, Tankhoy, Murino, Baikalsk and Slyudyanka.
In the late afternoon we'll eventually reach the Soviet-era vacation retreat of Kultuk.
Overnight in Kultuk.
DAY 7 • Tunka Valley
Today's we'll travel southwest towards remote areas bordering to Mongolia, heading for the secretive Tunka Valley, renowned for its postcard landscapes and a curious mixture of ancient Buddhist stupas, traditional Russian hamlets and Soviet mountain retreats.
We'll move at slow pace enjoying the gorgeous nature and the historical-cultural hallmarks of the region such as the Soviet observatory of Badary and the traditional Buryat village of Zhemchug.
In the afternoon we’ll then reach the Arshan, a lovely spa-town backed by the dramatic, cloud-wreathed peaks of the Eastern Sayan.
Once in Arshan, you can either relax at the mineral-rich hot springs this village is famous for or — if fit enough — engage in one of the many (extreme) sport or trekking activities offered by the local resorts.
In the evening we'll all indulge in local gastronomic and cultural pleasures: Buryat dumplings, dried fish, fresh beer and reinvigorating banya (Russian sauna) sesseions.
Overnight in Arshan.
DAY 8 • FAREWELL TO BURYATIA
After sharing a last Buryat meal together, we'll take care of your transfer to either Irkutsk International Airport or Ulan-Ude International Airport for your flight back home.
End of the tour.
1990 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Buryatia (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.
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