On this exclusive 13-day Siberian odyssey, a maximum of 12 guests will explore South Siberia, a remote and atmospheric land where mounted Scythians thundered across the vast steppe long ago. Highlights include: a private throat-singing lesson with Tuvan shamans; meeting the Buryats of UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal; a folk performance of Khakassian music; visiting UNESCO-listed Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery, where luminaries such as Gogol, Chekhov, Khrushchev, Raisa Gorbacheva and Boris Yeltsin are buried; exploring Shushenskoye, an obscure Siberian village where Lenin was exiled; climbing the bell tower at the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross; and learning the art of making Tuvan cheese. Slated for July 31-August 12, 2016 this tour starts at $6,495. For more information, visit http://www.mircorp.com/trip/siberian-odyssey-legends-of-tuva-lake-baikal-buryatia/ or call 800-424-7289.
Days 1-4: Irkutsk, Listvyanka, Lake Baikal, Olkhon Island
Arrive in Irkutsk and drive to Listvyanka village on the shore of UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal. Hop a hydrofoil to forested Olkhon Island, where indigenous Buryats believed the lake’s gods to have lived. Search for elusive fresh-water seals and meet an Olkhon shaman.
Days 5-6: Irkutsk • fly to Kyzyl
Attend a private concert in the Decembrist Museum in Irkutsk, and climb to the bell tower of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross to enjoy a concert of chimes by a master bell ringer. Fly to Kyzyl, capital of the Republic of Tuva.
Days 7-9: Kyzyl • Tuva
Explore remote and beautiful Tuva, whose people have adopted many of the cultural traditions of Mongolia. Attend a shamanist ceremony and discover Tuvan throat-singing, an eerie-sounding musical form in which one person produces several sounds simultaneously. Visit the village of Samagaltai, Tuva’s former capital, to visit with a nomadic steppe family. Here, learn the art of making Tuvan cheese and get a private throat-singing lesson. Venture to the famous Arzhan II excavations in Turan, in a place known as the “Valley of the Czars,” where ancient Scythian horsemen buried their royalty in rich kurgan, and continue to the village of Ergaki for a night.
Days 10-13: Shushenskoye, Abakan, Moscow
Travel overland through the foothills of the rolling Sayan Mountains, stopping in Shushenskoye, an obscure Siberian village where Lenin was exiled. Continue to Abakan, capital of Khakassia, a small South Siberia republic established by Turkic-speaking tribes in the 8th century. Enjoy a Khakassian folk performance before flying back to Moscow for one last night.
SOURCE: MIR Corporation