Siberian Odyssey: Legends of Buryatia,… (trip)

Siberian Odyssey: Legends of Buryatia, Lake Baikal & Tuva

  • Airport, Russia near Moscow
  • Culture & Nature
“"Everything was excellent. The meals in local homes, especially in Tuva, were spectacular - off the chart! I am very… ”
Russian Federation, Europe

from $7,095* per person16 DaysAugust
Comfort accommodations Exertion level: 3
Operator: MIR Corporation 12 people max
Explore South Siberia, a remote and atmospheric land where mounted Scythians thundered across the steppe long ago. Meet the Buryats of UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal and the Tuvan and Khakass people, whose Mongolian neighbors imbued them with Buddhism, shamanism and khoomei, or throat-singing.

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Locations visited/nearby

Russian Federation, Europe

2 testimonials about this trip

  1. Reviewer: G. Prendergast located in Marshfield, MA USA
    "Everything was excellent. The meals in local homes, especially in Tuva, were spectacular - off the chart! I am very impressed by your complete package and will very likely travel with you again. Thanks!"
  2. Reviewer: M. Nadel located in Los Angeles, CA USA
    The trip was superbly organized, allowing us to see a lot and to interact extensively with the locals. I was very impressed by the friendliness and hospitality wherever we went. Tuva was my favorite part. It was obvious that we were being allowed to see how people lived and not just having a "tourist" experience.

3 testimonials about the provider, MIR Corporation:

  • Reviewer: K. Knack located in Malibu, CA USA
    Every day I am grateful for this fabulous trip. The destinations you specialize in are of much more interest now that I know what a well-delivered service you provide.

    MIR's tour manager made my trip more deeply meaningful and made sure that everyone on the train came away with a greater appreciation for this vast country. Thank you so much for your great itinerary, for the tremendous abilities of your staff... You can be certain I will recommend your company.



  • Reviewer: The Tobys located in Rockville Center, NY USA
    …It is safe to say without the expertise of your superb cadre of guides in the country we never could have put it all together. In fact, we were totally dependent on them to benefit from the extraordinary experienced of visiting three regions of [Ukraine] within a two-week time period.

    Clearly, MIR Corporation has a well-deserved reputation for superb customer service. We support that well-deserved reputation, which is possibly rooted in the fact that your associates like their jobs and that job satisfaction has been transferred to customer and client relations….

    Honestly, we were duly impressed with each of the regional guides and the drivers who accompanied us. Their local knowledge of the unique features of their respective region was so evident, impressive, and unmatched by any we have encounters over our 40 years of visiting 140 countries.

    I want to thank you for a most stupendous trip; 5 stars plus. Loved Ukraine, the people, the sites, the precision of our tour; the fine quality of the guides and drivers - how much they care, how much they know and how much they kept our interests foremost in their hearts and their minds. It was just stupendous.

    It was so fabulous we cannot stop talking about it. Again, thank you very much. And I will certainly recommend MIR Corporation when it is appropriate for our friends & colleagues.

    It was excellent beyond all expectations.


  • Reviewer: The Repkos located in Princeton, NJ USA
    We don’t know where to start – a perfect itinerary which satisfied all of our needs, excellent accommodations superbly located, flawless execution of all aspects including visas, vouchers, theatre tickets, etc., and last but certainly not least, truly outstanding and professional guides and drivers.

    …We only wish that MIR provided tours everywhere, in which case we would never use another tour company again..

    MIR Office in Seattle was outstanding…We have already told several friends about MIR and how wonderful they are! You all put together a trip for us that was perfect to our budget, time frame and interests. Russia is a fabulous destination – wonderful history, magnificent sites we can’t say enough about MIR and Russia.

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Special information

  • May accommodate certain types of disabilities. Contact the operator for more information.

Itinerary

Days 1-4: Moscow, Ulan Ude

Assemble in Moscow, then fly to Ulan Ude, the capital of Siberia's Buryat Republic. Visit Russia's most important Buddhist monastery, and enjoy a home-cooked meal and concert with modern-day Old

Days 5-7: Listvyanka, Lake Baikal, Olkhon Island

Board a boat crossing UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal to Listvyanka on the western shore. Ferry 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 8-9: Irkutsk, Trans-Siberian, Krasnoyarsk

Attend a private concert in the Decembrist Museum in Irkutsk, then take an overnight ride on the fabled Trans-Siberian Railway to Krasnoyarsk. Fly to Kyzyl, capital of the Republic of Tuva.

Days 10-13: 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 14-16: Ergaki, 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.

More information from MIR Corporation: