Grand Baikal

Guest meeting for the bus transfer, the hotel Irkutsk main lobby.
Transfer from Irkutsk to Listvianka, visit to the Baikal museum.
Boarding MS "A. Velikiy" in Listvianka, meeting the crew of the ship, safety instruction.
Departure to Ogoi Island.
Dinner on board.
Welcoming event.

Breakfast on board.
Arrival to Ogoi island.

Ogoi Island is one of the Baikal "places of power". In 2005 the Stupa of Enlightenment was erected. If you walk around the Stupa barefoot three times, it can help to clean up your mind from deep emotions, worries and problems. You can also make a wish which will definitely come true.It is recommended to come to the Stupa with pure thoughts only.

Disembarking by boats, if the weather is fine (takes 30-40 min).
Visit to the Stupa of Enlightenment.
Embarking by boats (takes 40-60 min). Departure for Olkhon Island.
Lunch on board.
Arrival to Olkhon island.

Olkhon Island is the largest island of Lake Baikal. Olkhon is the geographical, historical and sacral center of the lake. Here, according to legends, the Buryats appeared, and the first Buryat shaman got his gift. Shamanka Rock is one of the nine shrines in Asia. The cave in the Rock is considered the habitat of the spirit-protector of Olkhon Island.

Disembarking by boats, if the weather is fine (takes 30-40 min).
Visit to Sacred Shamanka Rock.
Embarking by boats (takes 40-60 min). Departure to the Ushkany Islands (Zabaikalsky National Park).
Dinner on board.

Arrival at the Small Ushkany Islands

The Ushkany Islands have the status of a nature monument. The archipelago consists of 4 Islands: Big Ushkany Island and Small Ushkany Islands: Long, Thin and Round. On the rocky beaches of the Ushkany Islands, one can see seals in their natural habitat. Here they are going to a few hundred. Therefore, islands are related to the protected area of the Zabaikalsky National Park and a visit to them is strictly limited. The Islands are protected by inspectors of the Zabaikalsky National Park from poachers and excessive number of visitors. Nerpa (Baikal seal) is a very timid animal, so when visiting rookeries of the seal it is necessary to observe very important rules: be quiet, not to set fires, to walk only on specially laid trails. In order not to frighten the seals, when visiting the Ushkany Islands, please avoid wearing bright clothes. It is beautifully preserved forest of tall pines and larches, dense thickets of Daursky rhododendron on the islands. Early in summer, an unusual seaweed blooms on steep shores of the islands. The islands are rich in ant colonies, about several thousand of them or about 18-20 anthills per a hectare.

Option: Visit to the Baikal seal rookery if the weather is fine (payment in cash on spot). Disembarking/ embarking by boats, if the weather is fine (takes 40-60 min).
Breakfast on board.
Departure to Chivyrkuisky Bay.

Chivyrkuysky bay is one of the most interesting, attractive and popular sights in Zabaikalsky National park. The bay is shallow, the water temperature rises to 22-24C. The bay cuts deep into the land, more than any other bay of Lake Baikal, and is the most picturesque of them all. Tourists are enchanted with its sandy beaches, islands, scenic capes, thermal springs, its thicket of bushes and colonies of birds. The banks of the bay are uneven and form many creeks, safely shielded from the wind. One of the creeks, Zmeinaya, is famous for its springs which have outputs both under the water and on the shore. The name of the creek comes from its inhabitants, non-poisonous snakes. The temperature of the water close to a spring output ranges from 32 to 45C. The water contains bicarbonate and sodium sulphate, smells and tastes hydrogen sulphide, the fluorine content ranges from 10 to 23 mg/l.

Lunch on board.
Arrival at Chivyrkuisky Bay. Disembarking by boats, if the weather is fine (takes 40-60 min). Swimming in Lake Baikal and bathing in hot healing springs.
Dinner on board.
Departure to Lake Frolikha.
Evening Quiz: Sacred Lake Baikal.

Breakfast on board.
Arrival to Ayaya ("Beautiful") bay. Disembarking by boats, if the weather is fine (takes 30-40 min).
Ecological trail to Lake Frolikha. Trail length – 7 km. Trail difficulty – medium. Picnic with a taiga tea boiled on the fire (lunch-boxes are taken from the ship).

Lake Frolikha is one of the most protected places in Northern Baikal. It is a mountain lake formed in the glacial period, when two glaciers collided in the valley. The ice dam restricted river flows and formed a huge lake. Since then, little has changed: all the same, mountains and the taiga have surrounded it. Beauty of the Frolikha is extraordinary! Lake Frolikha is worth visiting if you want to enjoy the beauty of nature, untouched by a man. A rare Arctic fish "davatchan" has inhabited the lake since the ice age. The davatchan is listed in the Russian Red Book. It has not been definitely explained how the fish appeared in the Frolikha.

Embarking by boats (takes 30-40 min).
Departure to Zavorotnaya bay.
Dinner on board.

Arrival in Zavorotnaya bay.
Breakfast on board.
Disembarking by boats if the weather is fine (takes 30-40 min).
Walking tour (about 3 km one way) to the area of relict poplars and cedars.
Embarking by boats (takes 30-40 min). Departure to Uzury, Olkhon Island.
Departure to Cape Sagan-Khushun, Olkhon island.
Dinner on board.

Arrival in Cape Sagan-Khushun, Olkhon Island.
Breakfast on board.
Disembarking by boats if the weather is fine (takes 40-60 min).
Visit to the rock "Three brothers".
Optional: Automobile tour along the Northern Olkhon till the Cape Khoboy. Lunch-boxes are taken from the ship.
Embarking by boats (takes 40-60 min). Departure to Akademicheskaya bay (recreation center "Baikal Dunes").
Dinner on board.

Arrival at the holiday center "Baikal Dunes" at Academicheskaya Bay.
Breakfast on board.
Disembarking at the "Baikal Dunes", Academicheskaya Bay.

The recreation center "Baikal Dunes" is located 280 km from Irkutsk, on the territory of the Pribaikalsky National Park. The well-groomed territory and the well-arranged beach zone in combination with the new wooden cottages, which are organically entered into a landscape of Academicheskaya Bay, leave pleasant impression. Surrounded by ancient rocks, beautiful Siberian taiga and lake Baikal, the holiday center offers its guests accommodation in one of the most beautiful places on lake Baikal, where everything creates a great mood: the taiga slopes of the Primorsky mountain ridge, large and small rocks, cedars, larches, a clean beach of fine quartz pebbles.

Excursion to Peschanaya and Babushka Bays. Trail length – 1,5 km. Trail difficulty – easy.

The excursion includes visits to Peschanaya ("sandy") bay, Babushka ("grandmother") bay and the rock Big Belfry. Peschanaya bay is a sandy semicircular beach, 750 m long, which is picturesquely framed by two rocks, Big belfry and Small Belfry. You will see famous "walking trees": the soil is constantly washed out from under them by water and wind. They grow on a sandy slope in the northern part of the bay. These are pines and larches rising above the ground level on their roots looking like stilts of more than a human height. Entering Babushka bay take a look at Ded ("grandfather") cape: its form explains the idea behind its name. You can walk from Pecahanya bay to Babushka bay along the path running past huge anthills through a thicket of Labrador tea. Pechanaya bay is one of the lake’s most picturesque sights which leaves no one indifferent. The bay is aptly nicknamed Siberian Riviera and is declared a natural monument. It is as if God working on the lake’s shoreline felt a special inspiration here and with utmost care created rocks, smooth mountain slopes and an impeccable semi-oval of the beach and then placed his creations agreeably on this small piece of the Baikal shore. Pechanaya bay has its own mild climate, and the number of sunny days per year is comparable to that of Black sea resorts. It is the only place in East Siberia where the average annual temperature is above 0C, or +0.4C to be more exact.

Lunch on board.
Visit to the Panorama Rock, Russian bath on the shore of lake Baikal.

Captain’s dinner (Party dress-code).
Departure to Listvianka.

Ship arrives in Listvianka.
Breakfast on board.
Disembarking in Listvianka. End of the cruise.
Getting on the bus. Visit to a local souvenir and fish market.
Transfer: Listvianka – Irkutsk.