Essential Siberia 2020
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photo: Vladimir Kvashnin Essential Siberia 2020 ! Essential Siberia Rolling Steppe, Lakeshore, and Taiga Flexible Essential Trip – Classic Private Journey – 7 Days Your choice of dates, suggested start day: Thursday Near the shores of UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal, survey the Mongolian, Cossack, Buryat, and Buddhist heritage of southern Siberia, and admire its overwhelming natural beauty. Explore Ulan Ude, capital of the Buryat Republic and center of Buddhism in Russia, and enjoy the unique choral music of the Trans-Baikal Semeiskie in a nearby village of Old Believers. Take a short trip on the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway and continue to Listvyanka, a small town situated on the shore of Lake Baikal. End your journey in cultured Irkutsk, influenced by transplanted Czarist and Bolshevik exiles. © 1996-2020 MIR Corporation 85 South Washington St, Ste. 210, Seattle, WA 98104 • 206-624-7289 • 206-624-7360 FAX • Email [email protected] 2 Daily Itinerary Day 1, Thursday Arrive Ulan Ude, Russia Day 2, Friday Ulan Ude Day 3, Saturday Ulan Ude • day train to Irkutsk • Listvyanka Day 4, Sunday Listvyanka Day 5, Monday Listvyanka • Irkutsk Day 6, Tuesday Irkutsk Day 7, Wednesday Depart Irkutsk © 1996-2020 MIR Corporation 85 South Washington St, Ste. 210, Seattle, WA 98104 • 206-624-7289 • 206-624-7360 FAX • Email [email protected] 3 Tour Highlights Ulan Ude Capital of the Buryat Republic, Ivolginsk Datsan, covered market, world’s largest Lenin head, village of Old Believers Trans-Siberian Railway Short section of the world-famous rail line Listvyanka St. Nicholas Church, Baikal Museum, short boat ride on Lake Baikal, authentic banya at the guesthouse Lake Baikal “Sacred Sea” with unique flora and fauna (UNESCO World Heritage Site) Irkutsk Wooden Architecture Museum, Angara River Embankment, Epiphany Cathedral, Znamensky Convent, Church of Our Savior, concert of chimes by master bell-ringer, Regional History Museum Daily Itinerary Day One, Thursday Arrive Ulan Ude, Russia Arrive today in Ulan Ude, and transfer to the hotel for check-in and a free afternoon/evening. Dinner is independent this evening. Meals: Independent – Geser Hotel or similar Day Two, Friday Ulan Ude Ulan Ude is the capital of the Buryat Republic. Formerly called Udinsk, Ulan Ude was founded in the mid 17th century by Cossacks as a winter encampment on the Selenga River. The city later prospered as a major trading post along the tea route between China and Irkutsk. The indigenous people of the region, the Buryats, continuously resisted attempts to infiltrate their culture and traditions. Today, the unique cultural identity, language, and religions of the Buryats make visiting Ulan Ude a fascinating experience. This morning, visit the Ivolginsk Datsan, which is the center of Buddhism in Russia, and was the only functioning Buddhist temple tolerated by the Soviet government. The 14th Dalai Lama initiated construction of the new school for monks and has visited the monastery four times. At present, there are about 30 monks and 100 students. Continue to Ulan Ude’s small city center. Highlights are the covered market, where merchants at small stands sell everything from freshly cut meat to freshly baked bread and sweet rolls; the original merchant center of the city, with its wooden Siberian houses; the trade rows © 1996-2020 MIR Corporation 85 South Washington St, Ste. 210, Seattle, WA 98104 • 206-624-7289 • 206-624-7360 FAX • Email [email protected] 4 and administrative center; the city’s first stone Orthodox church; and the biggest Lenin head in the world. After an independent lunch, visit a village of Old Believers. Hear their stirring songs in one of the villages founded in the Ulan Ude area around 1764. Rebelling against Patriarch Nikon’s 1652 reforms of the Orthodox liturgy and ritual, the Old Believers fled or were exiled to Eastern Europe and then to Siberia. In their isolated Siberian villages such as Tarbagatay, these groups were able to preserve their 17th century traditions, clothing, architecture, language, and style of singing. In 2001, UNESCO photo: Helge Pedersen added the culture and unique choral music of the Trans-Baikal Semeiskie – as they are called in Siberia – to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.” Enjoy dinner this evening with the Old Believers. Meals: B, D – Geser Hotel or similar Day Three, Saturday Ulan Ude • day train to Irkutsk • Listvyanka Early breakfast this morning is followed by departure on the day train from Ulan Ude to Irkutsk. This is a short but interesting segment of the famous Trans-Siberian Railway. Taken in its entirety, the Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the most enjoyable and romantic of all the world’s great train journeys. Though this segment will just give a hint, overall the rail line is one of the longest in the world, stretching more than 5,500 miles from Vladivostok to Moscow. Travel along a scenic stretch of the rail line, chugging westward past remote towns with charming painted houses, and through the taiga with its stands of birch, pine, spruce, and larch. Rail travel is one of the most popular forms of travel in Russia, offering many opportunities to meet Russian travelers. Arrive this afternoon in Irkutsk, followed by a drive to Listvyanka. This little lakeside town began as a fishing outpost; today is it a center for the study of Lake Baikal. Located near the outlet of the Angara River, the town is included in Pribaikalsky National Park. Check into the hotel for an independent dinner and overnight. Meals: B – Krestovaya Pad Guesthouse or similar © 1996-2020 MIR Corporation 85 South Washington St, Ste. 210, Seattle, WA 98104 • 206-624-7289 • 206-624-7360 FAX • Email [email protected] 5 Day Four, Sunday Listvyanka Enjoy breakfast at the guesthouse this morning, then begin an exploration of this lakeside town and the lake itself. Touring begins with the 19th century St. Nicholas Church, situated 500 meters from the lake and built by a Russian merchant, Ksenofont Serebryakov. According to legend, Serebryakov was saved by St. Nicholas (protector of sailors) while crossing Lake Baikal in a terrible storm, and promised to build a church here. Visit the Baikal Museum with its focus on limnology, the study of the life and other phenomena in fresh water, particularly lakes and ponds. Learn about the origin of Lake Baikal; its characteristics as the oldest and deepest lake in the world; and its species, including some that are found nowhere else, such as golomyanka, a transparent fish; omul, a tasty salmon-like fish; and nerpa, a freshwater seal. Several aquariums at the museum are home to a variety of Baikal fish and crustaceans, as well as a pair of these unique nerpa seals There will also be time for a short boat ride on Lake Baikal, weather permitting. Afterwards, take the optional opportunity to enjoy a traditional banya. The popularity of the banya, or Russian bathhouse, has not diminished with the advent of universal running water. The traditional Russian bath is viewed as the epitome of a healthful experience. A typical Russian bathhouse includes a changing room or vestibule, a room for washing, and a sauna with a wood-fired stove. In large banyas, the dry sauna and steam room may be separate, but in small ones they are one and the same. The bather adjusts the amount of steam by ladling water onto hot rocks. Larger banyas often include a cold plunge pool, so that the bather can move from hot to cold and back again. In both, it is important to beat oneself or one’s neighbor with a branch of birch leaves soaked in water, to stimulate blood flow and release toxins. Meals: B – Krestovaya Pad Guesthouse or similar © 1996-2020 MIR Corporation 85 South Washington St, Ste. 210, Seattle, WA 98104 • 206-624-7289 • 206-624-7360 FAX • Email [email protected] 6 Day Five, Monday Listvyanka • Irktusk Transfer back to Irkutsk today, with touring en route. The first stop is at the outdoor Wooden Architecture Museum, a 166-acre collection of authentic Russian and native Buryat, Evenki, and Tafalar houses and community buildings from the 17th to the early 20th century. The wooden structures were moved here from various Siberian locations, furnished with period appointments and assembled into little hamlets and nomadic camps that demonstrate how people actually lived. Early this afternoon arrive in Irkutsk, which began as a wooden fortress founded by Cossacks in 1661. Fortified and armed to a greater degree than other Siberian settlements, Irkutsk became a staging area for trade convoys and exploring expeditions. By the early 18th century, settlers had already built 13 churches in the town. The Irkutsk area has been a place of exile since Genghis Khan offered it to captives as an alternative to death. Czarist and Bolshevik political exiles from the 18th through 20th centuries ended up bringing culture and education to Irkutsk after their terms of slave labor ended. Today, Irkutsk is a pleasant tree-lined city of near 600,000 on the banks of the Angara River. With some lovely pre-revolutionary churches, universities, a fine botanical garden, and a number of appealing museums, the city is a noted cultural center. The city tour includes a visit to the Angara River Embankment; Epiphany Cathedral, built in 1724; and the Church of Our Savior. Additionally, tour the area of old wooden houses, many with the intricate fretwork surrounding brightly painted window frames typical of local Siberian architecture. Climb to the bell tower of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and enjoy a concert of chimes by a master bell-ringer, who personally collected all the bells and reconstructed the tower. During Communist times, worship was discouraged and bells were collected; many were melted down for their metal.