Journey from Listvyanka to Olkhon

Meeting the group at the airport. Meeting with guide.
Transfer to Listvyanka settlement, on our way we visit the unique open air museum "Taltsy" - restored Russian village, a unique collection of historical, architectural, and ethnographic monuments of the 17th-20th centuries. The open-air museum complex attracts visitors with the opportunity to get acquainted directly with the material and spiritual culture of the peoples of Lake Baikal.
Four historical and cultural zones have been retrospectively recreated in the museum: Russian, Buryat, Evenk and Tofalar. Buryats, Evenks and Tofs are the indigenous peoples of the Lake Baikal Region. We will learn about their everyday life, peculiarities and beliefs from Even and Tofalar camps, Evenki burials and Buryat ulus-letnik.
Then we go to Listvyanka village and climb the "Chersky Stone".
"The Stone of Chersky is situated at the altitude of 728 meters above the sea level.
You can get to the top by the chair-lift, which works both in winter and summer.
From the observation deck you'll see a lot of beautiful things: Listvyanka, Baikal port, the head of Angara river, Khamar-Daban in a blue haze, and the Baikal horizon merging with the sky. You can see the Shaman-stone and the train on the old railroad! Here you can see Baikal from a bird's eye view.
After the tour you can visit the souvenir market.
After that you go by boat across the lake to the village of Novosnezhnaya, on the opposite shore.
Accommodation in Novosnezhnaya in the country club "Snezhnie Gusi".

The trip along the Snezhnaya river will take about an hour - the aero boat is able to develop good speed even upstream. Khamar-Daban is often called "Siberian tropics" - here you will see real taiga jungles on the background of mountain ranges.
At the confluence of Snezhnaya and Selenginka rivers we'll leave our boat and go for a walk along the most picturesque trail.
Along the way you will meet the clearest streams, giant ferns, relict plants, you will see Gorkhotun waterfall and a lean-to bridge over the mountain river.
And at the end of the hike you will be treated to an outdoor picnic lunch and fishing. If you are lucky you'll be able to cook aromatic soup out of your catch on the campfire!
We return to the Snow Geese Country Club.

This is the biggest Olkhon Island on Baikal, which has concentrated on its territory the whole variety of natural landscapes of Baikal shores. Even its shape reminds one of the contours of Baikal. The island stretches along the shore of Lake Baikal for 73 km, its width comes to 15 km. Olkhon is situated on the territory of the national park and is considered to be one of the most beautiful places of Baikal. The trip takes about 2 days. Stop at one of the most picturesque and popular resting places on the southwest coast of Baikal - Peschanaya Bay. Peschanaya is noted as the warmest place on the lake and is called "Baikal Riviera" because of its similarity to the Mediterranean climate. The cove has been declared a natural monument.

Accommodation at art-hotel Port Baikal on arrival to the island. Free time.

A visit to the largest art and souvenir shop on the island, teas and herbs of the lavish Baikal shores, jewelry made of precious Baikal stones.
Then you take a sightseeing tour around Khuzhir by car. You will make an excursion to the sacred "Burkhan cape" (Shamanka cliff), which is one of the nine sanctuaries of Asia. There is a through cave in the rock. According to legend, this cave is inhabited by the spirit of the owner of the island. It was believed that this was one of his three palaces - the earthly palace, and from here there are exits to the heavenly and underground palaces.
For many centuries, shamanic rituals with sacrifices have been held near the rock. Having visited this place, you will be charged with the energy of Lake Baikal for a long time.
Then you'll go to a place of extraordinary energy and beauty. The beautiful high rock at Khoboy cape, which looks like a sharp fang, has a resemblance to the profile of a woman's head with a bust. There is a Buryat legend that the rock is actually a petrified girl.
When the weather is good, from Khoboy cape you have a view of the widest place at Baikal (80 km). You'll get an inexpressible view of the open, or as the locals call it, Big Baikal. For lunch you'll taste some soup of Baikal fish, cooked on the campfire by our guides.
Return to Port Olkhon.

Today you are going to have an unforgettable trip by a boat along the unique natural places of Baikal! It starts with a visit to the island of Zamogoy - the third biggest island in this strait. It's situated 10 km to the South from the village Khuzhir. Because the island is not inhabited by people, and there are a lot of rocks, on sunny days on it gladly arrange rookeries seal. The Baikal seal is a kind of seal and an endemic of the lake Baikal, so it's found only here. These cute little eyes will stay in your heart forever! The seal is an amazing animal, and you can watch it endlessly.
Next, you go to the island of Ogoy. This is the largest of the islands, located in the Little Sea. In 2005 here was built a Buddhist stupa, the Stupa of Enlightenment, the stupa of victory over all obstacles. There is a belief that Buddhist stupas help dissolve all negativity and misfortune, and contribute to the prosperity of the area in which they are located. Many also believe that the stupa will benefit those who visit it consciously. Today many visitors from all over the world come to Baikal just for the sake of the island of Ogoy, to be charged with positive spiritual energy and to be purified of negativity.
Then you take our speedboat across the Little Sea Strait and head for the mainland, to the place called Surkhayte, where the Sacred Springs are located. The water in the springs is enriched with silver and beneficial minerals. It was consecrated by a local shaman and is divided into two troughs: male and female. According to the legend, the taste of water in them is different. Once you are there you will be able to see for yourself whether such miracles can happen in nature!
After visiting the springs, a picnic lunch will be waiting for you. Cooked with love by our captain in the traditional Siberian style!
We finish our excursion program by visiting the "bird island". Many seagulls live on the island, and they nest right on the rocks. Trees, by the way, on the island no. Its coasts are rocky and steep, reaching 30 meters above the water. Here you can feed the seagulls, who are happy to eat the treat, and take great pictures!

Back to Irkutsk. On the way dinner in a cafe of Buryat cuisine in the village of Ust-Orda.