Moscow

Today is arrival day. Check in your hotel. If your flight arrives earlier, you can explore the city on your own. Have a look at your tour plan what you will visit with your group in coming 2 days.

Late afternoon your guide will meet you with the rest of the group. Check hotel board for meeting time and in the evening we will go for optional group dinner in nearby local restaurant for the first taste of Russia.

• Stay in hotel
• Meals not included

Moscow

After breakfast we will take a metro and start our tour from the Red Square, one of the most iconic sights of Russia filled with history and magnificent buildings. Red Square is an excellent place to start the tour and explore Moscow. From here easy access to 130 years old shopping mall GUM. Check out the St Basil’s Cathedral with its colorful onion shaped domes or see the tomb of Russian communist leader Lenin. Take a walk in Alexander Gardens.

Afternoon ride a metro like a local and see the beautiful stations. Many of Moscow stations are a tourist attraction. Learn about history of the metro system and admire the beautiful diverse design.

• Stay in hotel
• Breakfast included

Moscow

Visit to Moscow will not be complete without a tour of Kremlin. The UNESCO-listed Kremlin, the iconic riverside fortress home to four cathedrals, four palaces and five squares. For centuries it was residence of tsars, now official residence of the President of Russian Federation. Visit Kremlin Cathedrals, Cathedral Square, see the Tsar cannon and Tsar Bell. The Armoury Chamber is a massive treasure trove that houses thousands of items gifted to Russian Tsars and emperors by royals and ambassadors from around the world. See a stunning collection of weapons, gold goblets, famous Faberge eggs, 18^th century embroidery, gilded imperial carriages, crowns and much more.

Late evening, we will meet up in hotel lobby and transfer to train station. Settle in your carriage for the next 4 days and the real adventure will begin.

• Stay in hotel
• Breakfast included

Trans-Siberian Express to Irkutsk

Train will leave shortly before midnight. Get mingled with locals, share their story, sit back and enjoy the scenery through magical Siberia with its deep forests. The train will stop at over 10 towns and villages until Irkutsk where you can disembark and buy food and supplies. You will be travelling in 2nd class train. Each compartment has four bunk beds. Bedding is provided. You are welcome to bring your own sheet. At the end of each carriage you will find toilet with wash basin and cold water. Most trains have dining car. Each carriage has an attendant. There is always hot water for tea, coffee and instant noodles. For security windows in compartment are closed and only those on corridor can be opened. There is no air conditioning. Hence it can be very warm inside, bring clothes appropriate.

• Overnight train
• Meals not included

Irkutsk

Arrival early morning in Irkutsk and transfer to the hotel. Time to take shower and freshen up. Guided tour will introduce you to the city history lined with wooden houses and take you to bustling market. Mighty Angara river flows right through the center of the city. Our hotel is located in the city center within walking distance from main attractions and streets with restaurants and bars.

• Stay in hotel
• Meals not included

Lake Baikal

After breakfast transfer to the village of Listvianka on Lake Baikal. On the way we will visit the wooden ethnography museum Taltsy to find out more about Siberian explorations and scientific study of the lake. Explore the shores of lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake on earth surrounded by taiga forest and snow-capped mountains in the distance. In the evening enjoy a Russian sauna (Banya).

• Stay in guesthouse
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner included

Lake Baikal

After breakfast transfer back to Irkutsk. Free afternoon in Irkutsk. You might go on further exploring the city on your own. There is Decembrist house turned into museum or Angara Dam.

• Stay in guesthouse
• Breakfast included

From Russia to Mongolia: from taiga to grassland

After breakfast transfer to train station and board again overnight train till Ulaanbaatar. Train will ride around Lake Baikal, get close to your window to take in the beautiful view. We will arrive at border in the evening. Fill out forms, hand in passports, get stamped and you will leave Russia.  Again fill out documents, hand in passport, get stamped and you will enter Mongolia. This train has no dining train. Take enough supply from Irkutsk. If you did not make it, no worries. At train stations there are plenty small stalls, kiosks and shops where you can buy essentials.

• Overnight train
• Meals not included

Ulaanbaatar

Arrive early morning in Ulaanbaatar. Transfer to hotel for showers and early breakfast before heading out to Terelj National Park. The park is located about 70 km outside the capital. On the way we will stop at giant aluminum Genghis Khan statue on his horse. It’s possible to climb to the top of the monument from where you have a gear view of the surrounding area. There is a little museum that explains Mongol empire history.

After lunch we will arrive in our Ger camp nestled in a hidden valley. Afternoon is free. Various activities can be organised on demand. Horseback riding tour in the park, kayaking the Tuul river, cycling or just hike to mountains for an amazing view. The Ger camp is good location to hike to Turtle Rock or to Aryaval, a little meditation monastery at the foot of mountain.

• Stay in yurt
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner included

Terelj National Park

Today we will explore further the park on a jeep tour. In the morning 4X4 Toyota Land Cruisers will arrive, cross river, (during rainy season when water level is high unfortunately we cannot cross) take off-road trails through amazing landscapes and reach by midday a nomad family camp. We will get introduced to their life and have traditional Mongolian barbecue cooked over hot stone, share meal and drinks with them. Late afternoon we will arrive back to Ger camp.

• Stay in yurt
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner included

Ulaanbaatar

After breakfast transfer back to Ulaanbaatar. We will do city tour today. City sightseeing includes Bogd Khan's Winter & Summer Palace, a series of beautiful traditional buildings in which the eighth Living Buddha and the last king lived. It is now a museum displaying fascinating artefacts and costumes associated with the last king as well as his collection of stuffed animals.

We will stop at the Gandantegchinlen Monastery. It is the largest and most important monastery of Mongolia. We will scroll through the different monasteries and see the magnificent statue of Migjid Janraisig, an 82-food high statue gilded in gold and covered with silk cloths. We will finish city tour with Zaisan hill to have a view of whole Ulaanbaatar. The city sightseeing tour takes about 4 – 5 hours.

In the evening we might check the famous folklore concert famous of its throat singing before going back to the hotel.

• Stay in hotel
• Breakfast included

Departure

After breakfast your tour ends. You may depart any time.

• Breakfast included