Ancient Siberia

Itinerary

Day 1 - Krasnoyarsk
Arrive in Krasnoyarsk. Start your first day in Siberia with a tour of Krasnoyarsk city, a large Siberian city on the bank of the Yenissei river. Visit Paraskeva Pyatnitsa chapel, the symbol of Krasnoyarsk and discover the history of the old quarter. Also visit Krasnoyarsk Region Museum, one of the richest museums of Siberia, and learn about the exploration of Siberia, different peoples inhabiting this land and their religions. The museum visit will give you insight to the history and ethnic traditions that you will encounter further in this tour. Then transfer to the station for an overnight train to Abakan. (L)

Day 2 - Khakassia
Arrive in Abakan, the capital of Khakassia, and take a tour of the town including its museum. After lunch, set out to the first archaeological site – the Valley of Kings (70 km), renowned for more than 50 big burial mounds of ancient kings from the Tagarsk tribe. Explore these enigmatic sites before returning to Abakan for the night. Overnight Hotel Abakan or similar. (BL)

Days 3-4 – Khakassia
We spend these days discovering the numerous archaeological and spiritual sites of the surrounding area, visiting the mountain of Aar-Tag with its medieval paintings and learning about local legends. We visit ancient standing stones and petroglyphs accompanied by a local expert in archaeology who will be able to explain the significance of this fascinating area, which few in the west have heard about. Overnight in tourist yurts. (BLD)

Day 5 - Ancient stelae and paintings
Spend the day visiting a number of traditional spiritual sites, starting with Khurtuyakh-tas stela - the most famous monument in Khakassia and a symbol of maternity. Still venerated today, Khakassian women bring gifts here if they wish to have a baby. From here we visit the open air museum of ‘Poltakovo’ with the biggest collection of rock paintings in Siberia (more than 1000 petroglyphs - 6 thousand years of ‘illustrated’ history of Khakassia). From here head to the village of Safronovo with its unique priest burial mound and more than 740 rock paintings. Travelling through mountain steppe, visit the burial mounds of ancient Scythian aristocracy near Kyzlas before returning to the yurts for the night. (BLD)

Day 6 – Valley of Ancestors
Walk to the valley of Chity-Khys (Seven Sisters), which is also called the Valley of Ancestors, dotted with numerous burial mounds. During this excursion you will visit sites dating back as far as the 12th century BC and see rock paintings made by different techniques according to Buddhist or shamanism beliefs, as well as visiting a mountain temple. Before returning to Abakan for the night, stop at Akh-Tas (White Stone), a monument that according to the locals has a healing power. Overnight Hotel Abakan or similar. (BL)

Day 7 - Tuva
Transfer to Kyzyl, driving along the Sayan Mountains – you will have plenty of opportunities to observe beautiful forest and mountain views. Tuva confronts travellers with drastically different, spectacular landscapes of austere mountains and the wide open spaces of the steppe. The first place to visit in Tuva is the famous burial mound ‘Arjaan II’. The digging was conducted by the specialists of Hermitage museum in St Petersburg, and 20kg of splendid golden jewellery found here under layers of earth became a sensation in the archaeological world. Overnight in tourist yurts. (BLD)

Day 8 - Kyzyl
Spend today exploring Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva. Visit the ‘Geographical Centre of Asia Monument’, the Buddhist temple, where you might have a chance to witness a sermon of the lama, and the shaman’s clinic. After lunch take a guided tour of the National museum of Tuva with its exhibition of gold and silver objects found in Scythian burial mounds. This evening you have the option of witnessing a performance of traditional Tuvan throat singing (own expense). Overnight in tourist yurts. (BLD)

Day 9 - Tuvan nomadic culture
Today we head out into the Tuvan countryside to meet nomadic families, living in the same manner as they have for centuries. We will hopefully have opportunity to get acquainted with the traditional lifestyle and Tuvan culture. If there are no nomads nearby, an optional alternative programme will be followed. It may also be possible to arrange a Tuvan shaman ceremony (own expense). Overnight tourist yurts. (BLD)

Day 10 - Springs and lakes of Tuva
After breakfast, head on to the healing cold spring Argolik; its waters contain no mineral salts, but the locals (both villagers and doctors) confirm its healing powers. Continue to the lake Douce-khol (Svatikovo), located in an area of miniature deserts. The lake is oversaturated with salts and attributed with more medicinal properties than the Dead Sea. The waters of the lake boast an incredible density, so it is difficult to dive here as the body is pushed out by water. Enjoy the hot sand, swimming in the lake and taking mineral mud baths. Note that the deeper in the lake you wade, the hotter is the water and mud at the bottom. Overnight in tourist yurts. (BLD)

Day 11 - Tanzybey
Drive to Tanzybey, a village located half-way to Abakan. Today you will see how the locals live, and you can help your hosts around the household - weed the vegetables in the kitchen-garden, cut the firewood, or scythe grass for the cattle; walk to the forest to get some birch-tree juice or branches for making whisks for the sauna or pick mushrooms and berries. Overnight in Ergaki Lodge or similar. (BLD)

Day 12 - Shushenkoe
Continue exploring the Krasnoyarsk region. Visit the historical town of Shushenskoe, once a notorious place of political exiles and famous among Russians as the place of Lenin’s exile. The inhabitants of the town are also proud of their folk traditions and hospitality. Visit the State Ethnographical open-air museum to find out about the history of the settlement. See the old wooden houses (izba) and learn about the household traditions of Russian peasants in Siberia. After lunch continue to Minusinsk. Walk around this Siberian town to see the old merchants’ houses and local market. In the evening take the overnight train back to Krasnoyarsk. (BL)

Day 13 – Krasnoyarsk
Arrive in the morning in Krasnoyarsk. Transfer from the railway station to the airport in time for your flight to Moscow and connecting flight home.