Designers of Discerning Holidays
Designers of Discerning Holidays
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This Epic overland adventure by the world famous Trans Mongolian/Trans Siberian Railway combines the legendary train journey from Beijing to Ulaan Bataar Mongolia with the massive landscapes of the Gobi, the Mongolian Steppes and the sparkling lakes and forests of Khovsgol. Add in the camel men and reindeer people, the felt homes of the nomad and the cry of an eagle, Buddhist temples, mysterious ruins, abundant wildlife and legendary hospitality and that is Just Mongolia. Continue by train stopping to explore Irkutsk and the village of Listvyanka at Lake Baikal, then across the vastness of Siberia to the great cities of Moscow and St Petersburg.
There is something very special about riding the train between Russia and China. Perhaps it is the vastness of the continent you are crossing, the exciting stations seemingly in nowhere, the giant rail network, or just the unknown of what is round the next corner. When you spend more than two days in the train, you get to know the conductors and your fellow passengers soon there's a special life that's happening inside the train.
This is truly one of the world's greatest railway journeys combined with a 4WD Mongolian safari.
You will be met at the airport by your guide and you will enjoy an afternoon guided Hutong Tour in Xicheng District. Note: if your arrival is in the afternoon, we encourage you to have an extra night so as to be able to take part in this the afternoon tour.
Hutong is a maze of historic alleyways with old single storey traditional courtyard houses, which are now fast disappearing. In this one hour tour, you can hop on a rickshaw to ride through the narrow alleys as well as visit a local family then walk on the Silver Ingot Bridge (Yinding Bridge) and find out about the different thresholds of the courtyards
Meals Included: None
Our tour starts in Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is the largest and best preserved ancient imperial architectural complex in the world. The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved royal park in China. You will be walking for about 2 hours (2 kilometers) in the park. Enjoy lunch at Da Wan Ju Restaurant which is a popular choice for local people. “Da Wan” in Chinese means big bowl, meaning that local people always use big bowl to contain dishes to show hospitality to guests. Beijing Roast Duck is renowned as the most delicious dish of Beijing.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
The Mutianyu Great Wall is the less-crowded section of the great wall about 2.5 hours' drive from downtown Beijing. A cable-car takes you to where you can walk along the wall, through the watchtowers and enjoy superb views as it snakes across the hills and mountains. Lunch will be at Xiao Long Pu restaurant located near the Mutianyu Great Wall. It is built in a traditional Chinese quadrangle of blue bricks and grey tiles. It serves a great variety of Chinese delicacies and provides wonderful views of mountains.
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Overnight train from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar. The K3 departs Beijing in the morning, travelling through Jining South, Erlian, Dzamyn Ude, and arriving into Ulaanbaatar the following afternoon
Meals Included: Breakfast
The K3 is due to arrive into Ulaanbaatar at 2.35pm.
You will be collected from the train station and transferred to your hotel. This evening we enjoy a cultural extravaganza of song and dance including the traditional throat singing, then onto the restaurant for a traditional Mongolian BBQ dinner.
Meals Included: Dinner
We will drive to Terelj National park. On the way we make a visit to Chingis Khaan Equestrian statue that is the highest one in the world. We will hike to a small temple, Aryabal. Then we will continue onto Khustai National Park. The park lies in the foothills of southern Khentii mountain range where you can see wild horses called Takhi also known as Przewalski. The wild horses survive in the wild because they have been reintroduced successfully to their homeland after 40 years of near extinction. Drive approx 250 kms / 6 hours
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Today we will drive to the ancient capital city of Kharakhorum. In 1229, Ghengis Khan declared it as the capital city of his vast Empire. Today there are many interesting sites left to visit; the legendary turtle rock sculptures, Buddhist stupas and the ruins of this once great city to name a few. Erdenezuu - the 1st Buddhist monastery in Mongolia was established in 1586. It has a massive square wall, 420 metres in length, each side, 108 Stupas and 17 temples. On the way we have the chance for a camel ride at the semi sand dunes (Elsen Tasarkhai)
Drive approx 300kms / 6 hours
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Travel beside the Chuluut River which has carved a deep canyon into the basalt rocks. This canyon is famous for its rich fishing grounds. Arrive Khorgo Volcano that is an extinct volcano, covered with basalt and lays to the east of Lake Terkhiin. It is an astonishingly beautiful lake formed by a dam of lava flowing from a volcanic eruption many millennia ago. Drive approx 300kms / 6 hours
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Travel to Shine-Ider province across rolling steppes which are covered with wildflowers in spring and early summer. Zuun Nuur a small, beautiful salt water lake which is a haven for birds. After the lake, we will continue to drive about 10kms and reach at the camp. Stay in Ulziit Khishig
Drive approx 280kms / 7 hours
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Today we will drive to Khuvsgul Lake, close to the Siberian border. Here you have the opportunity to truly understand the Mongolian way of life. Lake Khuvsgul is the second largest freshwater lake in the world, after Lake Baikal so be prepared to be impressed.
Drive approx 220kms / 5-6 hours
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Free day to explore the area. We have a one hour horse ride along the lake here. It is included, but you if you prefer not to ride, you can walk or spend time at your leisure.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
We will drive to Murun and take flight to Ulaanbaatar. After landing in Ulaanbaatar, transfer you to the hotel. It is free late afternoon. Drive approx 130kms / 3 hours
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Visit the Narantuul Market. A covered area has a decent selection of clothes and accessories, such as bags, jeans and fake North Face jackets. This is also one of the cheapest places to get traditional Mongolian clothes. The rest of the day is free to explore Ulaanbaatar, we suggest checking out the State department store. 100% cashmere products, leather products, fur, jewellery, cosmetics, men’s, women’s and kids fashions, there is a souvenir centre, bookshop, international food court.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today you’ll be picked up at the hotel for a visit to the National History museum and Gandan monastery. After lunch, depart for the railway station and your train to Irkutsk in Siberia. This train has only second class 4 berth cabins, however we buy out the two upper berths, so there are only ever two of you sharing a cabin.
Overnight on train.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Most of the day is spent travelling through Siberia. On arrival at the station in Irkutsk, you will be met by your guide and transferred to Listvyanka 60km away. This village is on the shores of one of the biggest and most ancient lakes of world, Lake Baikal. It has more endemics than any other lake in the world. It's great age – more than 25 million years – also sets it apart from other freshwater lakes as a living laboratory of evolution. Baikal owes its longevity to the tectonically active rift it occupies, which may cause it to widen by as much as 2.5 centimetres each year.
Meals Included: Dinner
In Listvyanka you'll visit a local biological museum that also has a set of aquariums. There is one with the only mammal representative, the Baikal Seal, in it. Take a chairlift to a nearby view point. There you’ll get a chance to take panoramic pictures of Baikal from above. Visit the local 19th century wooden St. Nicolas church and a local fish market where you’ll see a great variety of fish and different ways of cooking it. Enjoy a 1 hour boat trip, then free time
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Transfer back to Irkutsk. On the way visit a nearby local village - Bolshaya Rechka. Have a short walk around. Continue your trip with a visit to an open-air wooden architecture museum “Taltsy”. In the museum you’ll see the settlements of indigenous Siberian people of 17th-20th centuries. Some of the buildings presented in the museum were brought there from the villages that were flooded after building a dam. Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Enjoy a 3 hour city tour by car. It starts at the historic part of the city: Epiphany Cathedral, the oldest stone-structure Church of our Saviour and the only Catholic Cathedral in Irkutsk. The tour leads you through the Kirov Square and circus. You’ll have a ride along the main street of Irkutsk, Karl Marx Street. You’ll make a stop on the way to have a walk along the street of old wooden houses. After that you’ll ride along to the Angara River embankment, where you’ll see a monument to Alexander III. Complete the tour with a visit to the district of historic wooden building. Free time in the historic wooden district.
Meals Included: Breakfast and Lunch
Free time until your afternoon transfer to the railway station to catch the Trans Siberian Train.
Meals Included: Breakfast
We travel in the first class compartment which has 2 lower berths. The berths are comfortable with cotton sheets and blankets. Each compartment has a range of lighting, on board music via a headphone plug, and even a small television. There are a variety of small cupboards above the seats/beds and a table between the 2 lower berths, you also have your own 230v socket.
There is a restaurant car with daily offerings. A wide selection of traditional Russian food and drinks are available. It’s important to note that only cash is accepted onboard the train, so make sure to get some before boarding. 1st class passengers can also order food from the restaurant car to be delivered to your cabin
Meals Included: None
Early afternoon arrival in Moscow, transfer to the hotel, then depart on a Moscow City Tour. St. Basil's Cathedral rises from Red Square in an irresistible profusion of colours and shapes. (* there may be admission restrictions to The Red Square due to the Spasskaya Tower Festival held on these dates) Although the Square is no longer witness to the imposing parades of May Day, it remains a profoundly impressive space.
Meals Included: None
The Moscow Kremlin is the largest medieval fortress in the world, taking up more than 27 hectares. The Kremlin is Russia's mythic refuge, a self-contained city with a multitude of palaces, armouries, and churches. Enjoy a unique underground Art tour in the Moscow subway. You then continue onto Arbat Street, this is one of Moscow’s oldest districts outside the Kremlin. Today, however, it has become one of the most fashionable areas in the capital.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Free time in Moscow. Transfer to the railway station for the fast train to St. Petersburg, where you will be met by your guide and transferred to the hotel.
Meals Included: Breakfast
In a fascinating 4 hour city tour will show you the highlights of this city, created by Peter the Great in 1703 to be his ‘window on Europe’. St Petersburg combines its fascinating Russian heritage with a distinctly European outlook, now considered the cultural heart of modern day Russia, while the Peter and Paul Fortress (Petropavlovskaya Krepost) is the historical core of St Petersburg.
Meals Included: Breakfast
The State Hermitage occupies six magnificent buildings situated along the embankment of the River Neva, right in the heart of St Petersburg. Put together throughout two and a half centuries, the Hermitage collections of artworks (over 3,000,000 items) present the development of the world’s culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. Orientation tour and option to stay on for rest of day if desired to explore the Hermitage.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Free day to explore the city further or, take the opportunity for an optional day trip to the Peterhof. This evening we’ll celebrate the end of this epic journey with a dinner at a typical restaurant.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Transfer to the airport with your guide.
Meals Included: Breakfast
WHATS INCLUDED
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
PAYING LOCALLY
Most of our adventure tours involve a local payment. Paying locally allows us to keep the overall cost of our tours competitive and pass the savings on to you. These funds are put towards local expenses. In some developing countries the transferring of funds is at times problematic so this is a way to help us serve you, whilst saving you money. Payment is to be made to your leader upon arrival in cash.
All prices are approximate and subject to currency fluctuations until final payment has been made.
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