Tour information:   Dates: 15.02.2006 - 23.02.2007

"Sagaalgan - New Year’s in the Eastern calendar"

Sagaalgan - New Year’s in the Eastern calendar.
Sagaalgan (from the Buryat language, meaning “White Month") is a holiday marking the beginning of the new year and the coming of spring. Sagalgaan is celebrated in February following the lunar calendar. The Buryat New Year is famous for its duration - the whole month people is spent visiting relatives and friends and being treated to traditional white milk foods. The White Month’s celebration itself is a very beautiful event that testifies to the spiritual culture of the Buryats and their poetic sense of the world and its beauty. Sagaalgan symbolizes cleansing, the beginning of a new life and the union with everything that is bright and sublime. It takes a long time to prepare for the holiday. For a few days, temples hold celebratory services to call for a fortunate new year. People clean their houses and prepare delicious New Year’s food.

We are happy to invite you to participate in the great holiday “The White Month” and to spend unforgettable days in the Republic of Buryatia and on Lake Baikal.

Tour programme:

1st Day (15. 02. 2007). Meeting at the airport and transfer to hotel for accommodation. Free time after the flight. Guided city tour before lunch. After lunch visit to the Buryat Nature Museum where you will see the unique collection of flora and fauna of Buryatia. Dinner.

2nd Day (16. 02. 2007). After breakfast at hotel, visit to the Buryat History Museum. After lunch an excursion to the Ivolginsky Datsan, the most important Buddhist temple in Russia. (40 km from Ulan Ude). At the moment the Ivolginsky Datsan is also the institute of “Dashi Choichorling” (from the Tibetan, meaning “The Land of the Joyful Doctrine”) where Buddhist clergy, scientists, orientalists, and experts on Tibetan and Old Mongolian languages are educated. You will have an opportunity to take part in a spiritual cleansing ceremony. In the Datsan there will be a fire “Dugzhuba”. For the ceremony you will need a piece of old clothing which will be thrown in a fire as a symbol of liberation from illnesses and unwise thoughts. Dinner at the Buryat traditional restaurant.

3rd Day (17. 02. 2007). After breakfast departure for the village of Ust-Barguzin located on the shore of Lake Baikal (250 km). Lunch en route. Accommodation at tourist camping site or at homestay. Free time to explore the lake with photo / video opportunity of Baikal`s landscapes in winter. Russian banya. Dinner (traditional Siberian dishes).

4-5th Days (18-19.02.2007). After breakfast excursion on horse-drawn sleighs on Baikal. You will take part in traditional ice fishing with local fishermen. Then there will be a visit to the hot mineral spring located in the Snake Bay. Lunch will consist of traditional Baikal dishes (fish soup and grilled fish). Overnight in winter hut.

6th Day (20.02.2007). After breakfast an excursion to the Barguzin Valley to see petroglyphs and the unique natural Suvo "Saxon" castle (130 km). Return to the friendly host families in Ust-Barguzin for dinner and overnight.

7th Day (21.02.2007). After breakfast, departure for Ulan Ude (260 km). Lunch en route. Accommodation and lunch at hotel. Free time to get acquainted with the capital of the Buryat Republic. Dinner in the local restaurant.

8th Day (22.02.2007). After breakfast visit the Ethnographic Museum and see exhibits of traditional dwellings, clothes and furnishings of ethnic groups of the region. Visit to the Old Believers' village (a Russian religious group that split off from the Russian Orthodox Church in the seventeenth century) and introduction to the original folklore and cuisine of the 'semeisky' ethnic group. Final dinner at Old Believers` family. Return to Ulan-Ude and overnight at the hotel.

9th Day (23.02.2007). Transfer to the airport for your departure after breakfast.

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