Holiday Package Tours to Siberia:
The Coolest Weekend in Your Life

Whenever we talk to our clients about package tours you can go on while using the benefits of a Russian visa, we cannot help but mention tours to Siberia that we provide. There are many reasons for our special liking of this proposition:

Siberia is an iconic location both within and outside Russia.

When one hears the word “Russia” uttered anywhere in the world, be it the UAE or the USA, snowy landscapes are among the first things that come to mind. And the thing is, Siberia is where these landscapes are.

Siberia is an iconic Siberia comprises more than a half of Russia’s territory.

Even though it is rather sparsely populated, it cannot be denied that it is an integral part of the country as well as its cultural identity.

Siberia is an iconic The conquest of Siberia is the source of much of Russian folklore and history.

Many fascinating events have transpired here throughout the ages.

We could go on, but no words really can do Siberia justice like seeing it in all its glory does.
So let us proceed to the juice of this article: giving you a taste of what our tours to Siberia are like.

WHAT TO SEE IN SIBERIA

THE BAIKAL LAKE

Baikal is one of the most underrated sights in the Russian Federation. Being the largest lake in the world, it also possesses some of the clearest water. Its beauty has captivated many people across the ages, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t become one of them!

Fun fact: The Soviet Coca-Cola knock-off was named Baikal after the lake.

While you’re at it, you also will see the Baikal National Park, because the natural wonder of the Baikal doesn’t start and end with the lake itself. This park was founded in 1969 and since then has become a part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

Apart from the main attraction, you need to see the virgin forests growing on the Khamar-Daban mountain range. These forests have never been cut by humans, so they feel and look just as they did millions of years ago. It is truly a mesmerizing sight where you can experience the ancient world in modernity.

The parts of the national park that are not wooded or covered with water provide you with a nice opportunity to see the landscapes more common in Mongolia, i.e., the famous steppes.

THE LESSER ZHOM-BOLOK WATERFALL

Continuing on with our tours of beautiful water-related sights, the Lesser Zhom-Bolok waterfall comes into play. Russian geographers of the 19th century believed it would become a world-famous attraction on par with the Niagara Falls, but unfortunately, the volatile events of Russian 20th century history prevented that from happening.

However, we believe it to be a great injustice, because Zhom-Bolok absolutely deserves the attention and fame it was stripped of, and we are pretty sure you will agree with our assessment when you see the water fall from about 20 meters into a picturesque round valley. The best thing about this waterfall, in our opinion, is how incredible it looks in winter. When the real Siberian frosts come to Buryatia, where Zhom-Bolok is located, it freezes solid, and you can see the world’s largest icicle.

Warning: Please abstain from standing under the cliff sides at the waterfall, as they are known not to be very solid and can crack and fall.

At the top of the waterfall, there is another sight: a traditional local place of worship.

THE BOBROVI LOG SKIING COMPLEX

The largest skiing complex in Russia beyond the Ural Mountains, Bobrovi Log provides its services around the year. Located in the Bazaiha River valley, it is a modern establishment that will satisfy even the most picky skiers and snowboarders.

The skiing season here lasts for six months – from November through April. There are 14 slopes available with varying difficulty levels, so no matter how proficient you are, you will find a way to have fun here. Obviously, skiing instructors will be happy to help you.

When the weather is too hot for snow-related activities, Bobrovi Log turns into a multi-purpose vacation center. In summer, you can come here for some quality horse-riding time or observe the locale from a vantage point by going on one of the cable railways. There’s also an ability to just enjoy a good day in the beautiful mountains and go on a picnic right here at the complex.

THE VOLCANO VALLEY

Another incredible sight you will see in Buryatia is the Higol Valley, colloquially known as the Volcano Valley. Across the 20-km valley, there are scattered nine dormant volcanoes including the biggest ones: the Peretolchin Volcano and the Kropotkin Volcano.

The coolest (or hottest – it’s up to you to decide!) thing about the valley is that it is covered in hardened lava, making it a lava plateau. What you walk upon here used to be the destructive and yet breathtaking molten substance coming right out of the Earth’s depths.

The Peretolchin Volcano, named after a famous Russian traveller who died there in 1914, has a small lake in its crater, which is very nice to look at. The Kropotkin Volcano stands not far from it. The diameter of its crater comes to about 200 meters. Although this volcano is much younger than the last, you don’t need to worry about any seismic activity happening and running your vacation: the last eruptions in the valley occurred several thousand years ago.

TARBAGATAI VILLAGE

Another Buryatian sight, Tarbagatai Village is a monument to cultural and religious diversity of Russia. Situated in a predominantly Russian Orthodox region, it has strong Buddhist influences and even some traditions coming from the older times when the native Buryats had a shamanistic religion (which still has a small following today). Moreover, this village is characterized by many buildings of the Old Believer architecture, the Old Believers being a denomination similar but distinct from the Russian Orhtodox Church.

The main attraction here is the Folk Museum where you will see this mixture of cultures and beliefs represented by many items and pictures. Other notable edifices and museums include Chebunin’s mansion that served as a Bolshevik secret meeting place during the Russian Revolution and the building where guerilla fighters met and discussed their plans when fighting against the Japanese interventionists in World War II.

The locals here are friendly and hospitable and will be sure to introduce you to their cuisine, the most authentic of which is the traditional pies. You will also hear them sing the songs of their ancestors that they have kept throughout centuries.

THE BIRYUSA CAVES

The Biryusa cave system is located by the Biryusa River in the Krasnoyarsk Region. While Siberian rivers in general are some of the most picturesque in the world, the Biryusa can easily claim the top spot even among them.

What’s interesting about this cave system is that it is constantly expanding. While a hundred years ago, it consisted of 58 caves, now their number is closer to 70.

The largest cave is 5 kilometers long, which is a treat for any spelunkers out there. Please be aware that a lot of physical (and, due to darkness and tightness of the space, psychological) conditioning is a must for anybody who wants to fully explore these caves.

THE NOVOSIBIRSK ZOO

For all of our customers who buy a family visa to Russia we can recommend this tour. The reason for it isn’t just because you are already in Siberia, but also because this is the largest zoo in the country, surpassing even the Moscow one.

Its history is quite interesting as well. Unlike many other zoos in the Soviet Union that had to be shut down during the war, the Novosibirsk one didn’t due to its geographic location deep in the rear. In fact, this was where animals from other zoos were evacuated.

You can find more than 700 animal species here including tigers, lions, cheetahs, jaguars, lynxes, wild cats, kangaroos, lemurs, porcupines, wolves, bears, and many more.

THE KRASNOYARSK ACTOR HOUSE

It is a popular misconception that theatre life only exists in Moscow and St. Petersburg while the rest of Russia cannot enjoy it to the same extent. The Krasnoyarsk Actor House debunks this falsehood with ease and efficiency.

While it doesn’t get the same representation in the media as theatres from both capitals, the Actor House upholds the same high standards of performance. If you want an authentic experience of a Russian stage play, this is the place to go.

TANKOGRAD

Tankograd, or the Tank City, is exactly what its name suggests. It is a huge outdoors museum of WWII-era tanks located in the Novosibirsk Region. What makes it even more impressive is that it is a brainchild of just one man, a former military technician who decided not to abandon his favorite occupation even after retiring and took up building full-size copies of real Great Patriotic War tanks.

All items on display have the ability to move around, even though they are not real war machines. Some of them have been used in the production of major Russian motion pictures.

THE MONUMENT TO SLIPPERS

To end our full-from-comprehensive list of things to see in Siberia on a more light-hearted note, we decided to include this monument. When in Tomsk, be sure to spare a few minutes to look at it.

Serving as a symbol of the Russian hotel industry, the monument to slippers is notable due to the slippers in question actually being functional – every visitor of the city can put their feet inside for good luck.