Page Text Content
P remium
Trans Mongolian Express Itinerary - Moscow to Beijing 14 days Day 1. The journey begins Moscow will amaze you, its palaces and public buildings restored to their former glory. The echoing vastness of Red Square, the splendid twirled cupolas of St Basil's across the cobblestones, and the fabled palace-fort of gilded domes and the exquisite collection of royal treasures in the stunning Armoury Chamber; the Cathedral of the Assumption where Tsars were crowned, the Bell Tower and the Faberge jewels and icons. After meeting your Group Leader and fellow travellers this evening we enjoy a traditional performance in one of Moscows many theatres. Day 2. Moscow Our sightseeing program continues this morning exploring beneath the city where there lies the palatial metro rail system draped in chandeliers, mosaics and baroque bas-reliefs. This evening we join the rail service east to Ekaterinburg. Day 3: Aboard the Trans Siberian Railway We leave the the suburbs of Moscow and as we enter the countryside On the far side of the Volga River, the flickering silvers and greens of birch forests speed past. Life on board is a great social occasion for our Russian hosts and we have the opportunity to share our experiences with them. Day 9. Lake Baikal We awake to the vast, natural paradise; frozen to a depth of up to one metre during the harsh winter months, while during the summer, bathers brave the still very cold waters for its promised health benefits! This morning we return to Port Baikal to our steam train and enjoy a return trip around the edge of the Lake. You may even see some of the endemic freshwater seals. Our journey continues overnight to Ulan Ude. Day 10. Buryatiya and the Trans Mongolian Railway This is the centre of Russia's Buddhist community. Reminiscent of old Siberia, Ulan Ude is located in the middle of vast Siberian steppes, on the 5640th kilometer of the Trans-Siberian railway. It is a very unusual and charming city which we have an opportunity to visit before joining the service to Ulaanbaatar.We settle into life on board, enjoying the company of our fellow passengers and a picnic in our cabin. The train arrives at Naushki, the Russian border town where formalities are completed, and then continue across no-man's land to Sukhbaatar where Mongolian officials board the train before we journey on to Ulaanbaatar.
Join us aboard the train to the far side of the world. Travel the legendary trans-Siberian and trans-Mongolian railways from Moscow railway by steam locomotive before the journey south across the Gobi Desert to Mongolia and Beijing. An incredible journey in just t
Day 11 Arrive Ulaanbaatar the worlds most remote capital city Bounded by Lake Baikal to the north and the Great Wall RUSSIA to the south is the Mongolian Plateau and the Gobi Lake Baikal Moscow Omsk Desert. This was the homeland of the brilliant, tough, Irkutsk Ekaterinburg well-drilled horsemen who, for over 500 years from the Ulan Ude 13th century, plundered and occupied lands and cities Ulaanbaatar from the Yellow River to the Danube. Theirs is a history MONGOLIA of incredible acquisition and of towering personalities thundering across Asia; among them Genghis Khan, Beijing CHINA founder of the Empire and Kublai Khan, overlord of China, convert to Buddhism, the Great Khan, host to By steam train along the Marco Polo. Day 4. Murder and l shores of Lake Baikal ika Ba Bounded by Lake Baikal to the north and the Great Wall mystery Irkutsk ake L Founded in 1723 by Peter the to the south is the Mongolian Plateau and Gobi Desert. Great and named after his wife, This was the homeland of the brilliant, tough, wellUlan Ude Port Baikal Catherine, Ekaterinburg has an drilled horsemen who, for over 500 years from the 13th Slyudyanka intriguing and bloody history. It century, plundered and occupied lands and cities from is the site of the murder of the the Yellow River to the Danube. At daybreak, classic Romanov family in 1918 that scenes of traditional nomadic life greet us as the train ushered in the Communist era as winds impressively across the Mongolian Steppe and into well as the site where Gary Powers spy plane was shot down from the sky. On our city tour we will the capital. Ulaanbaatar is a contradiction - a metropolis amid endless grass steppes, with donkeys and take in some of the history in the home town of Boris Yeltsin, Russias first President. An evening motorbikes, concrete apartment blocks and traditional gers. departure, and farewell to Europe as we cross the Urals and enter Asia aboard the train to Omsk. Days 12. Ulaanbaatar & the Mongolian Steppe We transfer to Terelj National Park; our accommodation for the night is the traditional round tents Day 5. Omsk and Trans Mongolian Railway Situated on the banks of the Om and the north-flowing Irtysh River, Omsk is famous today for its (Gers) of the Mongolian nomads, set amongst the beautiful alpine scenery of the national park. Our lively riviera, pleasing architecture and its opera theatre. We have time to enjoy this city before boarding our train once more for to cross the steppe to Siberia. Day 6. Across Siberia The Sleeping Land A short Siberian summers night, lulled by the ever mechanical rhythms of train and track, passes to expose a daybreak of fir forests and wild flowers, homely cottage gardens and a thousand and one signs of hardy lives and simple means. The train draws into Irkutsk almost casually on time. Day 7. To Lake Baikal by Steam Train Founded as a Cossack military outpost over 350 years ago, the first Trans-Siberian train reached Irkutsk in 1898. Gold had been discovered a few years earlier and the city boomed, at one time being known as the Paris of Siberia due to its fine merchants houses, municipal buildings and well stocked shops. Today, Irkutsk still exudes a certain time-worn charm with its wide boulevards and interesting mix of architecture. We enjoy a revealing insight of the citys history during our sightseeing program before rejoining our carriage to take us to Lake Baikal. Day 8. Lake Baikal For a land as vast and extreme as Siberia it is only fitting that it should contain the worlds deepest freshwater lake Baikal, whose crystal clear waters stretch over 600 kilometres to the north, up to 80 kilometres wide and almost 2 kilometres deep. To fully enjoy the magnificence of Lake Baikal we are attached to a steam train which hauls us around the edge of the Lake to Port Baikal. From there we cross to the small village of Listvyanka to spend the night in a traditional Siberian guesthouse.
33
|
inbro