Mongolia to Moscow: A Trans-Siberian Railway Adventure
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"It was truly the trip of a lifetime. The places visited and all the diverse people we met along the way - simply outstanding! Thank you so very much for an incredible journey that went very smoothly.
Charles Kauffman
York, PA
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Travel on regularly scheduled Trans-Siberian trains over a dramatic and variegated route that offers limitless opportunities to meet the diverse local people - Mongol, Buryat and Russian. Experience the rolling green hills and nomadic traditions of Mongolia, and Siberia's UNESCO-listed Lake Baikal and endless taiga forest on your way to the booming capital, Moscow. The July departure features Mongolia's Naadam Festival.
Days 1-4: UlaanBaatar, Terelj
Arriving in the capital of Mongolia, UlaanBaatar, visit the Gandan Monastery and explore the Natural History Museum. Drive to nearby Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, meet a nomadic family living on the steppe, and overnight in an authentic ger, with the option of an afternoon horseback ride. En route back to UlaanBaatar, stop at Mandshir Monastery, built in 1749 and partially restored since its destruction in the 1930s. It was once a very large religious center, housing over 300 monks and a medical school. Board the overnight train heading for Siberia.
Days 5-6: Ulan Ude
Arriving this morning in Buryatia, Russia, drive to Ulan Ude, visiting the native Buryat village of Kharlun en route. Kharlun's history museum exhibits local discoveries only, including some showing that the village was a stop on the Great Tea Way. Tour the most interesting sites in and around Ulan Ude, including the Ivolginsk Buddhist Datsan, the center of Buddhism in Russia. Pay a visit to a village of Old Believers - members of an Orthodox sect who refused changes to their rituals in the 17th century and were sent to Siberia - and share dinner with a local family.
Days 7-10: Lake Baikal, Irkutsk
Take the day train from Ulan Ude to Irkutsk, and drive on to Listvyanka, a little village along the shores of great Lake Baikal, spending two nights there in a rustic Siberian lodge. Board a boat to Port Baikal, crossing the Angara River, the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal. Then ride the scenic old Circumbaikal Railway back to Irkutsk. Enjoy a tour of the city, which began as a wooden fortress founded by Cossacks in 1661. Admire the old wooden houses, many with the intricate carved fretwork typical of local Siberian architecture, and visit the exiled Decembrists' House Museum.
Days 11-13: Aboard the Trans-Siberian
Continue for three days along the legendary rails, traveling through taiga and steppe to Moscow, the political and economic center of Russia.
Days 14-15: Moscow
Explore Moscow's classic sites, including Red Square, the Armory Museum and the Kremlin. Take a tour of the Moscow Metro: the stations in the city center are showpieces of Socialist art, furnished with statues, frescoes and mosaics. Below the metro stops, visit the Cold War Museum Bunker - the former Secured Command Post "Tagansky," an abandoned relic of the Cold War built to withstand a nuclear attack. Ordered by Stalin in 1951, the shelter was finished in 1956, and soon became a secret communication bunker and, reportedly, a missile control center. Commemorate the journey from Mongolia to Moscow with a farewell dinner and celebratory toast.
Optional Pre-Tours
Begin your adventure with an optional pre-tour in Beijing, Vladivostok or the Gobi Desert. Beijing's historic landmarks, ranging from the Temple of Heaven to Tiananmen Square, tell the long history of China. Vladivostok, on beautiful Golden Horn Bay, grew from its beginnings as a naval outpost to a thriving Pacific Rim port city. Or pay a visit to the Gobi Desert, where the heat and low humidity have protected and preserved the numerous dinosaur fossils that have been found here.
Trip Details
MIR Signature Features
- Inspect Gobi Desert dinosaur eggs as the Natural History Museum in UlaanBaatar
- Visit a tiny Buryat village above the Mongolian border in Siberia
- Enjoy spectacular views of Lake Baikal while tracing the lakeshore cliffs on the old Circumbaikal Railway
Map - Click to Enlarge
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| Day 1: |
UlaanBaatar |
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| Day 2: |
drive to Terelj |
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| Days 3-4: |
UlaanBaatar, board train |
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| Days 5-6: |
Ulan Ude |
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| Day 7: |
Ulan Ude, overnight train to Irkutsk |
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| Day 8: |
drive to Listvyanka (Lake Baikal) |
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| Day 9: |
Old Railway to Irkutsk |
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| Day 10: |
Irkutsk |
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| Days 11-13: |
Trans-Siberian Railway
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| Days 14-15: |
Moscow
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| UlaanBaatar |
Gandan Monastery, National Mongolian History Museum, Bogd Khan Winter Palace, Zanabazar Fine Arts Museum, Natural History Museum |
| Mandshir Monastery |
Buddhist monastery and museum set in the Bogd Khaan Mountain Reserve - protected since the 13th century |
| Terelj National Park |
Beautiful alpine landscapes, sleep in a nomadic ger, optional horseback riding |
| Kharlun |
A Buryat village on the Great Tea Way |
| Ulan Ude |
Ivolginsk Datsan (Buddhist monastery), Trans-Baikal Semeiskie (Russian Old Believers) (UNESCO-listed "Masterpieces of Intangible Heritage") |
| Lake Baikal |
UNESCO World Heritage Listed lake for its unique flora and fauna |
| Listvyanka Village |
Museum of Wooden Architecture, authentic banya at the lodge, Baikal Limnological museum, Aquarium
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| Irkutsk |
Decembrist museum, Regional History Museum, Angara icebreaker, Cathedral of Epiphany, Gagarin Embankment |
| Circumbaikal Railway |
Spend a day on the most scenic stretch of the original Trans-Siberian Railway |
| Moscow |
Moscow Kremlin and Red Square (UNESCO World Heritage site), Armory Museum, St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow Metro, Cold War Museum Bunker |
Suggested Extensions
Begin your adventure with an optional pre-tour in Beijing, Vladivostok or the Gobi Desert. Contact us for more details.
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