Beijing to St Petersburg Mongolian Discovery

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Beijing to St Petersburg Mongolian Discovery

21 days from £1530

Beijing (3 nights), Train (1 night), Ulaanbaatar (1 night), Traditional Ger (2 nights), Train (2 nights), Irkutsk (2 nights), Train (3 nights), Moscow (3 nights), Train (1 night), St. Petersburg (2 nights)

An incredible journey from Beijing, China's 'Imperial City' aboard the Trans-Mongolian Express, beyond the Great Wall and across the fringes of the Gobi Desert to the grasslands of Mongolia. Continue to Lake Baikal and aboard the great Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia's two most exciting cities. Explore Red Square, St Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin ,in addition to the palaces of St Petersburg. A fantastic adventure spanning Asia in just three weeks.

Highlights include:
• Small group travelling experience
• Walk on China's Great Wall and visit the incredible Temple of Heaven in Beijing
• The change in landscapes and cultures as we travel from Asia to European Russia
• Experience staying in a traditional ger (felt tent) on the vast Mongolian Steppe
• Eat traditional Siberian cuisine on the shores of Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake
• Explore the surprisingly beautiful cities of Moscow and St.Petersburg
• Meet local families as they travel on the train for business and pleasure

Departures:
Virtually once a week and sometimes more frequently between 14Mar07-01Dec07 (less frequently in the opposite direction).

Days 1-3: Beijing sightseeing
Start this incredible journey in China's capital, Beijing. After meeting your tour leader and the rest of your group your busy sightseeing programme includes the unforgettable highlights of this fascinating city: Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall. (B)
Accommodation: Rainbow Hotel (or similar)

Day 4: Trans Mongolian Railway
After breakfast you will be transferred to Beijing Railway Station to board the first of the trains that will carry you across Asia. Following the Great Wall northwest towards Mongolia, settle in to your comfortable compartments and watch from the window as the towns and villages and the scenes of local life of Inner Mongolia go by. In the evening enjoy your first night aboard as the train crosses the Gobi Desert. If you would rather share a twin berth sleeper please ask for details of the applicable supplement. (B)
Accommodation: Comfortable 4 berth sleepers

Day 5: Ulaanbaatar
Bound by Lake Baikal to the north and the Great Wall to the south, is the Mongolian Plateau and Gobi Desert. At daybreak, classic scenes of traditional nomadic life greet you as the train winds impressively across the Mongolian Steppe and into the capital - Ulaanbaatar. Ulaanbaatar is a contradiction - a metropolis amid endless grass steppes, with donkeys and motorbikes, concrete apartment blocks and traditional gers, but all the more fascinating for it. (B)
Accommodation: Michelle Hotel (or similar)

Days 6 - 8: Ulaanbaatar and the Mongolian Steppe
After breakfast visit the Zaisan Memorial. Continue on to the country's largest remaining monastery, Gandan Hiid where you can mingle with Buddhist monks. In the afternoon travel out across the grasslands and countryside to spend 2 nights in a traditional Mongolian ger set amongst spectacular rolling hills. Stay among nomadic families and their grazing livestock and enjoy the chance to ride a horse into nearby valleys or just relax and wander the area. Return to Ulaanbaatar and visit the fascinating National History Museum to gain a further insight into this isolated region before joining the train north to Siberia. (B)
Accommodation: Traditional Mongolian Ger (2 nights), comfortable 4 berth sleeper (2 nights)

Day 9: Aboard the Trans Mongolian Railway
Spend the day onboard the train and continue towards Russia, leaving Mongolia at Sukhe Bator and travelling beyond the Russian border town to Ulan Ude, then west along the southern shore of the world's deepest freshwater lake Baikal. (B)

Day 10: Irkutsk (Siberia)
Arrive into Irkutsk, almost in the dead centre of Asia. 18th-century churches, brightly painted shutters and log houses decorated with wooden lacework are typical sights. Modern administrative blocks and soaring bridges reach out across the Angara River in this town also known as the ‘Paris of Siberia’. (B)
Accommodation: Siberian Guesthouse

Day 11: Lake Baikal (Siberia)
After breakfast enjoy a full day at Lake Baikal with time to visit the village of Listvyanka with its traditional houses and beautiful wooden church. Proceed on to nearby Limnological Museum and to gain an insight into the traditional lives of Siberian people, visit the Museum of Wooden Architecture. (B)

Days 12 - 14: Aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway
Re-join the Trans-Siberian Railway and travel via Novosibirsk, Omsk and Ekaterinburg, across the impressive steel bridges that span Siberia's nerve-system of 5,000 rivers. (B)
Accommodation: Comfortable 4 berth sleepers (3 nights)

Days 15 - 18: Moscow
Visit Red Square, the splendid twirled cupolas of St.Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin itself. During your city sightseeing you will have the opportunity to ride the palatial underground rail system, adorned with chandeliers, mosaics and baroque bas-reliefs and perhaps take a river cruise or a magical evening at one of Moscow's great theatres or State Circus. Your last rail journey is aboard the overnight express to St.Petersburg. (B)
Accommodation: Izmailovo Hotel (or similar) plus comfortable 4 berth sleepers (one night)

Days 19 - 20: St.Petersburg
Your guide will escort you round St Isaac's Cathedral, richly filled palaces and museums, wide boulevards and canals and the gilded halls of the Hermitage Museum hung with the works of Da Vinci and Rembrandt. (B)
Accommodation: Shelfort Hotel (or similar)

Day 21: Depart St.Petersburg
Your journey that started in Beijing has finally come to an end. An incredible adventure in just three weeks but memories that will last a lifetime.

Prices Include:
• Meals and accommodation as specified (B=breakfast)
• Seven nights on board the train in comfortable four berth sleepers
• Sightseeing and transfers as specified accompanied by an English-speaking guide and including entrance fees

Prices Exclude:
• Visas for China, Mongolia & Russia
• International flights

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Beijing to St Petersburg Mongolian Discovery

Beijing to St Petersburg Mongolian Discovery