Arrive in Moscow and meet your guide at the airport. Transfer to the hotel. Take the rest of the day for yourself to explore Moscow and get a first taste of Russia. In the evening, see the famous Bolshoi ballet, a concert, an opera or the famous Moscow Circus. Tickets on request (not included). Accommodation at the hotel.

Guided city tour of Moscow’s most famous sights including the Red Square, the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, the GUM department store, the Pushkin Museum or Novodevichy Convent. Do some shopping in Moscow’s pedestrian Arbat Street in the afternoon. Accommodation at the hotel.

Free time in the morning. Transfer to the train station and departure towards Irkutsk in the afternoon. Watch Vladimir, Nizhni Novgorod (formerly Gorky), Perm, Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk and endless forests fly by your window and soak up the Trans-Siberian Railway atmosphere. Get snacks from the local vendors at one of the many stops or enjoy a meal in the train’s dining car. Overnight on board of the train.

On board of the trans-siberian railway train. Overnight on board of the train.

On board of the trans-siberian railway train. Overnight on board of the train.

After 87 hours and 5191 km, arrival in Irkutsk. Transfer to the village of Listvyanka, a traditional Siberian fisher village on the shore of lake Baikal. Enjoy the rest of the day for some exploring around the shores of the lake, you may even want to take a dip in the icy water. You will sleep in a typical wooden Siberian Chalet and have the chance to enjoy a Russian banya (sauna, on request, not included).

After breakfast in wild nature, embark on a stroll around the village where you will visit the church of St. Nicolas, walk to Chersky viewing point where you can enjoy a fabulous view (if clear weather) of the lake and the Angara-River. A visit to the Limnological Institute will reveal many of the lakes mysteries. You will also visit a small traditional fisher-market where you can taste smoked fish. Accommodation at the wooden chalet. If you are traveling during winter, you might want to sleep in a cozy tent on frozen Lake Baikal.

Mid-day transfer to Irkutsk and a visit to the Museum of Wooden Architecture, an open-air museum that brings back Russian village life from the 16th – 19th centuries. In Irkutsk you will be taken to a City Tour to see the city’s main highlights, such as the Russian Orthodox Church, the Polish Church (the only Gothic building in Siberia), the Decembrist’s Memorial Complex or the Irkutsk Regional Museum. After the tour, take some time to shop or wander around the beautiful city of Irkutsk and its local market. Departure to Ulaanbaatar in the evening. Overnight on board of the train.

Enjoy the view as the train hugs the shore of Lake Baikal and crosses Ulan-Ude and the Republic of Buryatia to reach the Russian-Mongolian border. After the border, prepare yourself for a new country and a new culture. Overnight on board of the train.

After arrival in Ulaanbaatar early in the morning, direct transfer to Terelj National Park, home to goats and yaks that hungrily munch away on the edelweiss growing on the alpine pastures. Your local guide will introduce you to the Nomadic way of life of still many Mongolians today. On a jeep, you will travel to a Mountain Camp in a remote area at Terelj National Park, one of the most beautiful landscapes of the world, where you will sleep in gers (traditional but modern Mongolian yurt) and enjoy a hike in the hills. Visit of Turtle rock and Buddhist Hanging Temple.

In the morning, you can explore the surroundings on a ride through the grasslands. You will also visit a Mongolian family living in gers at their Summer place, where you can taste local meals. In the afternoon, transfer to the hotel in the city centre. The rest of the day is at your leisure to explore the various attractions of the city. Overnight stay at the hotel.

After breakfast, you’ll be taken on a sightseeing tour through the city, with stops at Sukhbaatar Square, the Bogdo Khan Palace, the former home of the first Mongolian Dalai Lama, the Zaisan Memorial with its panoramic views, the Buddhist Ganden and Choizhin Monasteries, and the Natural Science Museum with its famous dinosaur skeletons. In the evening, enjoy a stunning Mongolian theatre and performance. Accommodation at the hotel.

In the morning catch the train to Beijing. Jaw-dropping landscapes in the Gobi desert will keep your eyes glued to the window. You will have to stop at the border station at Erlyan to change boogies to adapt to the narrower train tracks used in China. Before you reach Beijing you’ll see plenty of rice paddies and ride right by the Great Wall of China. Accommodation on board of the train.

Arrival in Beijing around midday. Beijing is the final destination of your railway journey that has led you across two continents. It is home to millions of small shops and street traders, the place to shop for souvenirs and bargains, and the last opportunity to taste the delicious Chinese food in all its variations. With your local guide, you will visit the Forbidden City, the Tiananmen Square and the Hutongs, the traditional old city in Beijing where you can hop an a Rick-shaw and visit a local family. Accommodation at the hotel.

After breakfast, your guide will take you to one of the most powerful symbols of ancient Chinese civilization – the Great Wall of China, stretching 6,350 km. It took more than one million people and ten years to build the Great Wall of China, designed as a defensive structure. In 1987 it was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. You will visit the less crowded Mutianyu section. A cable car takes you to a good section (avoiding a very steep climb), where you can walk along the wall, through the watch towers and enjoy superb views as it snakes across the hills and mountains. You can return by cable car, walk down or walk along the wall for about an hour to descend by chairlift. Wear good walking shoes and protection from the weather. The second part of the trip will take you to the Temple of Heaven. Built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty, the Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings where emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties visited for annual ceremonies of pray for good harvests. Overnight stay at the hotel.

Transfer at the Airport and flight back home.