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Tour title
Cruise along the Lena River by the motor ship
Duration: 12 days / 11 nights
Price from: 1124 EUR 
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Cruise along the Lena River by the motor ship «Mikhail Svetlov»
Cruise program «Yakutsk- Lenskie shchyoki ('Cheeks') - Yakutsk» Cruise costs in euro :
Day 1: Yakutsk Arrival to Yakutsk. Meeting the guide. Transfer to the river-boat station. Boarding the motor ship. Lunch. City tour. Visiting the museum of local lore, history and economy. Going shopping at the jeweler’s and souvenir shops. *Yakutsk - the capital of Sakha Republic (Yakutia) with the population about 300 thousand people. It was established in 1632 by the Cossack Peter Beketov. The city is situated in the valley Tuimaada on Lena river`s left bank. Yakutsk is the biggest city situated in the zone of the permafrost with the area 122 square km. Yakutsk is the administrative and cultural center of the region. It has 7 theatres, including Opera and Ballet Theater and the North Circus). Day 2: Lena pillars (Lenskiye stolby) Visiting the national park “Lena pillars”. *Here you will see the unique natural phenomenon- the steep cliffs in the form of columns having the height about 200 m and stretching along the Lena River for more than 40 km. A lot of fun awaits you in this “fabulous city”. After the welcoming ceremony with the ritual dancing and the ceremony «Fire Purification» - go ahead to the cliff exploration (a test for the strong and tough people!). The feelings and pleasure which you`ll experience can`t be described or reproduced. From any peak of any pillar you`ll be highly impressed by the marvelous panorama of the great river, boundless taiga, cliffs and rocks of the most different tints and shades giving you the impression of being just a small part of the primeval nature and the vast Universe. Day 3: The run The boat goes up the Lena River to the South. On the way the boat passes the left tributary of the Lena River - the Sinyaya ('Blue') River, where the pillars are located. *Sinskiye pillars are the archeological monuments, presented by Neolithic drawings and sacrifice places. In this section the river is "cut" into the Lena plateau, the cut depth being over 300 m. The right slope is predominantly scree or steep, rocky. The river valley is practically straight and well developed here. In this area the Lena River is 4-5 km wide, sometimes up to 10 -15 km. Day 4: Dapparai The stop on one of the colourful Lena banks, which are annually flooded - it is a real pest for the Yakutia people. Dozens of years many villages get flooded every spring. That is why many local people were forced to move somewhere safe. For example, the area called Dapparai was turned by the company "Almazy Anabara" ('Anabar Diamonds') into a village with 30 new houses for those who moved from the regularly flooded settlement Kyllakh. It took just 7 months to create the new settlement; and just recently here was nothing but god-forsaken black tilled fields. Dapparai is located in a very picturesque place, on the high right bank of the Lena River. Tall wide-branching fir-trees govern the area, the forests are rich in berries and mushrooms. Day 5: Lensk Lensk is a big river harbour for cargo acceptance and transportation for the diamond-mining company ALROSA. It appeared in 1963 at the place of Mukhtui settlement, which, in its turn , was founded in the 19th century as a post station on Prilenskii highway. Nowadays it is a modern city with the developed industry and a cultural center. Lensk city is marked by really tragic events connected with the floods, which several times literally swept away the houses from the face of the globe. But the city just like the Phoenix again resurrected from the ruins. In 2001 the biggest natural disaster happened. At the place of destroyed houses a new micro-district appeared thanks to the financial support of the company "ALROSA". Day 6: Vitim Vitimis the right tributary of the Lena, one of the wildest and peculiar Eastern Siberian rivers. The good judge of the area academician Obruchev V.A. wrote that Vitim is much more willful, magnificent and impressive than the lazy Lena. The total length of the river is 1978 km. Vitim is a technically complex river with the whole set of the natural rifts. The difficulties of navigating the river are explained by the vast amount of water which passes during the summer-autumn rain floods. A similarly named settlement Vitim with the population 6000 people is located at the river's upstream. As the development of Talakansk oil-field started here, and there are a number of mega-projects being implemented, it is planned that in future a new city will appear at this place. Day 7: The Lena "cheeks" (1420 km away from Yakutsk) This place is located 269 km down the river from Kirensk and 172 km upstream from the mouth of Vitim. These arabesque forest-clad sharp-pointed rocks present one of the most beautiful and famous areas of the Lena river. Here is the description of them, given by Gonsharov I.A. in his book "Frigate Pallada": "They are gigantic, magnificent cliffs, the kind of which I saw little even on the sea shore. They are terribly trenched, wild and so frightening that you feel like passing them as fast as possible." "The Lena Cheeks" present a narrow canyon with three rock bodies of copper-red colour, elevating above the river to the height of 200 m. The river avoids the first "cheek", gets onto the second one, which is almost opposite the first cheek and then rushes to the third and the biggest one. The walls of the meandering canyon reflect the boat hooter with the 24-fold echo! The right bank is occupied by the rock, called "Drunken Bull". This is the most narrow part of the Lena - being just 200 meters wide it is one of the most dangerous river sections. Day 8: The Ura River Picturesque green stop on the left bank of the Lena River at the distance of 887 km upstream from Yakutsk. The place where the Ura River meets the Lena, virtually divides the big river into equal parts from the upstream to the river mouth. From the time immemorial the people called the mouth of the Ura River “the Lena equator” . According to the tradition everyone who has been here must take a dip into the water. The real dare-devils can try to swim in the “warm” waters of the Lena River (but this is recommended only for the experienced “walruses”!) You will have a walk uphill. From the top of the fairytale cliff you will have the grandeur panoramic view upon the Lena and Ura rivers and your ship. Siberian taiga and its inhabitants will leave a lot of positive impressions about this peaceful nook of Yakutia. Day 9: Olyokminsk The original settlement of the old Olyokminsk town, which was a fir-tax collection winter hut, appeared at the mouth of the Olyokma River in 1633. It was constructed by the boyar son Ivan Koz’min. In 1656 the farmers started to settle down here, then the customs were arranged to keep the noblemen from escaping to Dahuria. Then Olyokminsk was developing as a big trading center and intermediate station on the way to Yakutsk. In the Tsar times it was used as a place of political exile. This city also was the shelter for many gentile people of the Russian Orthodox Church - the Skoptsy (a sect of Russian Church). Here they found the long-awaited peace and tranquility, and exactly here they could continue their strange ascetic way of living till the end of their days. Thanks to the rare semi-precious stone Charoite, which is mined in the vicinity of Olyokminsk, the city has become especially famous. The city also has a gypsum quarry, timber and woodworking enterprises. Day 10: Green stop The stop in a peaceful and placid place, inviting to have a downtoned rest and comfortable beholding of Yakutia golden autumn beauties. On the way the boat passes by the upper stream of a small creek Diring-Yuryakh. For many years the archeologists have been making their excavations here. They have found numerous remnants of the material culture belonging to the most ancient people of Eurasia, including the oldest on Earth working instruments - stone choppers. The rifts make this part of the Lena River difficult for navigation. At the distance of 40 km upstream from Yakutsk one can see Cape Tabaginskii, where the construction of the first railway bridge across the Lena River will be completed in several years. Day 11: Sottintsy Excursion to the historic-architectural open-air museum "Druzhba" ('Friendship'), located at the place where Lenskii fortress was founded by the Russian explorers to become later the city of Yakutsk. The museum features the examples of the old wooden architecture in traditional Russian and Yakut styles. It will be interesting for you to see the expositions of the wooden items, Yakut national clothes and the monuments of the Russian Christianity. Marvelous landscapes and fascinating historic excursions will make the visit to the museum-reserve not only informative, but also very pleasant. Day 12: Saying goodbye to Yakutia Breakfast. Getting ready. Transfer to the airport. Departure from Yakutsk Besides, there will be regular lectures on Yakutia, Russian lessons for the foreigners and foreign language lessons for the Russians; watching the films. In the evening - thematic entertainment programmes in the music salon. Note:the itinerary is the subject to changes brought about by the weather conditions and other objective reasons. The cruise cost includes:
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Cruise ship "Mikhail Svetlov" Cruise ship "Mikhail Svetlov" (project Q065) was built in the Austrian shipyard in Korneuburg. The boat was named after the talented Russian poet Mikhail Svetlov. Christine Vranitzky, the wife of the Austrian ex-chancellor, was the godmother of the vessel. The ship was launched in April 1986. It is 90,3 m long, 15 meters wide, has the draft of 1,6 meters, cruising speed can be up to 21,5 km/h thanks to the motors with the total capacity 1380 h/p. There are 70 people in the crew, including those working at the restaurant. The boat has very small impact upon the environment as nothing is dumped into the water, all the waste is being collected, processed, filtered and burned. The boat has 22 four-berth cabins, 33 two-berth cabins, 8 double cabins of the 1st class, 6 single rooms and 2 suites. All the cabins have comfortable furniture, an air-conditioner, shower, toilet and a radio. Suits have a mini-bar, TV-set and a VCR. The main deck has a hair-dresser's, medical center, massage room, sauna, ironing room, a cafe and a restaurant with the capacity 70 people. The boat deck has a music salon-bar. In the bows part there is a panoramic salon where one can read a book, sitting in the arm-chair and enjoying the nature of the Lena River or playing chess. The sunny deck accommodates a cinema. If the weather is fine, there are entertainment programs and disco on the open-air deck. At the guests' service there is a satellite telephone onboard. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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