If your picture of Siberia is of freezing wastes and salt mines, think again! It's true that in the depths of winter (Jan-Feb) the temperature can drop to -40C, in the summer it rises to +35C. The optimum time to travel to Siberia is May-September if you want to walk, trek, go riding or rafting - many of Siberia's attractions are outdoor. Or even underwater - see below! However, our Siberian Village Stays operate year-round, and those who come in winter can try cross-country skiing or ice-fishing, and go home with classic photos of Siberian snow-scenes.

The biggest single attraction - in all senses - is Lake Baikal. It's the biggest lake in the world, over 400 miles long and 80 miles wide, contains 20% of the world's fresh water, is larger than Belgium, and has more statistics than any other lake in the world. Surrounding the Lake in all directions is the Baikal National Park. On our trips, you get to stay in traditional siberian log-cabins with local host families, for the real experience of Siberia! These log-cabins are in villages actually within the National Park, so the surroundings are idyllic and peaceful. Just remember though - staying with authentic Siberian villagers means sharing an authentic Siberian toilet - which is in a shed at the bottom of the garden! You'll also try a real Siberian sauna - local stuff will show you how to do it!

If you are going to make one stop in Siberia, then Irkutsk (the closest stop for Lake Baikal) is definitely the one to choose. The city has some of the "soviet" aspects you can see in other towns, but with features they don't have - access to Lake Baikal, of course, and also some of Siberia's history - Irkutsk is one of Siberia's few "historic" cities. It was once called "the Paris of Siberia" - for a very good reason. After the failed pro-democracy "Decembrists" Coup of 1825, many of the smart young Officers and intellectuals involved were exiled to Siberia, and came to Irkutsk. With them they brought the latest St Petersburg fashions, style, and manners, establishing "polite society" in the midde of the wilderness. You can still visit the houses of some of these "smart" Siberian exiles, some of whom feature in Tolstoy's "War & Peace" - remember, that you've arrived after 4 nights on a modern train, but these men walked - in chains. Irkutsk features on all our trips with Siberian stops.

There are some other stops in Siberia which you might considering including on your trip too, though! In Western Siberia is the city of Ekaterinburg, founded in the C18th as a mining-town. Not too much of the early city survives, but the city has some interesting museums to explore, including the Military Museum - Ekaterinburg is one of the most important military garrisons, and centres of munitions-production in the ex-USSR. But the biggest reason to visit - although little remains as evidence - is the assassination of Nicholas II and the Royal Family, which happened here in 1918. Our great local staff will show the places, and tell the story, to those interested.

Another fascinating stop is Buryatia. The main city, Ulan-Ude, is a fairly standard "soviet" city, but that shouldn't come as a surprise, because before the USSR, there were no cities in Buryatia - the Buryats followed the nomadic herding life their forefathers had followed for centuries. Ulan-Ude does have the biggest statue of Lenin's head in the country, though! The real attractions are two excellent excursions (i) to the Ivolginsky Datsan, the largest and most active Buddhist Monastery in Russia. (As we said earlier, Buddhism is "native" to this asiatic region of Siberia, and has flourished here for centuries) and (ii) to the Open-Air Museum of Buryatia - an outdoor park in which examples of wooden buildings from all over the region have been collected.

All-in-all, a lot more than snow and salt-mines!

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