Tuva Tour | Russia Travel | Private Russia Tour with Pyala Travel - Travel Program

Day 1 Meeting in Tuva

The tourists’ arrival, meeting at the airport or bus terminal of Kyzyl between 09.00 and 16.00.
There are direct flights from Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk / you can take flight Moscow-Abakan and then shared taxi Abakan-Kyzyl (400 km).
Transfer to the yurt camp Biy-Khem. Free time, rest, those who wish can walk through the outskirts and go up the nearest hill to watch the whole Biy-Khem valley. Evening bonfire.

*Accommodation at the yurt camp Biy-Khem. Lunch, dinner. Distance of the day – 25 km

Day 2 Kyzyl

Excursion to Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva.
Visiting the monument of Geographical Centre of Asia. Then a visit to the Buddhist temple where the tourists will hear sermon of a lama. The highlight of the day is the visit to the National Museum of Tuva (the famous Scythian gold exhibition) to see unique archaeological finds of different epochs. Visit of local craftsmen, who will tell the secrets of making traditional national Tuvan musical instruments, shaman’s drums and traditional jewellery.
Free time in the city, visit to souvenir shops, post office and Kyzyl suburbs and even a mineral spring.
Dinner with traditional dishes of Tuvan cuisine including meat and dairy products will be cooked specially for the guests on returning back to the yurt camp.

* Accommodation at the yurt camp Biy-Khem. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Distance of the day – 70 km

Day 3 Following the old nomads’ way

Nowadays the tourists can follow exactly the same path that ancient nomads followed crossing Tuva from the east to the west. Here you can meet places which are considered to be energetically powerful. Before lunch there is a stop near a breathtaking mountain Khairykan - one of the most respected places in Tuva. In 1992 it was chosen by Dalai Lama 14th to be an energetically powerful place. Once a year local shamans come here to get energy, strengthen and purify their spirits.
Picnic is organized right on the grass, next to a Buddha stela. And around the larches a lot of edelweiss’s are growing, which became a symbol of the mountains for many people.
On the way tourists will see the center of Buddhist culture, a ruined temple Ustuu-Khuree. The temple was the crowning of Buddhist construction in Tuva. And it was unique not only in Tuva, but also in like the former Soviet Union. In 1930, after the adoption of a special resolution Ustuu-Khuree was closed, and in 1937 - destroyed. In 1999, the Russian government, recognizing the historic and architectural value of the unique temple Ustuu-Khuree, decided to restore it. In July 2012 during the open-air music festival taking place every year there the new temple Ustuu-Khuree was officially re-opened.
In the evening arrival to the yurt camp Sai-Khonash. Accommodation in local yurts for 2-3 persons. The camp is located in a very beautiful place, surrounded by mountains, nearby there are many nomads sites. Conditions are close to the real Tuvan yurts. Please note that the yurt camp offers visitors a minimum comfort: a wooden toilet and washing facilities outside yurts, there is no summer shower, but there is a Russian wooden banya, also a separate kitchen in a yurt. The yurt camp is an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with the real life of the Tuvan nomads. All activities there carry the cognitive character.

*Accommodation at the yurt camp Sai-Khonash. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Distance of the day – 360 km incl. 30 km unpaved road

Day 4 Diving into a real nomads’ life

Today tourists will dive into the life of nomads. You will find their daily lives; learn how to cook their daily main dishes: lamb meat, cheese, vodka araka. Master class on cooking Tuvan cheese, firstly a nomad will show you how to cook, then you can try on your own. Before lunch a master class on butchering sheep will be held. Lamb is the main dish on the Tuvan table. For dinner try to cook the local milk vodka Araka.

*Accommodation at the yurt camp Sai-Khonash. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 5 Breeders

After breakfast, accompanied by guides, we offer you horse riding around the neighbourhood, into the forest, to the mineral springs arzhaans, to nomads sites, uphill. Snack on the way. Returning to the camp for dinner. You will be able to visit banya.

*Accommodation at the yurt camp Sai-Khonash. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Distance of the day – 20 km ahorse

Day 6 Throat singing art

Breakfast. Departure back to Kyzyl. Stop at Syyn-Churek mount (Maral’s heart). Climbing to the top of Syyn-Churek.
Return back to the yurt camp Biy-Khem.
After dinner – the performance of traditional throat singing – khoomei. It’s a fantastical capability of the Tuva people (and some other Middle-Eastern nationalities) to emit simultaneously two or three sounds of different tone and to sustain the same sound for 25-30 seconds without taking a breath. If you close your eyes it is hard to believe that the sounds are emitted by a person and not by a musical instrument.

*Accommodation at the yurt camp Biy-Khem. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Distance of the day – 380 km incl. 30 km unpaved road

Day 7 Shamanism of Tuva

After breakfast departure to the salt lake Svatikovo (Dus-Khol). Lake is known as therapeutic.
Swimming and mud bathing.
Each tourist could tell that healing properties of the lake is higher than ones of the Dead Sea in Israel. With the help of mud some diseases of the joints, digestive apparatus, of peripheral and central nervous system, also skin and gynecological diseases can be cured.
Lunch-picnic. Return back to the yurt camp Biy-Khem.
To make the lives of our guests as bright as white milk, to make the spirits of skies and ground assist you every day, we invite you to attend Tuvan tea ceremony. During the ceremony you will hear legends and parables about tea, a story about methods of making and brewing Tuvan national tea with milk and salt, you will learn the history of tea in Tuva. Along with this tea you will taste the rich culture of Tuvan people, you will see amazing land of steppes of Tuva.
After the sunset shamans kamlaniye mystic performance. Kamlaniye is a magical communication between shamans and spirits. During this ritual the shamans dance around fire, sing and beat a drum. Kamlaniye will leave a long lasting impression, nobody remains indifferent after this ritual. There the shamans will tell you about their traditions, rituals and abilities.

*Accommodation at the yurt camp Biy-Khem. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Distance of the day – 150 km

Day 8 Farewell to Tuva

Departure from Kyzyl by flight or to Abakan by shared taxi.

* Breakfast