Entry dates

15.06.2012 - 21.06.2012, 04.07.2012 - 10.07.2012, 24.08.2012 - 30.08.2012,

Tour program

The nature has generously endowed The Tuva republic with beauty. All climatic zones are presented on a rather small area: from tundra to desert. Here one has possibility to observe amazing contrasts. Here one can meet reindeer, a northern dweller, and camels, purely southern animals.

Tuva is a land of an ancient original culture. The language of the Tuvinians has been forming since distant historical epochs; the Shamanism and the Buddhism were born long time ago, since that ancient time the original culture of the Tuva ethnos has been developing. The program will be carried out by the best shamans of Tuva.

• View booking-list
• Program in German
• Program in Russian

Route in brief:

Duration: 8 days/ 7 nights
Months: July - August
Bus traveling: 825 km
People in group: min – 6, max – 12.
Guides on the route: 1-2
Age limit: children not younger than 12 years old
The tour doesn’t require any special physical training

Day 1

The nomads

The guests are met at the Kyzyl airport. Transfer to the yurt complex Biy-Khem, rest (25 km).

The tourists are taken from the airport and provided with accommodation in specially built yurt-complex. Yurt is a temporary abode, with a very light framework, covered with felt. On the ground in the centre of the yurt there is a fireplace. The entrance is a small door facing the east. The yurt is furnished for two people.

 You can feel yourself as a genuine nomad with only one distinction that there are all conveniences, which are an integral part of city dweller’s life.

The yurt-camp is located 22 km from Kyzyl. From that place the tourists will travel to different nooks of Tuva.

The valley, where the complex is located, is called  “Biy-Khem” (it means “Major Yenisey) as the river flowing there. You can have rest, walk around the nearby territory, if desired it is possible to climb the mountain and to see the magnificent panorama of the Biy-Khem valley. After arrival people have free time, if desired it is possible to climb the mountain and  see the magnificent panorama of the Biy-Khem valley. In the evening after dinner tourists can gather near the campfire and get acquainted better.

*Accommodation in the yurt complex “Biy-Khem”, dinner.

Day 2

Acquaintance with shamans 

After breakfast the group will go on an excursion to Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva. You will visit the Geographical Centre of Asia – the symbol and the most attractive monument of the city. Built in 1964, the monument represents a big globe on which the contours of continents are marked, Tuva and Kyzyl are specially indicated.

Then the tourists go to the Buddhist temple where they will hear a sermon of  a lama.  Lunch in the restaurant.

There a lot of cultures in Tuva, but one of the most magnetic is shamanism.

Journey to the mineral spring Durgun near Kyzyl where the introductory lecture about shamanism will be organized.

After returning back to the camp the tourists have a possibility to taste traditional Tuvinian cuisine. Milk, meat and other animal produce are the main food of Tuvinian people. Kumys or sour milk from horse and sagazha – roasted liver are very popular with tourists. People couldn’t but drink coffee with milk. Tea is always green and is boiled with salt.

After dinner is a performance of singers which present traditional deep-throat singing called “khoomei". It’s a special kind of singing typical for Tuvinian people and some other peoples of Siberia. Deep-throat singing is an extraordinary ability to produce several sounds at once on different levels and keep them singing up to 30 seconds. If you don’t see the singer, it’s quite complicated to imagine that these sounds are produced by men, not by musical instruments it’s a person who sings, but not a musical instrument! **

 

*Accommodation in the yurt complex “Biy-Khem”, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

** Extra fee

Day 3

The ritual of “kamlanie”

After breakfast tourists have a trip to the south (150 km) to Chagytai lake. On the way to the lake there will be a stop near the monument of arat (Tuvinian shepherd). The Chagytai Lake is one of the deepest and biggest lakes with fresh water in Tuvinian basin. Its crystal water swashes at the foot of the northern slope of the mountain range Tannu-Oola. It’s 1003 meters above sea level. Its area is about 2860 hectares. The banks of the lake either rocky or sandy stretch 20 km long. Only the southern part of the lake is marshy and is covered with purple willow, birch, larch.

Meeting  a shaman who will accompany group further. After that there will be a trip to a forest zone where tent camp will be installed. Dinner and preparations for the rite of kamlanie. As a rule, the rite takes place at night or during several nights.

Accompanied by the sound of a drum, the shaman emits sounds resembling to voices of a crow or a cuckoo-bird. These are magical birds which empower the shaman to sing his incantations. He is sitting backward to the fire, monotonously beats his drum and has a conversation with his supporting spirits.

Finally, he banishes evil spirits away or claims the situation to be fatal. Whatever the outcome of the kamlanie is, the shaman makes sacrifice to his spirit-helpers with spraying milk over four directions and burning pieces of meat and bread.

This rite can be of two kinds: the one of healing and the one of worship: worship of fire, worship of sacred trees or worship of patron of a clan. The kamlanie is held according to regular and fixed scheme: purification - invocation of necessary spirits - searching for the reason of a  desease or ritual consecration processing - hostile spirits exorcism - fortune-telling of the results of the kamlanie or the future of presented people. Leaving of shaman.

*Accommodation in tents, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 4

The secrets of shamanism

The day will be spent at the lake. This day’s seminar is devoted to shaman’s clothes and using stones in fortune-telling.

Each shaman has his own rank, a level of knowledge and a number of shamah’s attributes, without which kamlanie is not carried out. The most important attributes are a raincoat, a drum and a beetle. The shaman’s raincoat is made of goat or sheep skin of woolen cloth with the depiction of a snake on the surface. Ribbons and fringe are used to make this snake. There are different types of snakes –18 big, which hang down the shoulder to the very floor and 40 small ones, which are fixed on the sleeves or down on left side of the raincoat. They believe that snakes are very good patron spirits of shaman, when he travels to another world and protect his shoulders, back and left side from evil spirits. Another important detail of the raincoat is a knot of leather laces, which are 15 cm long and used as wings. The hat of Tuvinian or Altai shaman is a ribbon with eagle feathers – 40 big and 20 small. There are eyes and ears on the ribbon, which are the symbols of shaman’s ability to see and hear. The hat  is the main attribute, helping shamans in flying. If a shaman wants to fly very high, he should fix two long black feathers, as they say the feathers help to overcome the air drag. Very often the fringe on the ribbon is fixed in such a way, that it covers the face, through it they see fire and spirits, but they can’t see people.

After lunch in the open air people have a rest, walk or swim. In the evening a shaman shares a  secrets and methods of fortunetelling using stones.

*Accommodation in tents, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 5

Lake Svatikovo

After breakfast the group has a trip to the healing spring Argolik (45 km). It’s an interesting fact that there is no salt in the spring, but native doctors and local people believe in it’s healing power. Seminar. Lunch in the open air. If there will be a chance you will visit “Dus-Khol” Lake.

In the evening tourists return to yurt-complex “Biy-Khem”. Dinner after return and evening bonfire.

After the dinner you will attend a real Tuvinian tea ceremony. During the ceremony you will hear legends and parables about tea, a story about methods of making and brewing Tuvinian national tea with milk and salt, you will learn the history of tea in Tuva. To make the lives of our guests as bright as white milk, to make the sprits of skies and ground assist you every day, we invite you to attend Tuvinian tea ceremony. Along with this tea you will taste the rich culture of Tuvinian people, you will see amazing land of steppes of Tuva. After that you will have dinner with Tuvinian national cuisine.

*Accommodation in the yurt complex “Biy-Khem”, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 6

Scythian gold

After a breakfast a visit to Kyzyl and to shaman clinic, meeting the shamans, the introduction to the rituals and rites. Funeral ritual performed mainly with the purpose of healing people, rarer due to failures, cattle mortality, fortune telling etc. Shamans are very specific people and will not be abstract during kamlanie, without any specific purpose will not disturb the spirits. During a visit to the clinic some individual appointments can be held. After that you will visit craftsmen shops where you can learn the secrets of shaman drums production. Then you will take a walk in the city, visit some gift shops.

Lunch in a restaurant.

After the lunch there will be a visit to the Regional Museum of Tuva (exhibition “Scythian gold”) and see unique archaeological finds of different epochs. The pearl of the museum's collection is of course objects from the burial mound Arjaan  II. The excavations of this burial mound were carried out in 2000-2003 by the specialists of the Hermitage and the German archaeological institute. These archaeological findings (more than 20 kg of golden objects) became a real sensation in archaeological world. In 2008 famous "Scythian gold" was returned to Tuva from European exhibitions. To protect the collection of the museum the special equipment was bought for the exhibition hall. There are 76 528 objects in the collection.

By the evening arrival in the yurt complex, dinner. Farewell ceremony ritual. Such rituals are usually performed to cure people, but sometimes in case of bad luck, murrain shamans hold these shamanistic rituals. Shamans are very direct, they will never perform ritual to ask about something abstract, without specific aim, they will never disturb their spirits with no purpose. After the ritual you can have an individual appointment with shaman. Presentation of certificates of tour-seminar.

By the evening arrival in the yurt complex, dinner. Farewell ceremony ritual. Presentation of certificates of tour-seminar.

Day 7

The Tuvinian inheritance

Breakfast. Transfer to the airport, departure to Krasnoyarsk

* Breakfast

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• Tour price can be in Olga, info@sayanring.com; ICQ: 633-060-400, skype olgafedoseev
  or from the representatives of "Sayan Ring" in your country: Germany, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy,
  Finland, Canada, the Netherlands.
• Special offer:
• In case of full payment of the tour till 01 March 2012 - discount 10% !
• In case of full payment of the tour till 01 May 2012 - discount 8% !

Price includes:

Transport service (bus, UAZ), twin accommodation along the itinerary (yurt complex,  tents), meals (including mineral water, juices, coffee, tea), Russian or German speaking guide’s service, shaman’s accompaniment, transfers, excursions, porter services, tickets to the museums, reserves and parks, visa support, accident insurance, certificate

Price does not include: tickets to Krasnoyarsk, Kyzyl, transfer in Krasnoyarsk, alcohols, folk-programs, individual consultation of a shaman, extra service, Tick-borne encephalitis insurance