EVENKIA

Dates: August 7 – 15, 2023

Duration: 9 days / 8 nights

Number of participants: 6 – 8

Cost of participation per person:
– 219 000 rubles subject to 8 participants,
– 229 000 rubles subject to 7 participants,
– 249 000 rubles subject to 6 participants.

10% early booking discount (in case you book before April 7, 2023)

Everything included except for:
– Flight to Krasnoyarsk roundtrip,
– Medical insurance,
– Russian visa (if needed)

Estimated cost of flight Moscow – Krasnoyarsk – Moscow: 16 000 – 25 000 rubles. Usually bought on your own.

Single supplement: upon request (single accommodation can be provided not along the whole itinerary).




TRAVEL PROGRAM: tour to EVENKIA


Day 0. August 6, 2023 (Sunday). FLIGHT TO KRASNOYARSK

Evening flight from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk by direct flight (or another flight from another city).

* Recommended flights:
- direct from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk by Aeroflot on August 7 at 1:00 am with arrival at 9:40 am on August 7,
- direct from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk by UTair airline on August 6 at 21:25 with arrival at 6:00 am on August 7,
- or any other flight from Moscow or another city with arrival in Krasnoyarsk no later than at 12:00 pm (noon) on 7 August.

Meals Included: No
Accommodation included: no


Day 1. August 7, 2023 (Monday). KRASNOYARSK – BAYKIT

Morning arrival in Krasnoyarsk, no later than at 12 noon.
Meeting at the airport.
Check-in for the flight and departure at 16:00 on the route Krasnoyarsk — Baykit with KrasAvia airlines. Arrival to Baykit village at 18:00 pm. Baykit is a village in the Evenkiya district of the Krasnoyarsk Region, located on the right bank of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River.
A local guide meets us by car. Accommodation at a guest house or local hotel (4-6 people in each).

Meals included: dinner
Accommodation included: guest house or local hotel


Day 2. August 8, 2023 (Tuesday). BAYKIT

Visit to the Baikit local lore museum.
Evenk reindeer herding brigades are located deep in the tundra and nowadays literally a handful of camps exists.
In Baikit, we will be met by Evenks from the ethnic Evenk center "Hosinkan" (translated from the Evenk as "spark"), where in a traditional dwelling (chum) we will get acquainted with the life of Evenk reindeer herders, dine traditional cuisine and talk with the keeper of Evenk culture. This is a unique opportunity to see the restored life of taiga reindeer herders.
Evenks (Tungus) are one of the most numerous northern peoples, who have retained their identity and traditional religious beliefs. Until the 1930s, the Evenks were known as Tungus. This name is of Yakut origin. Subsequently, the exonym was adopted by the Russians, reflecting it in reporting and historical documents.
The self-name of the Evenks is Evenkil, which is translated as "people living in mountain forests" or "walking across the ridges".
Visit to the holy spring (spring water) named after "Sergius of Radonezh". The spring does not get frozen even at minus 50 degrees Celsius!
Preparation for the rafting, briefing, additional purchase of products and tackle for fishing for taimen.
Podkamennaya Tunguska is famous for fishing, about thirty species of fish live in the river, including taimen, tugun, lenok, grayling, pike, perch.
Dinner (national Evenk dishes).
Overnight at the hotel. Russian steam bath.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: guest house or local hotel


Day 3. August 9, 2023 (Wednesday). BAYKIT – POLYGUS – INGIDSKY ISLAND

In the morning, we check out from the hotel, visit shops, transfer to the port, where we take our seats in the boats. We start our route from Baykit.
The first point of the water route is the village of Poligus. It stands on the Podkamennaya Tunguska River (in Evenki the name of the river sounds like "Katangu" – "middle sister") at a distance of 128 kilometers from the village of Baikit.
The rafting is not categorized. Moreover, the rhythm is calm. Along the way we enjoy natural sights, the narrow place "Neck", formed by sheer cliffs and pillars. Here Podkamennaya Tunguska is squeezed by steep rocky shores. Placers descend from sheer cliffs to the very water, the channel is squeezed by a mass of huge boulders. The current is fast here. This is the narrowest place on Podkamennaya. The river meanders between steep banks and comes out to a sheer rocky ridge. Here nature has worked hard too!
We pass the "Grandmother" and the "Grandfather" thresholds, unforgettable in their beauty and very photogenic places!
There are two legends about these strange names: an old man and an old woman once lived on these shores. They were fishing. Once an old woman rode a boat and drowned near the upper threshold. The old man on another boat began to look for the old woman. At the lower threshold, his boat capsized and he drowned too. Since then, they began to call these thresholds "Grandmother" and "Grandfather".
Along the route we make one or two stops for fishing at the mouths of tributary rivers. These are the taiga mountain rivers Yukta, Ogne, Bolshaya Nyurigda, Khadatkan. We can catch real Siberian fish. It is home for grayling, tugun, lenok and the famous king fish of taimen.
Visit the village of Poligus.
Overnight on Ingidsky Island in a tent camp. Evening fishing, dinner, rest.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: camping


Day 4 – 5. August 10 – 11, 2023 (Thursday – Friday). INGIDSKY ISLAND – KONDROMO RIVER

Waking up, breakfast. Removing the camp and going to the route. We continue along the Podkamennaya Tunguska, the "Pearl of Siberia", as it is called. High rocky river banks with basalt remnants, "pillars", with bright greenery of the taiga, endless to the horizon.
We will ascend to the middle reaches of the Kondromo River, where we camp for two nights.
Here we will fish lenok on the Kondromo River. We go fishing and enjoy the Siberian nature together with our local expert guides.
Radial exits to the upper reaches of the river on water cannons (15-25 km).
Evening fishing for taimen. Dinner, rest.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: camping


Day 6. August 12, 2023 (Saturday). RIVER KONDROMO – BURNY

Waking up, breakfast. Departure to the village of Burny, the village of the Old Believers. The village stands at the confluence of the Velmo and Podkamennaya Tunguska rivers. This stage of the rafting from the mouth of the river Kondromo to the village of Burny is 100 kilometers.
Two rapids are waiting for us along the route: the flour rapid and the seven-verst - three-cascade rapid. These thresholds are not categorical, and the guides know these places very well. Of course, we will make "tea" stops and fishing in promising places, along the mouths and tributaries of the Podkamennaya Tunguska or on Velmo River.
The only village of Old Believers in Evenkia was founded by Tomsk walkers who set off in 1930 to look for free lands to the north. Their envoys found such a place at the mouth of the tributary of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River - Velmo, at the confluence of the Burnaya River. On the high taiga coast, they cleared a place for a village, settled down in one summer, built small houses, dug out vegetable gardens, sowed, and since then they have been living for more than 80 years.
The Old Believers are modest and even ascetic, and their culture is full of archaism. Many Old Believers do not shave their beards, do not drink alcohol, learn the Old Slavonic language, and some wear traditional clothes in everyday life.
A dinner of Old Believer cuisine, kvass of the Old Believers, a bathhouse, communication with the local population - the Old Believers will be arranged In the village of Burny. In agreement with the elders of the village, there will be a visit to the Old Believer Church.
We spend the night in a tent camp on a bar near the village of Burny.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: camping


Day 7. August 13, 2023 (Sunday). BURNY – KOCHUMDEK – KUKUY ISLAND – SULOMAI PILLARS

Probable morning taimen fishing on Velmo River. Breakfast. Walking along Burny village. Visit Olb Believers church if there is a mess.
Leaving the village of Burny. This stage of the rafting is about 200 km.
Along the route there will be a threshold "Velminsky", not categorized.
Stop in the village of Kochumdek to visit another family of Old Believers.
We proceed downstream of Podkamennaya Tunguska. Long jountey today!
On the way, if time permits, fishing for grayling and lenok on the Yudalomo and Kochumdek rivers.
Pass the territory of the Central Siberian Reserve. The State Natural Biosphere Reserve "Central Siberian" unites the rarest species of animals, plants, relic remains - "pillars", beautiful waterfalls, landscapes untouched by civilization, unique deposits of the Paleozoic era.
Stop at the Sulomaisky pillars.
Overnight stay on in camping. Dinner.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: camping


Day 8. August 14, 2023 (Monday). SULOMAI PILLARS – SULOMAI

Waking up. Breakfast. Easy climbing the rocks, photo and video shooting.
The Sulomai Pillars is a natural monument founded in 1982. The people call this monument "Cheeks". This is a canyon with huge slopes, the height of which reaches 120, and in some places 150 meters. Figures of people were created from the rocks by nature itself, they are commonly called "Grandmother", "Mother", "Grandfather", "Granddaughter", etc. Each of the pillars has its own name. There is a legend about these pillars. Local people say that during the war, a family died of starvation in these places. Since then, stone figures of family members have appeared as the pillars.
Fishing and set off to the route. We have to walk 30 kilometers to the village of Sulomai, founded by the Kets in the 18th century. Translated from the Ket language, the name of the village means "red blood, red mountain". Now about 140 people live there.
Meeting with the history keeper of the Kets (mother tongue teacher), acquaintance with the customs of this small people.
The Kets (Yenisei) are a small ethnic group miraculously preserved. Today there are a little more than a thousand of them, only a few remember the language. The Ket language is the last living representative of the Yenisei language family. Despite the original Siberian roots, the Kets have a genetic link with the South American Indians. And the Orthodox faith does not prevent them from believing that during the creation of the world they descended to Earth from the stars.
The Kets built their tents from birch bark. In frozen winters, the chums were covered with deer skins. Farewell dinner. Overnight in camping and/or birch bark chum.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation included: camping or local house


Day 9. August 15, 2023 (Tuesday). SULOMAI – BOR – KRASNOYARSK – RETURN FLIGHT

Waking up, breakfast, set off to the route to the village of Bor. The distance of this stage is about 70 km.
Arrival time in the village of Bor is about 15 pm.
If the flight schedule does not change, then instead of a boat we will fly from Sulomai to Bor by helicopter, over the endless taiga.
There is time left for packing, lunch and departure to the Podkamennaya Tunguska airport for the flight to Krasnoyarsk.
Flight Bor — Krasnoyarsk (flights are available on Tuesdays). Departure at 19:55. Arrival in Krasnoyarsk at 21:40.
Further flight to Moscow or another city, or overnight in Krasnoyarsk (if you need a night in Krasnoyarsk, it is paid separately).

* Recommended flight:
- direct from Krasnoyarsk to Moscow by Aeroflot airline at 6:10 am on August 16 with arrival at 7:10 am on August 16 (a night in Krasnoyarsk, if necessary, is paid separately. There is a hotel in the airport building),
- direct from Krasnoyarsk to Moscow by Utair airline at 7:10 am on August 16 with arrival at 8:15 am on August 16 (night in Krasnoyarsk, if necessary, is paid separately. There is a hotel in the airport building),
- or any other flight from Krasnoyarsk to Moscow or another city with a departure from Krasnoyarsk not earlier than 2:00 am on August 16, or the next day (night in Krasnoyarsk, if necessary, is paid separately. There is a hotel in the airport building).

Meals included: breakfast, lunch
Accommodation included: no

Cost includes:

- flight Krasnoyarsk – Baykit,
- flight Bor – Krasnoyarsk,
- helicopter flight from Sulomai to Baikit (if available)
- accommodation in local guest house in Baykit,
- accommodation in tents at camping, on a double basis,
- All equipment for the camp, including tents and mats. Campfire equipment, kitchen equipment, dishware, wardroom, tourist steam bath;
- excursions and a lecture in the museum;
- three meals a day throughout the expeditional route, national cuisine in the villages;
- drinking water throughout the trip,
- all activities according to the program, fishing
- organization of the expedition, meeting at the airports of Krasnoyarsk, Baikit and Bor;
- boats with an outboard motor. The fleet is capable of going upstream of mountain rivers under water cannons;
- satellite and VHF communication on the river,
- generator, solar battery;
- support for local communities,
- local guides (with hunting weapons) and an experienced guide,
- accompaniment by team leader professional photographer, translation into English


Cost excludes (to be additionally paid):

• Flight to Krasnoyarsk roundtrip
• Medical insurance
• Russian visa (if required)
• Alcohol and souvenirs;
• Tips

To take with

• Sets of clothing suitable for weather conditions (fleece or wool jacket, cotton T-shirts, light trousers, shorts, warm hat and panama hat)
• Warm and windproof clothes, thermal underwear
• A set of clothes with long sleeves
• Comfortable closed trekking shoes and lightweight shoes
• Raincoat
• Head torch
• Mosquito net
• Sun and wind protection: cream, sunglasses, panama
• Repellent
• Sleeping bag for +5 Celsius degrees comfort temperature (cool nights),
• Fishing gear (we can purchase as per your request)
• Personal hygiene products: soap, towel, toothpaste, wet wipes
• Personal first aid kit (analgesics, antiseptics, antibiotics, medications necessary for you personally)
• Large backpack or bag for the stuff,
• Small backpack for radial walks
• Copy of health insurance
• Photo and video equipment
• Spare batteries, power bank