The cruise cruise along the Yenisei River

Day 1 Sightseeing in Krasnoyarsk

Upon arrival in Krasnoyarsk, you will be met at the airport and taken to the city. Here you will board the ship "Maxim Gorky". You will check into the cabins and get acquainted with the ship's infrastructure. After a welcome cocktail and lunch on board you will depart for the sightseeing tour by bus.

During the excursion you will visit the Surikov’s Estate (as an example of the architecture and lifestyle in Russia in the XIX century), as well as the observation point on Karaul Mountain. It offers a magnificent view of Krasnoyarsk. The central part with ancient merchant houses and modern bridges, the largest factories and and the wild taiga surrounding the city — all this harmoniously adjoins each other and emphasizes the special, unique character of Krasnoyarsk. After a city-tour you will return to the ship and rest.

If desired and for an additional fee today you can also order "Night Krasnoyarsk city-tour".

Day 2 Stolby Nature Reserve

After breakfast onboard you will depart for a excursion program in the city. You will see the "Tsar-Fish" monument and the Krasnoyarsk hydrostation — the second largest power plant in Russia. Then you will visit Bobrovy Log Fan Park with an ascent by cable car to the viewpoint at the top. Next an eco-trail about 2 km is waiting for you.

You will visit one of the seven wonders of Russia — the Stolby nature reserve. In fact, these are rocks of volcanic origin, and they were nicknamed “pillars” because of their shape. They are narrow, tall (60 to 600 meters), extremely ancient (450 to 600 million years old) . Each "pillar" is unique in shape and even has its own name. The reserve itself claims to be included in the list of territories under the protection of UNESCO .

If desired, and for an additional fee, you can also vist the factory of precious metals "Krastsvetmet". You will have lunch at the local restaurant with national food "Master of Taiga". In the evening you will return to the ship and have dinner onboard.

Day 3 Meeting with the Cossacks

On this day, you will start a cruise along the Yenisei river, and the first stop on the route will be the village of Galanino. Here in real Russian huts you will get acquainted with the everyday life of the Cossacks. You will be welcomed in the best traditions of Siberian hospitality, treated with local liquors and tea from a samovar with crusty pies.

You will learn about the life of the Cossacks in Siberia, hear old Cossack songs that have sounded over the Yenisei river for centuries. Also you will take part in master classes on making souvenirs from birch bark, basket weaving or embroidery. Then you will return to the ship and have dinner onboard.

Day 4 A Yeniseisk city-tour

Early in the morning, the ship will approach Yeniseisk. After breakfast onboard, you will go ashore and take a tour of this ancient city. You will visit the Yenisei Regional Museum. A.I. Kytmanova — one of the oldest museums in Siberia, as well as Museum-estate “Photo-izba”, where is a unique collection of antiquities is presented, reflecting the life of Yenisei people. Also you will observe the Stagecoach driver's habitation exposition and see the largest collection of planers in the world at the local “Planer Museum” listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

Day 5 Old believers of Nickulino and Siberian fair in Vorogovo

After breakfast, you will land in Nikulino, an ancient village of old believers who have honored their traditions and religious way of life for centuries. Old believers are effectively closed from the outside world: there are no TVs, computers, the Internet and mobile phones in their homes. It took incredible efforts to persuade local residents to show you at least fragments of their archaic life and unique culture, they will even show you how to extract cedar oil from cones in the old fashioned way.

Then you will board the ship, have lunch and continue your journey along the Yenisei river to the village of Vorogovo. Here you will visit a bright Siberian fair with songs, dances, raw fish stroganina and souvenirs. Ypu can try national treats and real homemade delicacies, play a shaman tambourine, as well as buy unique souvenirs from the Russian taiga.

Day 6 A visit to Bakhta and Verkhneimbatsk villages

During the cruise you will watch the documentary "Happy people" by Dmitry Vasyukov and Werner Herzog, which tells about the traditions and life of hunters, fishermen and ordinary residents of the Siberian hinterland.

The characters of this film live in the village of Bakhta, which you will visit today in the morning. You will have a heartwarming meeting with the people playing the major roles in the film and can ask your favorite characters any questions. Also you will have a tour along the river in wooden boats, go fishing (extra charge), picking berries in the forest and taste a traditional Fish soup ashore.

Next, the ship will go to the village of Verkhneimbatsk. This is the first Russian settlement founded by Mangazeya Cossack in 1607 on the right bank of the Yenisei River at the confluence of the Verkhny Imbak River. Here you will visit the ethnic park, which presents the whole unity and diversity of Siberia.

To get here is not easy: you will have to perform a mystical ritual to pay homage to the Spirit of the taiga and get the right to stay in these lands. You will see a Ket camp with household attributes, a lively spring with healing water, a museum of Cossacks and Pomors, listen to the performance of an ethnic ensemble, participate in a tea party and watch the mini-exhibition of the local artists' paintings.

Day 7 Turukhansk village

Today you will arrive to Turukhansk. It is the central village of the largest region of the Krasnoyarsk Area. The living conditions here are severe: frosts reach –60 °С, and in summer the air temperature rises to + 35 °. There are no railways in the region, only air communication, river and motor transportation. Nevertheless the beauty and natural reaches of this place are legendary. 

Your program ashore will include a walking tour around the town with visiting the Museum of Regional Studies of Turukhansk region and the memorial house of the Soviet revolutionary Yakov Sverdlov.

Day 8 In the realm of permafrost

Early in the morning, the ship will approach the village of Yermakovo, whose history is associated with Stalin's repressions and the Construction of the Dead Road, which claimed the lives of more than 300,000 Gulag prisoners tasked with delivering Stalin's dream of a 806-mile-long rail line to run between the Siberian cities Igarka and Salekhard. Upon Stalin's death the project was abandoned. After a short hike through the Siberian forest, you will see the remains of the northernmost railway, the Museum Building 503 dedicated to the Gulag (an abandoned steam locomotive in the forest).Then you can go fishing (optionally).

Further you will return to the ship and continue your journey along the Yenisei river. Later in the evening, the ship will dock at the city of Igarka, built on the expanses of permafrost. In summer, the polar day lasts for 2 months, and in winter, the polar night reigns for 2 months.

You will go ashore and have a bus tour to the Museum of Permafrost, where you will find yourself in the eternal ice zone. The museum is located in permafrost soil at a depth of 7-10 m, here you can see a unique natural phenomenon about 50,000 years old.

Day 9 Meeting the reindeer herders

Today you will get acquainted with the reindeer herders. 1000 deer, a real chum (a traditional shelter similar to yurt) and a big bonfire are waiting for you at the bank of the river. You will taste the cuisine of indigenous peoples of the North, get acquainted with the life of nomadic reindeer herders and take a pictures in the chum and with a deer.

Day 10 The Putorana plateau

On this day, the ship will approach Dudinka — the final destination of your trip. However, this is not the end of your expedition. You will visit the amazing open-air ethnocomplex "Taimyr Mow”, where you will have lunch with national ethnic cuisine. You will also get acquainted with the rich exposition of the Taimyr Museum of local lore, one of the most valuable exhibits of which is the skeleton of the mammoth Zhenya, found in the Taimyr tundra. 

Also today you will find a helicopter tour to the Putorana plateau. "Putorana" in the Evenki language means "lakes with steep banks." The area of ​​the Putorana Plateau is comparable with the area of ​​Great Britain and reaches 2.5 million hectares. This is the second largest basalt plateau in the world, after the Indian plateau Deccan. The Putorana Nature Reserve is recognized as a World Heritage Site and is protected by UNESCO. During the helicopter tour, you will be able to visit the most unreachable and extremely picturesque places of the plateau, where no one has been before. You will see the deepest canyons, fjord lakes and the highest waterfalls in Russia.

The helicopter program is carried out in favorable weather conditions, the duration is about 5-6 hours.

Day 11 Arrival to Dudinka

After breakfast you will enjoy the music performance presented by local ethnic ensemble in the Taimyr House of folk art. After that you will be taken to Norilsk airport to depart for home.