Entry dates

Currently we do not have information as to when the next entry dates are.

Tour program

Brief information on the route:

Duration: 5 days / 4 nights

High season: June – September

Route length: 800 km

Minimum number of tourists in a group: 2

Day 1

The guests are met in Abakan, the capital of Khakassia. Arrival to ‘Abakan’ hotel, where newly-weds lodge in a specially decorated room. Breakfast, rest. Lunch in the hotel.

Then the couple will go on an excursion to an old Siberian town – Minusinsk (about 300 km). During this excursion they will visit Saviour Cathedral, and also have a city walking tour, enjoy the calmness of the small town, see old merchant mansions.

Then they will have an excursion to the state ethnographic museum ‘Shushenskoye’. The history of the museum is inextricably linked with the name of Vladimir Lenin, who lived in Shushenskoye in exile 1897-1900. This corner of antiquity is situated on a bank of the river Shush, near its confluence with the Yenisei. There are numerous monuments of architecture on the 7 hectares: farmhouses, commercial shop, jail, tavern, about 200 wooden buildings. A lot of people go here attracted by ancient Siberian traditions, which are fully preserved in this place. A visit to a real tavern will bring everybody another surprise, you can see handicrafts and go to the shop of a merchant. Especially for the couple, a theme programme will be organized, where merry and wedding songs will be performed.

Dinner at the museum (Russian cuisine).

Then they go to the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro-electric power station. The dam was built in 1987, height 245 meters, the length of the ridge 1,070 meters, the width at the base of 110 meters, the width of the crest 25 meters. Hydroelectric dam forms the Sayan-Shushenskoye reservoir volume of 31.34 km ³ and an area of 621 km ².

** accommodation in ‘Abakan’ hotel, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 2.

For the couple there will be organized a city tour by car, during which they can visit some favourite places. During this tour you will have a ritual and let a couple of pigeons out. This tradition is full of legends and superstitions. For example, they say that if the bride’s pigeon flies earlier, than the groom’s one – the first child in the family will be a girl, and the other way round. To define this, the pigeons’ paws have a pink and blue ribbon respectively. Escaping from the couple’s hands, the pigeons fly freely in the sky. So the newly-weds leave their parents’ home and now are independent.

During the excursion (50 km), a professional guide will tell about Abakan’s places of interest.

Then they go to ‘The Valley of Kings’. Apart from an interesting excursion, the couple will experience a ritual of purification. The couple will pass through ‘Gates of Life’.

The Valley of Kings is a place, where there are about 30 burial mounds of Tagar tribes’ leaders, aged from the IV-V century B.C.

The culmination of the trip will be the Great Salbyk Mound which was built on the noble family’s grave and excavated by archaeologists in 1954-56. It measured 0,5km in perimeter and 11,5 m high, the weight of stones is up to 60 tonnes. According to ancient legends, it is a ‘Spirit’s way’, which led the souls of dead through the hills and to the ‘upper’ world. The couple will see not only the mound, but also the stone quarry, from which the stones were taken.

Return to the hotel (70 km), rest.

A romantic dinner in a restaurant with dishes of Khakassia cuisine.

*accommodation  in ‘Abakan’ hotel, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 3.

Early breakfast. Check-out. This day the couple will go on a long excursion to Askiz region (160 km).  Together with the guide they will visit Khurtuyakh-Tas stelle, ‘Holy old woman’ or ‘Mother of mothers’. Local people always respected it. A face, head and belly of a pregnant woman is distinctly seen. According to the legend, pregnant God’s Mother turned into stone when she saw how her husband was killed and son died. That’s why her face is struck with fear. Khakasses still believe that the heart of Khurtuyakh-Tas is still beating inside the stone body. Women, who want to have a child or cure women diseases, still bring some gifts to her.

In a museum there will be a special ritual carried for the couple, opening wedding traditions of Khakasses to them, they will be granted talismans, which will protect them from misfortune and keep their love. During the trip, they will also visit a place, which makes wishes come true. It was exactly Askiz region which in 2011 won among other territories of Russia in such a rating. The first place was given to the territory along ‘Yenisei’ motorway in Askiz region of Khakassia, called ‘Mengirs’. It is huge plates, each one more than 50 tonnes, which are dug vertically into the ground. According to some data, they were erected 4 000 years ago by some tribes. It is considered that ancient people used the mengirs to cure different diseases, that are why more often people wish health here. You only need to choose one stone plate, go round it 3 times clockwise, touch it and imagine what you wish.

The couple will have dinner at yurt complex ‘Kyug’, where they will stay for the next few days. It is situated on the bank of a small river Askiz, almost on the territory of preserve-museum ‘Kazanovka’. Here meet 2 mountain regions – Altai and Sayan.

The yurt complex is created especially for tourists. Wooden yurts fully correspond to their prototype – yurts of nomad people. They are comfortable to live in, have all necessary facilities. Each one is for 2 people. Dining room, toilets and shower cubicles are located separately. The yurt will be festively decorated for the couple. The complex has the same name as the valley, where it is located. As for the word ‘Kyug’, it means ‘joy, happiness’.

You can have a rest on the territory of the complex, have a walk around it, ride horses**. After dinner they will be a concert of Khakassian music**.

*accommodation in yurt complex ‘Kyug’, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

**for extra charge.

Day 4.

This day, free of program, the couple can visit the archeological reserve ‘Kazanovka’**, enjoy walks or horse rides**. After lunch it is possible to go to an ethnic village ‘Khakass aal’, where the tourists can get acquainted with Khakasses’ way of life of 19-20^th centuries.

After dinner the couple will meet with a shaman, who will perform shamanistic rituals**. In the evening the couple will experience a ritual of farewell to Khakassia. They will tie ribbons – it is called ‘chaloma’.

*accommodation in yurt complex ‘Kyug’, breakfast, lunch, dinner.

**for extra charge.

Day 5.

Breakfast, departure to Abakan (140 km), end of the program.

Price includes:

meeting and seeing off at the airport or railway station in Abakan, guide services, transport services, meals according to the program, entrance tickets to museums and nature reserves, accident insurance, folklore programmes and rituals, a DBL room in a hotel in Abakan** (2 days), breakfasts at the hotel, 2 nights in the yurt complex ‘Kyug’

Price does not include: air or railway fares between your city and Abakan, shamanistic rituals, alcohol drinks, extra meals (not included in the programme), additional services, professional photographer services, florist services, make-up designer services, folklore concert, horse rides