Tyva expedition — the Center of Asia


The expedition to the geographic center of the Asian continent — to Tyva Republic, together with the specialists of Siberian Expeditions, Siberian Environmental Center and Network of Protection and Monitoring of birds of prey.

We travel to:

		Visit the Ubsunur Basin in the south of Tyva — the UNESCO object and one of the most interesting places in Russia. Picturesque rocky outcrops in the middle of the steppe and the northernmost point of the Gobi Desert.

		Watch the life of nature under the guidance of the experienced specialists from the Siberian Environmental Center and participate in the annual program of banding eagles, falcons, vultures and other birds of prey.

		Visit a unique ethnographic complex Aldyn-Bulak on the banks of the Yenisei River and get to know the traditional culture of Tyva.

		See the legendary Gold of the Scythians from Arzhan-2 mound in the National Museum of Tyva.

		Visit archaeologists in the field camp near the «Kyzyl-Kuragino» railway construction site.

		Meet the Russian Old Believers who live in distant villages in taiga in the upper reaches of the Malyi Yenisei.

Brief information:




	• Arrangement fee: 66 400 rub with a prepayment of 30% (this is 19920 rub) until April 1. 2016 71 500 rub with a prepayment after April 1. 2016

	• The registration fee covers: the work of the organizers and the scientific experts, transportation on a specially prepared vehicle, accommodation in the expedition camp, visiting all the museums on the route of the expedition, tours, accommodation at the camp site in the headwaters of the Malyi Yenisei, travel meals, all recreational fees, insurance.

	• The starting and the finish point: Kyzyl (Tyva capital), Russia

	• Dates: May 30 — June 10, 2016 (12 days) — there is a vacant place for you!

	• Dates: 13 — 24 June 2016 (12 days) — there is a vacant place for you!

	• Number of participants: 6-8 people


	Research: ornithology — paleoarctic birds of prey: steppe eagles, golden eagles, Upland Buzzard, kites, hawks, black vultures, black storks, owls, eagle owls.

	New knowledge and experience: archeology and history of the Central Asian steppes, the culture of shamanism, modern Buddhism, the experience of watching wildlife- and birds, ethnography of ancient Russian Old Believer villages and the traditional culture of Tyva.

	Activities: cultural saturation, unity with nature, photography, meeting with interesting people, walking in the mountains, evening gatherings around the campfire, Russian steam bath on the shore of the Malyi Yenisei and genuine adventure drive.

Tyva is the official center of Asia and one of the most unusual republics of the Russian Federation. Though it joined the Soviet Union only in 1944, it still remains one of the most isolated and


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Tyva — the Center of Asiaи

Siberian Expeditions team

(mission and goals of the journey)

Tyva is a unique region of Russia. As an officially approved geographical center of the Asian continent, it is still one of the most remote and relatively isolated republics of Russia. On its open spaces we meet hot sand dunes of the Mongolian Gobi Desert and real Siberian taiga similar to one on the headwaters of the Yenisei, bitter-salty steppe lakes and sandy beaches of the warm lake Tore-Khol, a pleasant cool of mountain taiga lakes and gradient mountain views of picturesque Asian mountains.

With the help of the professionals from the Siberian Environmental Center, the leading Russian experts, we will meet the unique fauna. Observation of black vultures (the largest birds of prey in Russia), golden eagles, black storks and other rare and beautiful birds. This is a terrific experience and positive emotions you are guaranteed to get nowhere but in this expedition.

During the expedition we will visit the ethnographic complex Aldyn-Bulak on the banks of the Yenisei, where the beauty of the Central Asian steppe nomads’ culture is revealed in the most vivid and interesting way: genuine yurts, a concert of throat singing, cuisine and more. In Kyzyl, we will look at the unique collection of Scythian gold jewelry found in the early 2000s in the mound Arzhan-2 on the territory of the Republic of Tyva. This is one of the most sensational and significant archaeological discoveries of the XXI century.

We will spend last days of the expedition in the upper reaches of the Little Yenisei, in the villages Erzhey, Sizim and Uzhep where Siberian Old Believers live — the descendants of the very Russian people that long ago fled from the reforms of Peter I into the distant and unknown Siberia. They are absolutely original people, following a lifestyle almost completely independent of the modern civilization way of life, and we will have a chance to get acquainted to it.

Of course, all these points are joined by the unique expedition atmosphere, the spirit of discovery and adventure drive, which we know a lot about!

Igor , head of the research group

A professional ornithologist. The creator of the Russian network of studying birds of prey and chief editor of the magazine “Birds of prey and their safety”.

Elena , ornithologist, head of the tourist group

(May-10 June 30, 2016)

Coordinator of Sibecocenter on monitoring and banding birds of prey of the Republic of Tyva, the guide-organizer of bird watching programs.

Rodion , head of the tourist group

(24 June-13 June 2016)

The organizer and leader of the expedition with six years of experience. A member of the Russian Geographical Society.

		Yuri Semenovich, transport and organizational support of the expedition

		President of the Tyva Offroad Club, a member of the legendary archaeological expedition to Arzhan-2.


Why you should take this journey with us:

	You will be taking part not in the tour, not a trek, but in a real expedition, with its objectives, uncertainties, discoveries, and its unique atmosphere . You will feel like a hero of the childhood books, Indiana Jones — this is the most authentic scientific and adventure tourism, which almost no one does in Russia.	You will discover a new world! We will not just show you beautiful places, but also give an extensive amount of knowledge on the history, archeology, geology and geomorphology, ethnography and culture, about the life of birds and animals. You will see how amazing and beautiful our planet is.

	You get a unique experience. No one returns the same person from this expedition: there is a reassessment of values in life; there are interesting and reliable new friends, even the eyes of the travelers become wiser and happier.	You are not a customer, you are part of a team. We will explore and change the world together. As a rule, the expedition is just a beginning — we can work together on the material received, or to carry out joint projects in future.

Comments and impressions from other expeditionsй:

Edik	Rodion, you are a romantic, and this is the character trait that many people lack nowadays. You do such things, you just heal our souls. Expedition «Spring in the Semirechye (Seven Rivers)»	Masha	Rodion, I think you saved my life!) After a trip to the Altay, amazing things happen to me, I truly live, and I am so happy) Moscow is no longer exhausting me. Thank you again, thank you! :) Expedition «Runes of the Ancient Altay»



Vyacheslav	The latest news this week is from a specialist in runes Gleb Kubarev from Novosibirsk about the stone slab with unknown characters taken from Kokkol waterfall: «We can confidently say that the stone is divided into strips — this was the way to write big runic texts in Mongolia.” It’s a startling finding that requires further research! For now, this is the first success of research expedition to East Kazakhstan organized by people from Novosibirsk in July this year. My congratulations to the club «Siberian Expeditions»! Thank you for the opportunity to make discoveries(28.10.2013) The expedition to East Kazakhstan, 2013

Days 1-2. Treasures of the nomadic Tyva.

After meeting at the airport in Kyzyl, we drive to the west of Tyva, along the Yenisei to the Khemchik mountain valley in the area of the ridge Adyr-Dash, where we visit the unique small sandy desert among the mountains. We stop and rest on the banks of the Sayano-Shushenskoye reservoir. Later in the afternoon, we visit the ethno-cultural center Aldyn-Bulak on the banks of the Yenisei River, where a concert of Tyva throat singing is prepared specially for us. Acquaintance with the traditional culture of Tyva.
The rally on the average for two days: 300-350 km (asphalt, flat steppe). Breakfast in the cafe (the first day), and then cooked jointly on a gas stove or a campfire, hot snacks for lunch. Overnight at the expedition camp.

Day 3. Balgazynsky Forest, Lake Chagytai

In the morning we visit the National Museum of Aldan-Maadyr of the Republic of Tyva, on a tour of the room with the gold of the Scythians. You can get there only by prior arrangement and with the security guards. Then we drive south to explore the arid basin of Tyva: there are nesting platforms of steppe eagles and long-legged buzzards waiting for us. We visit the bitter-salty lake Cheder and mountain lake Chagytai — this is the deepest and largest freshwater lake of the Tyva basin, and it is located at the foot of the northern slope of the ridge Tannu-Ola at an altitude of 1003 m above sea level. We set up our camp for the night in the relict Balgyzanskiy pine forest and go to look for birds — long-eared owls.
Rally: 150 km (flat steppe, asphalt and dirt roads). Breakfast in a café, a hot snack for lunch, a dinner cooked in the expedition camp on a gas stove or fire. Overnight at the expedition camp.

Multidisciplinary expedition to Tyva. Rock outcrops of Ubsunursky hollow

Days 4-6. The Agar-Dag-Taiga ridge and lake Shara Nur

We get up early and slowly pass through the ridge Tannu-Ola, stopping in beautiful places and admiring the mountain views. Then we descend into the Ubsunur Basin, the UNESCO protected territory. Here for almost three days together with the ornithologists, we go through the picturesque locations in the middle of the steppe and lakes to study birds: owl, Tengmalm kurganika, black stork, white-headed duck, gray crane and many others. There is a possibility to make a discovery and find a colony of rare and beautiful birds — Eastern plover. At Mount Saygyn we take a look at an ancient burial mound complex similar to geoglyphs in size, and from the top of the ridge Agar-Dag we admire the views of endless sand dunes on the Mongolian side.
Rally: about 180 km (steppe road, asphalt, sand road). Breakfast and dinner prepared on a fire or burner, hot snacks for lunch. Overnight at the expedition camp.

Days 7-8. The Gobi Desert and Tore-Khol —
Pearl of the sands

We study the sands of Tsugeer Els and warm and clean freshwater lake Tore-Khol at the border with Mongolia. This area of sandy deserts is the northernmost point of the Gobi. Nature, fauna and flora here are very different from ones we have seen these days. On the lake, there are a lot of waterfowl such as black crane and the demoiselle crane, swan, cormorant, spoonbill, osprey, great bustard and even white-tailed eagle. Our goal is to get acquainted with the nature of this unique lake as much as possible.
Rally: about 50 km across the steppe and sands to the lake Tore-Khol. Breakfast and dinner prepared on a fire or burner, hot snacks for lunch. Overnight at the expedition camp.

Day 9. Naryn, the colony of black vultures

Today we go to the mountain valley of the Naryn River, where the colony of black vultures lives controlled by the Siberian Environmental Center — one of the largest Russian birds (they have a wingspan of about 2,5-3 meters). One can observe the life of these unique birds, learn a lot of interesting things from the specialists who study them for many years and take part in the program of the annual banding. Around us there are the mountain-taiga views of the Sayan mountains.
Rally: about 60-100 km across the steppe. Breakfast and dinner prepared on a fire or burner. Overnight at the expedition camp.

Multidisciplinary expedition to Tyva. The archaeologists’ camp Kyzyl-Kuragino

Day 10. The archaeologists’ Camp «Kyzyl-Kuragino»

We drive to the north of Kyzyl, to the archaeological camp at the construction site of the railway «Kyzyl-Kuragino», where we meet with familiar archaeologists. The excursion to the excavations and evening conversations and stories about the archeology, history and much more. At night, we go down to the surrounding forest to see a funny scops owlу.
The rally is about 330 km (asphalt and dirt roads) Breakfast cooked on a fire, snacks at the afternoon, dinner — in a cafe or in the archaeological camp. Overnight at the expedition camp.

Days 11-12. Visiting Yenisei Old Believers

We reach Kyzyl and then go to the east, to a real Siberian taiga, in the upper reaches of the river Malyi Yenisei to the Old Believer village Sizim. In villages Sizim, Uzhep Erzhey there live the Russian refugees since the times of Peter I reforms. They are called the Old Believers. They are specific and not really chatty people, but always good-natured and following lifestyle independent from the modern civilization and completely subordinate to the canons of orthodoxy. We stay in the guesthouse right on the shore of the Malyi Yenisei, in the vicinity of villages Erzhey and Sizim. A more remote village of Uzhep can be reached on boat, after overcoming the complex Yenisei water obstacles. We relax, socialize, and walk through the picturesque taiga area. Late in the afternoon on the last day we leave to Kyzyl. Our expedition has come to its end.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared on the fire, in the afternoon there is a snack, dinner is cooked by the locals: it is a real Siberian cuisine. Overnight in guest houses. A Russian steam bath on the bank of the Malyi Yenisei.

Schedule is not firm, it can change depending on the conditions, as the expeditionary nature of travel involves a bit of uncertainty: somewhere we can speed up, and in some cases on the contrary slow down. It all depends on the number of birds taken at specific site (which varies from year to year), weather conditions, our general impressions and suggestions, as well as other circumstances. In any case, the team of Siberian Expeditions and the team of Siberian Enviromental Center will do everything possible to make this travel the most vivid, rich and memorable. This is what we do very well.

Prices, when and where:

Organization fee:

66 400 rub with a prepayment of 30% (this is 19920 rub) until April 1. 2016
71 500 rub with a prepayment after April 1. 2016

• Dates: May 30 — June 10, 2016 (12 days) — we have several vacant places left!
• Dates: 13 — 24 June 2016 (12 days) — we have several vacant places left!

• The starting and the finish point: Kyzyl (Tyva capital), Russia

• Number of participants: 6-8 people

Expedition vehicles:

Siberian Expeditions offroad

karyakin-tyva-big

Two legendary UAZ 2206 and UAZ 469 had survived many expeditions (the third car will be used if necessary). High offroad capabilities, fitted with inverters to recharge the photo and video equipment. Experienced drivers, who know the road and off-road of Tyva very well.

Travel Partners:

For media: if you want to publish a well-written story and beautiful pictures about the journey, just contact us!

The registration fee includes:

• work of organizers and scientific experts,
• movement on a specially prepared vehicle,
• accommodation in the expedition camp,
• accommodation at the camp site in the headwaters of the Malyi Yenisei,
• expedition meals (cooked together),
• admission to all museums on the route of the expedition,

• medical insurance by RESO-Garantia,
• tours and all recreational fees.

The registration fee does not include:

• flights to/from Abakan or Kyzyl*
To find cheap flights we recommend to use Aviasales.ru
Simply enter the required details in the form below:

Arrival: 10:00 on May 30 or earlier; departure: after 23:00 on June 10.
Arrival: 10:00 on June 13 or earlier; departure: after 23:00 on June 24.
* — There are no direct flights from Moscow to Kyzyl, unfortunately, (only through Novosibirsk). Alternatively, fly to Abakan and then travel on a minibus with all your luggage to Kyzyl. It takes approximately 5-6 hours on the road. Travel there and back costs about 2000-2500 rubles per person.

• Meals at cafes (payment according to the bill)
(Three to five times per trip, an average check is about 200 rubles).

Wishes to participants

Hiking experience is desirable, but not required. Expeditional conditions imply a slight disregard for comfort and this must be understood. And expeditionary nature of the journey involves a certain unpredictability of events that also needs to be agreed to. Curiosity, kind temper and a readiness for partial lack of comfort are required.

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