Maria.

Maria runs a small local tour company based in Irkutsk, on Lake Baikal. She is a native of the region and a certified local guide, and she leads many of the trips herself while also working with other guides and drivers.

Her trips cover the classic Baikal circuit: Irkutsk, Listvyanka, the Tazheran steppes and Olkhon Island, with stops at Cape Khoboy and Ogoi Island, as well as trips to Arshan. She also enjoys hiking and builds walking time into her itineraries where she can.

A recent itinerary she put together ran from arrival in Irkutsk through a day in Listvyanka visiting the Chersky Stone, the fish market, the Baikal Museum and Taltsy, a ferry crossing to Olkhon, a day of jeep exploration to Cape Khoboy, and a boat trip to Ogoi Island before departure. She handles the planning herself, including hotels, permits and transport, and guides personally in English.

She describes herself as someone always drawn to new roads and unfamiliar places, and that curiosity runs through the trips she designs for travelers.