Winter is the best time for educational trips in the Omsk region. Take a couple of days to visit the "Siberian Calvary", visit ancient churches and explore the history of charming Kalachinsk. You can combine visits to museums and temples with winter fun: go skating, stroll through snow-covered parks, relax in a sauna - such a trip "for body and soul" you will remember for a long time! If you wish, you can use the route of each day separately or partially.
Start the day by admiring the Irtysh from the high "Chersky bank" and walk through the dendrological park named after Komissarov. Komissarov Arboretum, which has more than 120 unique plants. After dinner the way lies to Achairsky female monastery, which received the name "Siberian Golgotha" because of the sad past. To resume your trip tomorrow with fresh forces, you'll stay overnight in Kalachinsk.
So, guys, shall we go? Just to avoid any surprises on the way, fill up to the full with quality fuel, inflate the tires, fill up the washer and take a coffee with some healthy snacks! Have a great travel experience!
The right bank of the Irtysh is steep, rugged with ravines and very picturesque. One of the best places to admire the surroundings is the bank of the Chersky bank near the village of Novaya Stanitsa. The location is named after the famous geologist I.D. Chersky, who conducted research here in the 1860s. By the way, it is also the highest point above sea level in the vicinity of Omsk (123 meters)!
Komissarov Dendropark is a unique 6.6 hectare garden and park complex. The park was laid out in 1895 by horticultural enthusiast Pavel Savich Komissarov. Take a walk through the park on foot or on skis - admire the trees and shrubs, once brought to Siberia from East Asia, Europe, North America and other parts of the world. Schedule: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday - from 10 to 16 hours.
After a walk in the fresh air, your appetite is sure to be whetted! You can have lunch in the hotel complex Linker Park. The restaurant menu includes European and Russian dishes: all kinds of soups, fish, pasta, burgers. And for dessert you may taste homemade medovik or delicate chocolate fondant with an ice-cream ball. You can make reservations by phone, listed on [website](https://linker-park.ru/restoraunt-linkerpark-2/) of the hotel.
The nunnery in the village of Achair was founded in the late 1890s. During the Soviet years the convent was handed over to the NKVD and later the Gulag colony No. 8 was located here. The living conditions in the flimsy barracks were unbearable. According to the calculations of historians, 200 thousand people were buried behind the walls of the temple for 20 years of existence of the colony. After Stalin's death all reminders of the gruesome place were destroyed, but the place is still called "Siberian Golgotha". The monastery began to be restored immediately after the collapse of the USSR. Subsequently, a holy spring was discovered here: the water temperature is 36.6 °C all year round. You can appreciate the beauty of the architectural ensemble, take a walk around the territory, draw water - all this can be done from early morning until 7 pm. You can finish the tour with a simple meal in the café: the sisters bake amazing bread and cakes.
There are many salty lakes on the territory of Cherlaksky district. The water bodies near the village of Irtysh (by the way, almost the same age as Omsk) are not very popular among tourists. However, they are very picturesque and ideal for a short stop and a walk in the fresh air.
On the way to Kalachinsk you can see the Mound of Glory in the village Velikorusskoye. The monument was opened on May 9, 1983. On the pedestal stands a figure of a soldier with an automatic rifle in his hand, and at the foot of it is set a stone slab with the names of soldiers who have not returned from the front in the village Velikorusskoye settlement.
You can have a good meal and rest after a busy day in the Flamingo restaurant, one of the best in the city in terms of food quality and service. A bonus: there is live music in the evenings. The restaurant is open daily from 10:00 to 23:00. Book a table by phone +7 (38155) 27-803.
Kalachinsk traces its history back to 1794: it was then that several peasant families from Northern Russia settled on the shores of Lake Kalach. The city, standing at the crossroads of transport routes, will please you with a real Siberian hospitality and coziness. You may stroll along the main streets of the city, visit one of the oldest churches in the Omsk region. Finish the day at the "Zotovo" recreation base with a ski walk, ice skating or a Russian banya.
After breakfast, go to explore Kalachinsk. Park near the puppet theatre "Skazka". This is the only municipal puppet theatre in Russia that operates in a town of less than 50 thousand people. Leave the puppet shows to the young visitors. But the "Wall of casts" with a round dance of fairy tale characters is a must-see. Each cast on the brick wall at the entrance to the theater is a story. Puppets are molded in plasticine and cast in plaster: these are the forms used by the artists.
A 10-minute walk and you are at the Kalachinsk memorial complex. Here you will find monuments, devoted to several persons and events at once: participants of liquidation of the Chernobyl accident, heroes of wars. Interestingly, the granite steles are embossed with the names not of those who died, but of those who returned from the war.
You can learn the history of Kalachinsk in the local history museum. Here you will be told about the settlement of Kalachinsk land and the nature of the region, will learn how to use the gramophone and radio, will be reminded about the revolution, the civil war and the bloody struggle against the kulaks. You may also drop in at the military-historical reconstruction club "The Shield of the Fatherland" which works at the museum. About 70 sets of soldiers' uniforms are carefully kept there: knight armors, Cossack sabers with fur hats and uniforms of the 40s. You can even try some of them on! And there is a real blacksmith shop at the museum, which you can visit by prior request. The museum is open every day except Mondays from 09:00 to 18:00. Find out more at the telephone numbers listed on [website](https://ikm-kalachinsk.omsk.muzkult.ru/).
You can have lunch at the Terty Kalach café, which is stylized as Russian antiquity. On weekdays business lunch costs from 150 rubles. For any questions please call +7 (913) 649-96-05.
After a hearty lunch, go for a walk to the local Gagarin Park. It is located in a very unusual place - on a huge island in the middle of Lake Kalach, after whom the town was named.
In the neighboring village Voskresenka there is one of the oldest preserved churches in Omsk region and the oldest church in Kalachinsk district. The stone church was built in 1867 and closed shortly before the war - for seven years it was used as a grain warehouse. Unlike many other churches, the Resurrection church was restored and opened in the Soviet era - since then it has not stopped working.
You can finish your trip at the Zotino recreation centre. Here you can go skiing, ice-skating, conquer a snow slide and take a steam bath (if you reserve it in advance). Look for the price for entertainment and contact telephone numbers [here](http://xn--g1acpccv.xn--p1ai/).