Best Winter Tour to Yakutia

1 DAY: YAKUTSK
Transfer from the Yakutsk airport to hotel. Early check in. Free time for rest.
Sightseeing tour of the city by car. Visit to the Mammoth Museum, the Peasant Market, the Atlasovs Manor ethno-complex, etc.
Yakutia is a world of ancient secrets and riddles that attracts and calls travelers from different parts of the World. Only the bravest dare to challenge the wayward North, which hides sincere cordiality and hospitality behind its harsh ice mask. The main Treasury of the North is the beautiful city of Yakutsk. Every corner of the city reminds of its ancient history, which impresses even experienced travelers.
Unique museums and natural monuments, rich culture and glorious ancient traditions, amazing sights. During the tour, you will visit the Mammoth Museum, where you can travel to the distant past and get acquainted with the ancient inhabitants of the Northern lands. You will visit the famous local fish market, the ice tunnel complex “Kingdom of permafrost”, the ethno-complex “Atlasovs Manor” with an excursion into the history of traditions and beliefs of the Yakutsk.
Optional: Dinner at the ethno-complex.
Optional: Dinner at the hotel.

2 DAY: YAKUTSK – LENA PILLARS – YAKUTSK
Breakfast at the hotel.
Transfer to Batamay village (~200 km, 2,5h). Crossing the Lena river on a snowmobile with a passenger sled (~15 min).
Arrival in Lena pillars.
Free time for walking in the National Park (~3h).
Lena pillars are high cliffs of unusual shape that stretch along one of the banks of the Lena river. When you see them for the first time, you are amazed at their harsh and majestic beauty. This natural wonder is located in the natural Park of the same name in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Stunning cliffs from forty to a hundred meters high are becoming more mysterious and beautiful every year due to the peculiarities of the local climate.
NOTE:
Ascent to the observation deck of the park is possible if the 2-km trail is cleared of snow.
Return to Batamay village.
Lunch in a warm house (lunch-boxes from the restaurant are warming up).
Return to hotel in Yakutsk.
Optional: Late dinner at the hotel.

3 DAY: YAKUTSK – KHANDYGA
Breakfast at the hotel. Check out.
Day of travel to Khandyga (~432 km, 8-10h in total).
Transfer along the ice crossing over the Lena river from Yakutsk to Nizhny Bestyakh with a photo session on the ice.
Transfer to Khandyga with stops for lunch, dinner and photo sessions (meals not included, payment on spot).
Crossing the Aldan river by ice crossing in the dark.
Arrival in Khandyga. Check in a private apartment-type hotel.

4 DAY: KHANDYGA – OYMYAKON
Check out. Day of travel to Oymyakon (~510 km, 12h in total).
Breakfast on the way (is not included, payment on spot).
Transfer to Teply Klyuch settlement. Visit to the Museum of the History of the GULAG.
Construction of the village of Teply Klyuch was started in October 1941 in preparation for the construction of the Magadan highway. The village was a camp point. The Museum on its territory was established in 1996 and today has one exhibition hall with an area of about 50 square meters, which houses a permanent exhibition. It reflects the General history of repressions in the USSR, the history of Magadan camps and famous prisoners, the camp history of the district, the construction and operation of the Kolyma (Magadan) highway.
Transfer to the village of Kyubyume through the mountain passes of the Verkhoyansk ranges. Stops along the route are at Tomporuk pass, Yellow and Black clamps, Hare loop, etc.
Time for lunch at the cafe at the gas station in Kyubyume (meals not included, payment on the spot).
Arrival in Oymyakon. Check in a private village house.
Oymyakon is considered one of the coldest inhabited places in the world. According to the calculations of academician Obruchev, the thermometer scale could theoretically drop to -71.2 degrees Celsius. According to official records, the temperature minimum was recorded at -67.7 degrees.
Late dinner with the family.

5 DAY: OYMYAKON
Breakfast in the house.
This day always starts from checking an outdoor thermometer (one of them is attached to terrace) and sufficient breakfast prepared by the host. Don’t be surprised, if you would see meat, fish and potato dishes on the table. All those calories will be useful for your cold experience in Oymyakon.
Visit to stella “Pole of Cold”. Photo session with the fairytale character Chyskhaan, the Guardian of the Cold. Walk around Oymyakon.
When we are back to the guest house, we’ll have time for funny outdoor experiments with the cold. For instance, you can see how quickly a wet t-shirt or your national flag becomes solid and frozen, try to hammer a nail with a frozen banana, crash frozen apples or cabbages, see which drinks would freeze quicker (spirit will win definitely), blow bubbles, blast the boiled water in the cold air, etc.
Note:
Please, note that if you wish to freeze and crash fruits and vegetables, you’ll need to bring them along from Yakutsk.
Lunch in the house.
Departure to the Indigirka river. Participation in traditional ice fishing with a local fisherman.
After lunch, we drive to the Indigirka. River to see the traditional way of ice-fishing. Fishes to catch in the mountain river are graylings and other specifically-local types. All trophies might be cooked by the host in the evening, if there would be such a chance.
Dinner in the house.
An evening of Yakut culture at the Archy House.
After sufficient dinner, we enjoy the evening of the Yakut culture in the House of Archy. With purification ritual, friendship circle dance, national songs, and Jew’s-harp (khomus) performance.
Evening tea in the house.

6 DAY: OYMYAKON – TOMTOR – KHANDYGA
Early breakfast in a house. Check out.
Day of travel to Khandyga village with a stop in Tomtor (~510 km, 13-14h).
On the way visit a horse farm with Yakut horses.
The Yakut horse is an aboriginal horse breed common in Yakutia. The breed was bred by folk selection under the strong influence of natural selection. The Yakut horse breed is the most frost-resistant, having an undercoat and a coat 8-15 centimeters long. Even in winter, it can feed on grass from under the snow, raking it with its hooves. In Yakutia, horses live outdoors all year round (at temperatures up to +40 °C in summer and -60 °C in winter) and look for food on their own.
Arrival in Tomtor. Visit to the ice tunnel complex “Chyskhaan Residence” and the ice-free Kuidusun river.
Transfer through mountain passes to Kyubyume. Visiting reindeer herders.
We do a stop at Even reindeer herders’ winter camp hidden in snowy forest. Enjoy teatime, try traditional food, do reindeer sleigh ride and feel ourselves as real Siberian nomads. With herders, we’ll spend ~1 hour.
We'll make stops along the way at bridges over the rivers Agayakan and Suntar, etc.
Time for lunch in a local cafe (meals not included, payment on spot).
Transfer to Teply Klyuch through mountain passes.
Time for dinner in a local cafe (meals not included, payment on spot).
Arrival in Khandyga. Check in. Time for rest.

7 DAY: KHANDYGA – YAKUTSK
Check out.
Day of travel to Yakutsk.
Stops for late breakfast and lunch at cafes on the way (meals not included, payment on spot).
Visit notable places, including the master of sculptures from balbakh in the village of Walba.
A local resident of the village of Walba in Yakutia has an unusual hobby – he makes sculptures from balbakh (cow dung). Every year, the master prepares sculptures that reach several meters in length and height. So, in past years, he sculpted a Cobra, a pair of horses, a family of goats and monkeys, a Christmas tree, a tank, mammoths, three horses and much more. By tradition, among the sculptures there is always a symbol of the year.
Arrival in Yakutsk. Check in.
Option: Dinner at the hotel.

8 DAY: YAKUTSK
Breakfast at the hotel or breakfast-boxes. Check out.
Transfer to the airport.
End of the tour.

The program is preliminary.
The organizers reserve the right to replace the excursion blocks with similar ones, without changing main waypoints.

12 Jan – 19 Jan 2024
26 Jan – 02 Feb 2024
02 Feb – 09 Feb 2024
16 Feb – 23 Feb 2024
01 Mar – 08 Mar 2024

Our prices include:

• Double accommodation with breakfast in Yakutsk in 4* hotel (AZIMUT hotel Yakutsk or Tygyn Darkhan or similar)
• Double accommodation in apartment-type hotel in Khandyga with shared facilities – shared shower, toilet, kitchen for the whole apartment
• Double-triple accommodation in in a village guest house in Oymyakon with shared kitchen, washbasin, no shower, toilet outside
• Included meals:
• Day 2 – lunch-boxes and hot tea
• Day 3 – breakfast at the hotel
• Day 4 – late dinner in family
• Day 5 – breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening tea in family
• Day 6 – breakfast in family
• Day 8 – breakfast at the hotel
• Transport service and all transfers per program
• Local English, German speaking guides per program or assistants for translation from local Russian speaking guides (French and Spanish speaking assistance is possible with supplement)
• Entrance tickets per program
• Visa support letter if necessary

Supplementary (for prebooking only):

• Single supplement in hotel in Yakutsk
• Dinners in hotel in Yakutsk
• Dinner at the ethno-complex on Day 1
• Domestic flight Moscow – Yakutsk
• Domestic flight Yakutsk – Moscowv
• Accommodation and / or program in Moscow before or after the tour
• Non obligatory insurance of medical, medical transport and other expenses
• Non obligatory accident insurance

TRAVEL ADVISORY:
Restrictions on participation in the tour by age: with parents – from 12 years old.
Physical or special training required: NO.

OTHER:
The tour program can be changed due to weather conditions, the level of training of participants, and other factors beyond the control of the Tour Operator.
The decision to change the route is made by the guide / instructor on the spot, with the notification of the participants.
Please advise us at the time of booking about any chronic medical conditions or contraindications to travel with physical activity and overnight stays in the field.

CAMPING EQUIPMENT:
CLOTHING:
Fur hat, Polycolon balaclava
Thin underwear from Polycolon (so-called thermal underwear);
Pants and jacket made of Polartec 300 or Polartec 200 can replace warm winter sweaters and leggings if you put them on thermal underwear;
Gloves or mittens made of micro-lint and Windstopper membrane;
Expedition socks, thick;
Shoes: felt boots, high fur boots, shoes that can withstand 50 degrees of frost.

OTHER:
Sunglasses 100% UV & IR;
Sunscreen SPF 40;
Hygienic lipstick SPF 40;
Personal first aid kit: pills that you usually take, as well as aspirin, plaster, bandage, etc.;
Large bag or backpack for travel;
Personal hygiene products;
Lantern;
Fishing gear;
Camera.

NOTE:
Recommendation for a flight to Yakutsk: in the coldest weather, it is better to arrive in Yakutsk by the flight whose arrival is scheduled before dawn – before 9 am. When dawn breaks, and if fog suddenly occurs, the flight is either delayed for 9–10 hours, or the plane is landed in other cities of the Far East – in Mirny, Neryungri, Khabarovsk and even Magadan.


* If restrictions are imposed on the entrance to museums for a certain number of people, we can serve group requests with the division of groups into smaller ones, with the predominant use of the same transport (or with a different number and capacity of transport), but with a large number of guides.
** Some museums or excursions can be excluded from the program if circumstances beyond the control of the tour operator require it (time constraints due to covid-19 / bans on the operation of facilities). At the same time, as far as possible, we will offer an alternative replacement.