untamed wilderness and dark history
FEBRUARY 01 ⇾ FEBRUARY 12
August 01 ⇾ August 10
In addition to our regular group departures to Yakutia, we also offer tour services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to Yakutia!
DAY 1 - Yakutsk
Meet-and-greet at Yakutsk International Airport and transfer to our hotel of choice in central Yakutsk.
Yakutsk City Tour: Lenin Avenue, Permafrost Museum, State Drama Theatre, Transfiguration Cathedral, WWII Memorials and plenty of USSR-era architecture and monuments.
Overnight in Yakutsk.
DAY 2 - Lena Pillars
Today we'll enjoy a long day trip to the majestic Lena Pillars, the world-famous rock formations towering over the Lena river just a couple of hours south of Yakutsk.
In summer the trip will be done by speedboat, whereas in winter you will travel by jeep on the so called "winter road" (that is the frozen surface of the river).
The excursion will last between 10 and 12 hours and includes a short ascension hike to the panorama deck and some free exploration time in the park, which you can spend either wandering along one of the many trails crisscrossing the surrounding forest or simply enjoying a Yakut-style picnic at the camping area.
Along the way to the pillars, if time permits, we will also stop in Bulgunnyakhtakh, a traditional Yakut village with an impossible-to-pronounce toponymic.
Overnight in Yakutsk.
DAY 3 - Kolyma Highway
We'll leave Yakutsk early in the morning and embark on an epic journey along the Kolyma Highway, also known as the Road of Bones.
We’ll first pass through Nizhny Bestyakh, an important transport hub where two federal roads – the Amur-Yakutsk Highway from the southern town of Neryungri and the Kolyma Highway to Magadan – meet each other.
We'll then head east-northeast to Khandyga, a now semi-abandoned Soviet mining town that used to be quite busy and prosperous back in the heydays of the USSR.
Besides the routine pauses for food, toilet and random landscape pictures, we'll break the 8-to-10-hour journey to Khandyga in the traditional Yakut settlement of Cherkyokh, where we'll visit the local open-air museum.
Along the road, it’s also possible to see roaming Yakut horses, a native breed adapted to dwell in the extreme cold climate and able to locate and graze on vegetation hidden under the deep snow cover.
Overnight in Khandyga.
Winter-only two-day extension to Oymyakon
We'll drive to the Soviet outpost of Teply Klyuch and then continue onto the village of Kyubyume through the mountain passes of the Verkhoyansk Range, visiting some truly stunning natural sights such as the Tomporuk Pass and the Zayachya Petlya en route.
After an early dinner in Kyubyume and a fuel stop in Tomtor, we'll eventually reach Oyamyakon, the notorious Pole of Cold.
We'll devote the entire following day to Oymyakon, the coldest inhabited place on Earth, where average winter temperatures regularly reach –55°C with a record of –67.7°C (−89.9 °F) registered in 1933.
We'll pay a visit to the Soviet-era Pole of Cold Stele, meet the local Chyskhaan, the Yakut "Keeper of the Cold", and enjoy the unique chance to meet with local Yakut hunters and herders, who will share with us their food, their home and compelling stories from their harsh life.
Overnights in Oymyakon.
DAY 4 - UST NERA
We'll continue our journey along the Kolyma Highway and head northeast to the abandoned Soviet lost town of Kyubyume.
We'll have a picnic lunch in Kyubyume and then, armed with our loyal cameras, we'll explore this shadow of a city, the perfect setting for a dystopian post-Soviet zombie movie.
From Kyubyume we'll move further north and, after having crossed two of the highest passes Yakutia, the majestic Bryungandinsky and the endless Olchansky, we'll eventually reach the town of Ust-Nera, capital of the Oymyakonsky District.
Overnight in Ust-Nera.
DAY 5 - SUSUMAN
Driving along the the Road of Bones we'll keep heading northeast and drive past the end-of-the-world settlement of Artyk before entering an empty hinterland of Soviet ghost towns and somber GULAG remnants.
Highlights of today's leg will include: the GULAG complex near Ozernoye, the abandoned Soviet blocks in Kadykchan, the impervious Kolymo-Indigirsky Pass and the melancholic Soviet obelisk marking the border between the Republic of Yakutia and the territory of the Magadan Oblast.
In the evening we'll arrive in the rather anonymous town of Susuman, where we'll base ourselves for the night.
Overnight in Susuman.
DAY 6 - Road of Bones
The longest drive of our tour awaits us: 650 kilometres across an inhospitable backcountry of discomforting emptiness and ghostly remainders of Soviet mining settlements, what more could one ask for want?
If time permits, we’ll also visit the vast Dneprovsky Mine, one of the best preserved GULAGs in the entire former USSR.
In the late afternoon we'll then gloriously cross the city limits of Magadan, one of the remotest towns of the former Soviet Union and, from 1932 to 1953, the administrative centre of Dalstroy, a vast and brutal gold-mining operation and forced-labor camp system.
Overnight in Magadan.
DAY 7 - Magadan
Lazy morning in Magadan to recover from yesterday's long haul and enjoy the well-deserved comforts of a proper city.
In the afternoon we'll indulge in a Soviet-themed architectural tour around Magadan visiting the port area, the regional museum, the GULAG camps and the world-famous Mask of Sorrow monument.
Overnight in Magadan.
DAY 8 to day 9 - Sea of Okhotsk
On the last two days of our tour we'll explore the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, a wild and untamed coastline full odd sights, off-the-beaten-path attractions and photogenic subjects.
Remote USSR-era memorials, sinister ghost towns, quaint fishing hamlets, primordial megaliths, charming promontories, otherworldly salt lakes and unique encounters with the locals will be the highlights of our sojourn along the shorelines of the Soviet Pacific.
If you are into fishing, you will also have a unique chance to go boat fishing with our local guide, trying to catch salmon, cod, pollack and flounder.
If you prefer to observe a less famed (but arguably more interesting) side of marine life, we will arrange a rock-pooling excursion to discover, photograph and (should the appetite arise) taste alien-looking sea inverts such as giant sea urchins, king crabs, sea stars, sea cucumbers and similar water weirdos.
Overnight in Magadan.
DAY 10 - FAREWELL TO MAGADAN
3950 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport in Russia (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.
