Hi! My name is Bolot. I am a journalist. Based in Yakutsk. Ask me a question about the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Siberia / Russia, and get the answer.
Walter Colebatch, the UK Sibirsky Extreme motor travel expedition leader, informed me about realising the the preview of the DVD with the documentary of the last year journey across Siberia, including Yakutia. In this short video you can see his travelling many Siberian roads. Yakutia is shown with… Read more…
The journey along the Lena River from its head evokes much travelers’ interest. Reasons vary. Recently I received another request, but from the U.S. this time. An Orthodox priest wrote:
“I want to travel by river to Yakutsk, June 2010 for a sabbatical project because early Orthodox missionaries to Alaska took this route in 1794. Where is the best location to catch a ferry or the hydrofoil on the Lena? I don’t have to recreate the entire journey. Should I take the BAM to Ust’-Kut and then go by river?”
My answer repeated some previous posts partly, however, I decided to add this reply to the existing data base as well. Read more…
Walter Colebatch, the UK Sibirsky Extreme moto adventure project leader, returned to Yakutia from Baikal. He said good bye to his fellows Tony and Terry, who went back home to England. At that moment, he thought “I still harboured a burning ambition to get to the Arctic Circle in Asia… I just had enough time before the seasons changed to try one more time to get North from Udachny.”
As two months ago, he hit the same route Ust-Kut – Lensk – Mirny – Chernyshevsky – Morkoka – Aikhal – Udachny and finally reached the place just a few kilometers before the Arctic Circle, the place that had stopped him and Tony last time round.
“The river then had been full of water, and rain was falling,” wrote Walter. “Now it was colder, but the sky was half blue. I approached the marker on my GPS that indicated the limit of our travels last time and took a photo. Now it was all dry road. Just 100 metres ahead there was the River … One look told me the river was 3-4 metre wide and at least 1 metre deep. I walked the shallowest part … My arse got cold and wet. That wont work on the bike, especially considering the current as well.”
Further, please, find more of Walter’s travelogue plus the scanned maps of the Anabar Road. Read more…
Maybe, it’s a little bit late at this point. Navigation on the Lena River, that usually lasts from early June till late September, is coming to the end. However, I think the following info will appear to be useful in the future.
I found out two alternative ways of traveling the Lena River on parts Ust-Kut – Lensk and Olekminsk – Yakutsk. Read more…
At long last, I managed to get 2009 Summer Hydrofoil Vessels Timetable for those, who expressed the strong wish to travel along the Lena River from Ust-Kut to Yakutsk. This is a long voyage, I need to warn you. Read more…
