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.
Ok. Here is my answer to the most frequently asked question last days, “How much does it cost to travel from Yakutsk to Oymyakon?”
Hope you remember that Oymyakon is the village located almost 1000 km west off Yakutsk and considered to be the world’s coldest inhabited place.
I am often asked about possibilities to travel to Oymyakon, the so-called Pole of Cold, from Yakutsk in the winter. Some requests sound like, “Can you arrange the tour to Oymyakon?” and some of such message authors even started promising me free beer… My god, I am not a travel company and, certainly, I do not do someone’s work for beer, but I know how to make DIY-trips from Yakutsk to Oymyakon, one of the world’s coldest place.
Follow the link to learn essential travel tips and current rates.
Another request came from Polish mountaineers, Maciek and Kasia. This upcoming summer they decided to trek across the whole Momsky National Park. Accordingly they asked questions as many as possible. Mainly on the route Burustakh (a settlement on the Road of Bones) – Pobeda Peak – the village of Sasyr – the village of Khonuu.
I addressed all their questions to local adventurers. One of them, known as UV58, gave me pretty good answers. Read more…
It is February 11th, 2010. I am sitting in Magadan and have time to reflect on my journey so far. It is GMT+11 here, which means I have travelled pretty much halfway around the World. And all without taking a single flight so far. Unfortunately I have to break the ‘rules’ and take a flight to Kamchatka, as there really is no other practical way to reach that place. I left the UK nearly 4 months ago, and have been in Russia for two months exactly today.
Matt in Oymyakon at -54C
So 8 days ago I left the city of Yakutsk in the classic Russian ‘Uaz’ (see the photos- they’re like a VW camper with bigger wheels, and they’re everywhere in Russia, but especially in the east). They’re generally old, and look like they’re on their last legs, but I guess they’re hardy steeds, and seem to be the first choice for people around here. Read more…
In a previous post “How to get a taxi going to Yakutsk at the Neryungri railroad station?” I mentioned Matt George, a UK backpacker. This is a guy, who asked me about how to get at the Neryungri railroad station a taxi going to Yakutsk. My answers you can find in the mentioned publication. Here is his travel report. He made it to Yakutsk. He is one of a few international visitors, who experience an “unforgettable” 16-hr winter overland trip from Neryungri to Yakutsk. Read more…
As you noted by my announcements, I decided to arrange my friends’ roadtrip from Yakutsk to the Pole of Cold, Oymyakon. So… I was forced to come across some technical questions, like visa, air tickets, car rent, transfers, accommodation, etc. Man, so many things are to be done! Praise God, everything goes smoothly so far.
A train in Neryungri, South Yakutia
A few journey participants are already on the way to Yakutsk, they are coming by railways via Neryungri. Yesterday I started receiving urgent questions like “How to order a taxi to Yakutsk in Neryungri? Are there resting rooms at the railroad station?” Well, I immediately provided all the info I had, including those ones in already-published posts “How to get to Yakutsk by train and car?” and “Railroad stations in Yakutia?”
My friend’s next message sounded this way “One more question: Should I order the taxi in advance, or just when I arrive? Is it likely one will depart in the evening when I arrive, or will have have to wait until next morning? OK, that was two questions.”
I said to him. Let me book a cab for you. So I called a Neryungri-based taxi service, asked and… Oh, man! Rejoice, my readers! Everything appears much, much easier than I expected. Read more…
As far as you know, there is no bridge over the Lena River at all. Therefore, to cross the river, locals are forced to use ferryboats from June till October and ice roads in winter, officially from the midst of December till early April.
Late April – May and late October – November are considered to be dangerous periods for crossing the river. Nevertheless, some people take the risk and as result we can periodically read news about accidents, precisely about sunken cars and trucks.
It is a must for local drivers to know ice roads requirements, and travelers are recommended to keep them in mind as well. So… Read more…
Once I published long-distance taxi rates that can be taken into consideration while traveling within Yakutia. But I’ve never written a post about pecularities of using such a ground transport, precisely about advantages and disadvantages of going from Yakutsk to Magadan via the Road of Bones (Kolyma Highway) by taxi.
UAZ is used as a long distance taxi within Yakutia. Photo provided by Slava Mestnikov.
This time I decided to fill this gap. First, let’s recall the route and list “pros”, then I’ll mention some important things to remember. Read more…
Often asked about the tour to the Pole of Cold, Oymyakon. All the time the question sounds different. Some is interested in transfer rates, others in hotel rates, third persons are just wondering what to do and see in the Pole of Cold. So I decided why not just give away the description of the standard tour to the officially acknowledged coldest Siberian place?!
The Indigirka River, Oymyakon, Siberia/Russia. In some parts it is never frozen, even when the temperature goes below -50C.
The tour description was received from a friend of mine, Semen Baishev, an Oymyakon-based travel enthusiast. Actually it is him, who arranges all the travel program in the Pole of Cold for individual tourists and travel agencies’ groups. Oops, travel agencies might “kill” me for disclosing such an info :) Whatever. So… here we go. Read more…
There are three options. You can reach Lensk from Yakutsk:
1) by plane,
2) by taxi,
3) hitchhiking (mostly with truck drivers).
2008-2011 (c) AskYakutia.com. Powered by NameCheap.com, my best domain registering & hosting company.