the Lena river

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…

I have to say

“Clif, thank you very much for your writing and sharing the great report on the journey by the ship “Mechanic Koulibin” down the Lena River from Yakutsk to Tiksi. This is valuable information. I am glad I have friended with you!”

Clif Maberly arrived with his wife from Hong Kong, but they are Australians. I had been keeping contact with Clif before his coming. And you know what? That was him who asked me much about the waterway from Ust-Kut to Yakutsk and from Yakutsk to Tiski by the regular passenger boat.

So, enjoy his informative report written specially for AskYakutia.com. Read more…

Another request arrived from the USA was very specific. About the ways of travelling from Yakutsk to Tiksi in September 2009. Read more…

So… Two UK adventurous bikers of the Sibirsky Extreme travel motorcycle expedition have just ridden the Kolyma Highway. They had left Yakutsk on Thursday afternoon and arrived in Magadan on Sunday evening. 2100 km, 3.5 days, and 7 tyre changes! What did they say about the federal road?

The road was a little better than the Vilyuisky Trakt, but only a little better. There were still long gravelly sections, the odd sandy patch.

Read more…

Those, who is interested in travelling on the same route by bikes, might want to check the Sibirsky Extreme UK Bikers Expedition’s website 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…

Received a message from the U.S.:

I think your website is a great service to travellers who are interested in visiting Yakutia! I have been to Yakutsk before and love the nature. After looking though the internet and your site I still have two questions that I couldn’t find answered. Both of them have to do with what kind of roads or passenger services exist.

What can I say? Thanks a lot for giving me a positive feedback. Appreciate it. So good to hear it from time to time. Think, maybe, it will be good to quote such feedbacks in the seperate page category :)

Read more…

An Australian based in Hong Kong keeps asking me. He wrote “A number of travel agents, like tour operator Olympia-Reisen-Sibir, are advertising an Artic cruise tour to Tiksi on the Mikhail Svetlov from July 21 to August 3 (arriving back 3am on August 3.)” Read more…

For last weeks, I received similar inquires from Poland, UK, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. All of them regarded the longest voyage along the Lena River, of course, in Yakutia. The question was like “Is there any regular passenger boat that goes from Yakutsk to Tiksi? Not expensive one?” The first one arrived in the early May. At that time, I knew that there was one passenger ship going on the route. That’s “Mechanic Koulibin.” So, I thought it would be easy to find out the requested info. Read more…

This question was asked by a Russian TV crew, that plans to make a journey across Yakutia in the midst of April. A TV producer is pretty much anxious and thinking over what type of transport to rent – a car or helicopter. Well, it’s about time. According to last Friday’s news, there is the ice roads close schedule approved by State Motor Vehicle Inspectorate and the Russian Emercom. Read more…