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.
Pretty often I was asked about the condition of the old route of Kolyma Highway (known also as Stalin’s Road of Bones) between Tomtor and Magadan Oblast in summer, especially in July and August.
In the following videos, you can see what it was like on July 27th and 29th, 2012.
Saying tons of sincere thanks to the amazingly nice Australian family – Jon, Amanda & Lana, who travelled with their friends in Landcruisers from Vladivostok to Magadan via Yakutsk last July and August.
More about their travel you can learn from Jon, Amanda & Lana’s travel blog “Three In A Truck”
Crossing a river after the village of Tomtor, that is located near Oymyakon, the world’s coldest inhabite place in winter. On July 27th.
In this video you can see how Jon is measuring the depth of one of many mountain rivers on the old route of Kolyma Highway (Road of Bones).
This is really cool to help international travellers with their trips across Yakutia. In March 2012 in Yakutsk, I met three nice Westerners, Austrian Brigitte and the Swiss couple Susan and Peter, who were invited to the Russian region of Republic Sakha-Yakutia by my friend Alexander Permyakov‘s Russian Expedition Club. Extremely nice people!
They planned to go to Verkhoyansk, one of the coldest inhabited places in North-East Yakutia, and they eventually made it there. I resolved for them just a few issues with a vehicle and drivers. Saying a lot of thanks to Slava Mestnikov for an urgent assistance.
Their route was Yakutsk – Khandyga – Teply Klyuch – Topolinoe (reindeer herder community) – Stalin’s Gulags – Batagai – Verkhoyask. As you know, the part Khandyga – Teply Klyuch is located on the Road of Bones, officially known as the Kolyma federal road.
No more words from me. Let’s continue to traveller’s road trip witnesses and photos. Yes, photos. 50+ images of the long journey from Yakutsk to Verkhoyansk.
Andrey I is a prominent Russian film maker. He is the man, who helped a lot to clean Shergin’s Shaft, the world’s deepest permafrosted well created in Yakutsk, Russia, a few centuries ago. Here is the related news.
Hereby, Andrey I sent me his own story about his extraordinary descent to the bottom of Yakutsk. Praise god, his text in English.
History background:
1837. After a decade of wearisome work in the permafrost a well of 116 meters depth was dug out. Now it is known as Shergin’s Shaft.
1844. Scientific research began. Shergin’s shaft became the world’s “cradle” of science of cave exploring and permafrost studies.
1942. In unknown circumstances the cable used to descent to the bottom of the shaft breaks off. The shaft remains inaccessible for 67 years.
2009. After a long preparation and the digging the snow cork the entrance of the shaft is opened. The 3rd of November is set as the day of storm of the shaft, the attempt of the work in TV format with direct broadcast of the event.
Further, see photographs and a story written by Andrey I himself.
I know three good websites selling air tickets for flights within the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia’s Far East.
One of them belongs to the agency called GAVS (a short name for Glavnoe Agentstvo Vozduzhnyh Soobshenij). Two other online shops to local air companies, Yakutia Airlines and Polar Airlines, that conduct regular regional flights.
Kihilyakh is a Holy Place in the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russia’s East Siberia & Far East. Precisely, it is located in North-Eastern Yakutia’s Verkhoyansky region a few km away from its regional admistrative center of Batagai near the village of Elges.
Local peoples, especially Yakuts, do believe in the Kihilyakh sacredness. They come to touch its stones and receive the positive power from the nature. They also say, if you disrespect Kihilyakh, it will put curse on your life. It is a holy place. A Mecca to Yakutia residents.
If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you might already know and see photographs of my recent Oymyakon travel to Even reindeer herders, whom I and my friends experienced fascinating winter reindeer sledding through snowy rivers, mountains and hills with.
Hereby I am posting more photgoraphs and adding more journey details. I’ll post info part by part in this post, as I have a lot to say in fact. Meanwhile, enjoy 200+ pictures.
