Destinations > Far East

Yakutia

Explore unique nature of “cold pole” and it will help you to discover yourself

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The Northeast Region in Russia

Yakutia or Sakha Republic in Russia’s north-east is the largest region of the country which will amaze everyone with its nature. Until now Yakutia is one of the most isolated and inaccessible world’s zones in terms of transport. It’s one of the rare places on our planet where spaces of wild nature – northern steppes (called tundra), forests (called taiga), mountains, rivers, and lakes were saved untouched by civilization and as a consequence undamaged. Yakutia has a sharply continental climate, due to this, the amplitude of fluctuations in the air temperature exceeds 100 ° C. Winter in Yakutia is long, cold, and not very snowy. Summer, on the contrary, is very hot, but short and arid.

short region information

LOCAL TIME	UTC+9
CLIMATE	Severe
CAPITAL	Yakutsk
HOW TO GET	6,5 hours by plane from Moscow
HIGHLIGHT	Lena Pillars, Diamonds

types of tourism

Wild Nature

Religious

Fishing

Eco

ETHNO

Culinary

Cold Pole

The Coldest Village in the World

The Northern Hemisphere’s ‘Cold Pole’ is located in Oymyakon, where the temperature minimum was registered as low as –71.2° C (–6.2° F) in January 1926. Oymyakon has no competitor at the Pole of Cold in the Southern Hemisphere as no one lives there.

It seems that global warming hasn’t reached this land: here winter lasts from the end of September till the middle of May.

The festival of tourism is annually held in March at Cold Pole. Only in Oymyakon you can visit 2 residences of famous Santa Claus- Russian Santa and American Santa.

Mysterious Sakha Republic

Yakutia’s Shamans

According to the worldviews of people of the North, all nature is considered alive, animate. This is exactly what shamans want to teach in their rituals. Any object of the area has its own spirit.

If you want to feel it- do not hesitate and take part in the ritual. Therefore, the observance of the rite of appeal to the spirits, coaxing with a spell, the ritual of feeding the spirits are a kind of moral lessons and rules for everyone. Sacred trees are worshiped in every locality, and local residents perform rituals of worshiping these trees in Yakutia. The guests of the republic will be stopped near sacred trees along the road routes so that they also perform the rite and greet the owner of these places. You should not be scared of these mystic places and rituals; you should be proud of yourself that you come to Yakutia and have a chance to be a part of these unique places!

Touch the ancient culture

The Northerners

The guests of the republic are invariably inspired by folklore, folk art, national crafts, and symbols of religious and world outlooks of indigenous people of Yakutia. To touch the ancient culture, to understand the meaning of life in such a harsh land, it is necessary to visit the settlements where the traditional way of life has been preserved. The northerners developed and brought to our days their own unique civilization and the pristine northern nature.

Masterpiece of Nature

Lena Pillars

The imposing limestone ridge of Lena Pillars stands almost 200 meters high over the Lena river. Judging by the accuracy of their geometric shape, they seem to be carved artificially. In reality, these rocks are the majestic creation of nature itself, in particular of the erosion process that took place over the last 400,000 years! This long crest of limestone rocks has remained intact as it was forged by Mother Nature. The only signs of the sporadic presence of man are the moorings of boats on the shore. The scenery is so precious and unique that it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Rocks on the bank of the Lena river naturally formed in shape of pillars

Rocks on the bank of the Lena river naturally formed in shape of pillars, small motorboat on the river

Rocks on the bank of the Lena river naturally formed in shape of pillars and a green forest and its reflection in the river

Russia’s Treasury

Diamond Mines

Yakutia is a treasury of mineral resources. One of the main of them is diamonds. 99% of all Russian diamonds are mined in Sakha, that accounts for over 23% of the world’s diamond production. You can come to Yakutsk in September and join the festival ‘Diamond Week’, where you can buy one of the best decorations with diamonds.

A giant pit with some water at the bottom of it

Rivers’ & lakes’ gifts

Fishing

Fishing takes a special place in the trip to Yakutia. Fishing enthusiasts will be amazed at the richness of fish resources: you can catch a variety of atypical fish for other regions. In mountain lakes, you can catch grayling, burbot, malma, and in rivers- pike, taimen, omul. The main waterway of the republic is the Lena River – one of the largest rivers in the world. The river is 4400 km long.